News from the Centre for Citizenship

Charlie Windsor, who is entitled to inherit the office of head of state on the death of his mother, has decided that British taxpayers should pay £4.6M to do-up his dead grandmother’s old London home, Clarence House. Mr. Windsor will live there when not staying at his Scottish castle, London palace or Gloucestershire mansion.

The resignation of the Governor-General of Australia has put the freeing of that country from the British monarchy back on the public agenda, according to the Australian Republican Movement (ARM). Dr. Peter Hollingworth stepped down as Liz Windsor’s representative and head of state in Australia following a scandal involving an allegation of rape and criticism…

A bill to remove the remaining 92 hereditary legislators for life will be introduced in the next session of parliament, according to a report in the Telegraph newspaper. The bill would also establish a commission to appoint new legislators-for-life. Ten Conservative Party legislators would lose their seats if the bill was passed. Among them would…

The attorney general is to ask the Law Lords to hear his appeal against a lower court decision that allowed a challenge to the Treason Felony Act to proceed. The Act makes it unlawful for anyone to call in print for replacement of Britain’s monarchy by a democratic system. The Guardian newspaper is asking the…

A vacant seat in Britain’s legislature is to be filled by an election in which only hereditary legislators may vote. Only hereditary holders of the feudal title of “Lord” may stand in this election. There have been 81 nominations for the election to be held later this month. Most are conservative party supporters, with two…

According to a report in the News of the World newspaper, Britain’s heir to head of state, Charles Windsor is anti-American and is opposed to the American led war against the Baathist regime in Iraq. Although Mr. Windsor is supposedly colonel-in-chief of the Parachute Regiment, in which he has never served, he gave what the…

Oliver Cromwell, controversial Protector of Britain’s first republic, is demonised as a blood-thirsty thug in To Kill A King, a new movie starring Rupert Everett and Tim Roth. He is depicted as executing the ruling monarch Charles out of spite. Cromwell’s contribution to the development of Parliamentary democracy is marked by a statue outside the…

A minority of Britons, only 43 percent, think their country would be worse off without a “royal” family according to a Guardian/ICM poll. This is the lowest level of support since the question was first asked in 1987. Thirty-one percent thought Britain would be better as a republic. Twenty-six percent said they had no opinion.…