Veteran broadcaster David Dimbleby has launched a provocative three-part series for the BBC, directly questioning the purpose and power of the British monarchy in 'What's the Monarchy For?'. Free from his former BBC constraints, Dimbleby adopts a newly combative style to dissect the institution's influence and cost to the public.
Examining Royal Power and Political Access
The opening episode focuses sharply on the monarchy's political power. Dimbleby investigates whether King Charles can, and does, influence government policy by advocating for his personal beliefs. The programme establishes that the monarch enjoys significant access: the Prime Minister has a weekly private audience at Buckingham Palace, and letters from the King—a prolific writer—are routinely placed at the top of the relevant minister's in-tray.
Former Prime Minister David Cameron described his weekly meetings with the late Queen Elizabeth as a therapeutic chance to clarify his thoughts with a well-briefed, discreet listener. However, Dimbleby presses the fundamental democratic question: why should the unelected monarch's opinions hold any sway?
Hypocrisy, Lobbying, and Constitutional Limits
The series highlights a key moment of perceived hypocrisy. Dimbleby challenges former Attorney General Dominic Grieve over his government's decade-long legal battle to keep Charles's so-called 'black spider memos' secret. Grieve argued the Prince needed confidentiality to advise government while maintaining public neutrality. Dimbleby countered that this allowed Charles to lobby without being seen to lobby, a point which left Grieve floundering.
When the letters were finally published, they revealed Charles had lobbied ministers on issues from beef farming to army helicopter procurement. Yet, the programme also gathers evidence of the monarchy's powerlessness. On the 2019 prorogation of Parliament, every contributor agreed the Queen could not have refused Prime Minister Boris Johnson's request, as doing so would have meant siding with the opposition.
A Tool of Government and a Costly Indulgence?
Dimbleby also examines the 'soft power' of the monarchy, citing Queen Elizabeth's historic 2011 visit to Ireland—where she spoke in Irish and shook hands with former IRA commander Martin McGuinness—as an example of achieving what politicians could not. Yet he balances this by showing the monarch is often a tool of government, from hosting Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu for a 1978 state visit to further trade, to the recent invitation extended to Donald Trump.
The series concludes that an essentially powerless monarchy may be little better than one wielding too much undemocratic power. It promises that the next episode will reveal the staggering expense of the institution, asking the audience: for what? Based on this first instalment, the answer appears to be: not much. 'What's the Monarchy For?' is available to watch on BBC iPlayer now.
