Description
Book SynopsisThis unique and meticulously-researched study examines the triangular relationship between the British government, the Palace, and the modern Commonwealth since 1945. It has two principal areas of focus: the monarch''s role as sovereign of a series of Commonwealth Realms, and quite separately as head of the Commonwealth. It traces how, in the early part of the twentieth century, the British government promoted the Crown as a counterbalance to the centrifugal forces that were drawing the Empire apart. Ultimately, however, with newly-independent India''s determination to become a republic in the late 1940s, Britain had to accept that allegiance to the Crown could no longer be the common factor binding the Commonwealth together. It therefore devised the notion of the headship of the Commonwealth as a means of enabling a republican India ''to continue to give the monarchy a pivotal symbolic role and therefore to remain in the Commonwealth.''In the years of rapid decolonization which follow
Trade ReviewProfessor Murphy's book by a country mile the most important and well-informed to have been written about the contemporary British monarchy * Peter Oborne, The Telegraph *
a carefully researched and beautifully presented book that chronicles the relationship between the monarchy, the UK government, and the decolonisation of the British Empire * Ruth Craggs, Reviews in History *
Philip Murphy's book makes a strong case for the importance of analysing the role, self-image, and global perception of the monarchy in any book about British politics or foreign policy in the twentieth century ... an interesting, well-written, and extremely important contribution to the fields of British royal, political, imperial, and commonwealth history. * Charlotte Lydia Riley, 20th Century British History *
splendid * Peter Boyce, American Historical Review *
This is a solidly researched and well-argued book on a neglected subject that has the additional virtue of being entertaining. It deserves a wide readership. * Wm. Roger Louis, English Historical Review *
Monarchy and the End of Empire is a traditional political study that examines in detail the dynamic relationships between and among the palace, Whitehall, and Commonwealth governments. This political focus is its greatest strength, as Murphy researches and writes this kind of history exceedingly well ... Murphy has thus provided not only a monograph that enriches and gives texture to our understanding of monarchy and Commonwealth but also one that demonstrates a need for more work on these topics, if we are to ever fully understand the process and results of decolonization. * Charles V. Reed, H-Albion *
Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgements ; 1. The Holy Family: an introduction ; 2. 'The Pivot of Empire': Monarchy and the Commonwealth, 1918-1945 ; 3. 'A Common Act of Will': The Making of the New Commonwealth, 1945-1952 ; 4. 'A Personal and Living Bond': Accession, Coronation, and Commonwealth Tour, 1952-1954 ; 5. Winds of Change and the Royal Family ; 6. 'A poor sort of courtesy to Her Majesty': Republics, Realms and Rebels, 1960-1970 ; 7. 'A Fragile Flower': Britain and the Headship of the Commonwealth ; 8. 'A Royal Duty': Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings in the 1970s ; 9. 'De-Dominionisation' in the 1970s ; 10. 'On Her Own': The Queen and the Commonwealth in the 1980s ; 11. The Fall and Rise of the Royal Commonwealth ; Bibliography
