The president of the Royal Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, Benigno Pendás, highlighted this Thursday the “long and fruitful” reign of Elizabeth II in the United Kingdom and described its sequels as “relevant” in the field of moral and political sciences
He said it before Felipe VI in the act on ‘Monarchy in democracy. The United Kingdom during the reign of Elizabeth II (1925-2022)’ organized by the Royal Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, in collaboration with the Network for the Study of Contemporary Monarchies (Remco), which was held today in Madrid.
It is a study session on “the Crown as a factor of stability and integration in many of the great democracies of the world.” In this way, academics and other experts analyze the historical trajectory of the United Kingdom during the seventy years of the reign of Elizabeth II.
Pendás highlighted the “wave of respect and affection towards the Queen” that occurred after her death and explained that “this phenomenon offers ethical, legal, sociological and economic perspectives that could not fail to be analyzed by a multidisciplinary Royal Academy, such as it is ours”.
“The Crown,” he said, referring to the parliamentary monarchy, “a factor of integration and stability, a symbol of the nation and the State, is a constitutive element of that form of government that has known how to adapt to the spirit of the times and thus renders its best service to national sovereignty”.
President of the Royal Academy
The president of the Royal Academy of Moral and Political Sciences recalled that Elizabeth II acceded to the throne in the midst of the Cold War and reported that she exercised “in an exemplary manner the functions that the unwritten Constitution, strictly speaking, not codified, attributes to the Crown. To this philosophy of symbolic forms another legal-constitutional function must be added: in the United Kingdom, the Crown is the State, as a legal person and center for the imputation of acts, since the State is a concept alien to the British tradition that identifies with absolutism.
After carrying out a historical review focused on the United Kingdom, Pendás concluded on “the monarchy in times of political democracy, but also social and media democracy, with all that this means as a potential source of conflicts and controversies, but also of opportunities. The ability to adapt the exercise of its functions to the information society, to globalization, to the challenges of the 21st century is part of the capital accumulated historically by an intelligent institution to make the spirit of the times its own while preserving the best of traditions. . Next May, the coronation of King Carlos III will be a new opportunity to verify the validity of these capital ideas”.
After congratulating the Academy and thanking the previous speeches and the invitation, Felipe VI stressed that Elizabeth II “was history, but as I had the opportunity to express to King Carlos in my words of regret for his death, he was a witness, wrote and shared the events most relevant in the history of our last seven decades”.
“He was, without a doubt, a reference and an example of commitment and dedication for and to his compatriots. But it was also for people from all over the world, due to his absolute commitment in the exercise of his high responsibilities and his deep sense of duty during his reign. An extraordinary legacy that will be remembered throughout generations”.
He recalled that on the day of his proclamation as King he received the first verbal invitation, and it was through the ambassador, to visit the United Kingdom, a trip he made with the Queen in 2017. That, he recalled, was “a show of great affection, attention and generosity, which I have always reciprocated with my admiration, respect and recognition”.
This article is originally published on servimedia.es
