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Should Queen Elizabeth II Step Down?
In April, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, at the age of 75, abdicated, followed this week by the 79-year-old King Albert II of Belgium, who declared he was too old. At 87, Queen Elizabeth II shows no sign of stepping down, and polls show the British people aren¡¯t asking her to. Still, as the British royal family welcomes the third in line to the throne, is it time for the queen to go?
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1. Britons Like the Queen. Why Push Her Out?
Dutch and Belgian monarchs routinely hand over the throne, but the younger generation quickly becomes as staid as the elders were.
2. The British Royal Family Needs Some Vices
By 2036, a century after Edward VIII's abdication crisis, we may be able to have a less hysterical national conversation about monarchs stepping down.
3. A Retirement Policy Would Undermine the Crown
Unless you¡¯re anti-monarchist, you should sit back and take pleasure in the twilight years of Elizabeth¡¯s reign.
4. Enough With the ¡®New Normal Royals¡¯
A retirement policy would be nice, but in the meantime, I wish they would all stop acting like they're just like us.
Sample Essay
Britons Like the Queen. Why Push Her Out?
A royal retirement policy? I say "No!" Not yet. Why rush to make Prince Charles the king? When the royal family is trying to be cool and relevant, he¡¯s the guy who really does have a liveried valet squeeze toothpaste onto his brush every morning.
Because Charles is such an unpopular figure in Britain, the greater the delay to his reign, the better for Britain. At 64 years old he¡¯s already the longest heir-apparent in British history. If the queen follows her mother and lives till 101, Charles would be 78 when he moves back into Buckingham Palace.
If there was a way to bypass Charles and put second-in-line William on the throne with his much-admired Kate at his side, then there may well be a real argument to introduce a royal retirement scheme. With a young and popular king and queen, Britain really could be seen as the capital of cool. The British brand would bring in billions, and that¡¯s what "The Firm," as Prince Philip has described the monarchy, is all about.
But Queen Elizabeth II, head of state of 15 countries besides the United Kingdom, from Canada to Tuvalu, really does appear to be, if not loved, then at least appreciated. Why fix what ain¡¯t broke?
On reaching a certain age, the monarchs in the Netherlands and Belgium routinely hand over the throne to the younger generation, but the younger generation quickly becomes as staid as the elders were. So youth may be no panacea.
And would Britain really want to give up on the hard-earned wisdom of its elderly monarch? After all, few people know as much about horses as Queen Elizabeth.
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