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Monarchy, Church and State

Our work in this field began with Church and State, looking at the implications of disestablishment. Then In 2016 we published a report about the role and future of the Monarchy. This led on to work on the next Accession and Coronation, looking in particular at the Accession and Coronation oaths. Our latest project is a comparative study of the eight parliamentary monarchies in Europe, starting with a conference, and leading to the publication of an edited book in 2021.

The Constitution Unit’s research in this area is led by Professor Robert Hazell and Dr Bob Morris and falls into the following areas.

Research

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Monarchies in Europe

In March 2019 we held a conference to discuss the role of monarchy in a parliamentary democracy, with representatives from Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the UK. The papers are being edited into a book to be published by Hart in 2021.

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Accession and Coronation

This project began by looking at the Accession and Coronation oaths, but broadened out into other aspects. We held two private seminars with groups of experts, and in May 2018 published two reports, one on the oaths, and the other on planning the Accession and Coronation.

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Future of the Monarchy

To mark the Queen’s 90th birthday, we published a report in 2016 about the role and future of the Monarchy. We have also written reports on the next Accession and Coronation; and a chapter in Constitutional Futures Revisited about the Reign of Charles III.

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Church and State

Our three year research project into Church and State explored the realities of establishment, and what would be involved if the Church of England were disestablished. It concluded that disestablishment will only happen if the Church wants it: the government is unlikely to make the first move.

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Recent Publications

Planning for Accession and Coronation > 

Swearing in the new King: Accession Declaration and Coronation Oaths >

The Queen at 90 >

Monarchy, Church and State on the Blog

The Constitution Unit
School of Public Policy
Department of Political Science
University College London
29-31 Tavistock Square
London WC1H 9QU

Tel: +44 (0)20 7679 4977

Email: Constitution@ucl.ac.uk

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