Thank the gods that there was a break in continuity with William of Orange. The House of Stuart needed to go (though it was nicely transitioned out - Bill's wife, Mary II was a Stuart as was their successor, Anne), but the line of descent needed the side step. By and large, the Stuarts were believers in the Divine Right of Monarchs. Charles II ruled as much as he could without Parliament and religion aside, the succeeding Jameses were worse.
Had the Jacobites held the monarchy, the Island of Great Britain (and probably Ireland) would have seen a revolution that made the French Revolution look like a Sunday afternoon tea party.
As to the question of a modern republic. I reckon it would be more expensive in the long run. the immediate family of every president would become effective royalty for the remainder of their lives, so we would see a huge increase of "republican royalty" every time we had an election. The current mob may have jobs for life, but they don't breed THAT fast and only a few of them get anything from the civil list.
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Date: 2015-05-29 02:09 pm (UTC)Had the Jacobites held the monarchy, the Island of Great Britain (and probably Ireland) would have seen a revolution that made the French Revolution look like a Sunday afternoon tea party.
As to the question of a modern republic. I reckon it would be more expensive in the long run. the immediate family of every president would become effective royalty for the remainder of their lives, so we would see a huge increase of "republican royalty" every time we had an election. The current mob may have jobs for life, but they don't breed THAT fast and only a few of them get anything from the civil list.