I’m sure you’ve all heard the news about Her Majesty The Queen Of The Netherlands’s plan to abdicate from the throne. In the Netherlands, this is more-or-less common practise for the Sovereign to abdicate from the throne in old age. In light of this announcement from the Queen of the Netherlands, it really does beg the question – would Queen Elizabeth II ever do such a thing?
Whilst abdication may be the norm for Monarchs in the Netherlands, in Britain the case is somewhat different. The Netherlands Monarchy is not affixed to any religion. In Britain, the Monarch is also the head of the Church Of England, meaning the role of Monarch is a heavily spiritual one.
The traditional belief is that the British Monarch is ‘chosen by God’ to fulfil a role and that this role is for life. The Dutch Monarchy is not religious and the office of Monarch is more a governmental post, therefore, just like for any Government official, resignation from office is always a graceful and dignified way of bowing out.
Many royal observers note that it is a virtual impossibility that Her Britannic Majesty would ever abdicate from the throne, mostly due to her religious convictions and connection with the established Church and partly due to the abdication crisis that befell the Monarchy in 1936 as a result of Her Britannic Majesty’s uncle abdicating to marry his lover, whom the Church would not allow whilst he was Sovereign.
To us, it is out of the question for Her Majesty to abdicate the British throne. In Britain, the religious connections make it a job for life. On her 21st birthday, Her Britannic Majesty made a speech to the entire Commonwealth saying these exact words:
I declare before you all, that my whole life, whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and to the service of our great Imperial family, to which we all belong.
The Queen would never be one to go back on her words. The promise she made on her 21st birthday is a promise made, as she sees it, in front of God. As a result of this fairly conclusive evidence, we’re pretty much 100% confident that our Queen will never abdicate.
She swore an oath to her family, if by abdicating to put William on the throne shortly after his 33rd birthday will benefit her imperial family; so shall it be.