Sir Tom Devine: I don't see the succession as threat to the monarchy

Sir Tom Devine, who was knighted by the late Queen in 2015, said the new king would model his reign on his mother’s.

And while he believed Charles III will never be as popular a monarch in Scotland as Queen Elizabeth, he did not think his succession would pose a threat to the institution of the monarchy.

The Herald on Sunday asked Sir Tom for his views on what may lie ahead for the new monarch in terms of the Union with both high levels of support for Scottish independence and rising support for Irish unity.

He said he believed the royal situation would be 'peripheral' to the future of the Union adding that Charles would follow his mother in holding Scotland in high regard and respecting the country as a historic nation.

Sir Tom believed such an approach was in contrast with that taken by the UK Government and one which began under former Prime Minister Theresa May and furthered by her successor Boris Johnson.

“It’s not really within his gift to sway opinion,” said Sir Tom.

"I think the royal situation will be peripheral [to the future of the Union]. It won't be irrelevant. 

“But what will be important will be the policies of government. What’s happened in the UK since the last [independence] referendum and began to happen when Theresa May was prime minister and accelerated under Johnson – we have been moving from a union of consent to a union of coercion. 

“One of the Queen’s advantages was that she regarded Scotland as a historic nation. The current [UK] Government doesn’t have that.

“It’s treating Scotland as a regional appendage, like north Britain rather than a historic nation.

“Like his mother, Charles III will have the same respect for Scotland as one of the important nations, if not the second-most important nation, in the UK.”

Opinionated prince
DURING his time as prince, the new monarch raised eyebrows for expressing opinions on political issues, most recently privately describing the UK Government’s policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda as “appalling”.

But Sir Tom, professor emeritus of history at Edinburgh University, believed that in his new role as monarch Charles would not seek to interfere in politics and would remain strictly neutral on political issues as the constitution demands. It is convention that the monarch does not vote or stand for election.

“I have been looking at his recent announcements over the last two or three years and the concern that he might be a much more controversial monarch. But in a recent interview he gave he admitted the concerns of people and said ‘When I become King I will not behave the same way I did as Prince of Wales’,” said Sir Tom.

“So I think there is absolutely no sense of him rocking the boat if you can take him at his word.”

Sir Tom noted the King’s connections to Scotland including the important influence on him of the late Queen Mother, Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, who was born and grew up in Glamis Castle in Angus.

He said: “As far as the Scottish dimension is concerned I would say he has been in the Highlands of Scotland more regularly even than his mother. He was influenced in a major way by his granny, the former Queen Mother.

“Because of her Scottish aristocratic background, she had a tremendous love of Scotland. 

“At her funeral the steady beat of the Scottish pipes and drums was a strong feature. 

“I think the royal connection with Scotland and, in particular, Highland Scotland will be maintained under King Charles III’s reign.”

The Herald on Sunday asked what challenges faced the new monarch especially as he was succeeding a Queen who had reigned for more than 70 years and who was popular all over the world, even among those who did not agree with the institution of the monarchy.

Sir Tom said: “In the short run, over the next couple of years, the nations of the UK will circle round and support the royal family given the grief they are going through.

“I don’t think there is any potential destabilisation or threat to the monarchy in the short run. I’m not confident there is any threat to it in the medium term either and perhaps even in the long term.”

Comparisions
TURNING to how King Charles will be viewed in comparison to his mother, Sir Tom said coming to the throne at the age of 73 (the Queen was 25) presented difficulties in terms of popularity and legacy.

“But the thing to bear in mind is that Charles, who is the same age as me, is entering this enormously responsible role. How can he compete with his mother?

“He certainly won’t reign for as long, so it could be a short-lived monarchy.”

Discussing the late Queen’s reign, Sir Tom added: “No other monarch has followed through the coronation oath to serve the people of the country as enthusiastically and as effectively as she has done. It’s been a tour de force of a performance.

“It is a very hard act to follow and I don’t think he will ever achieve anything like the popularity of his mother.

“However, I don’t see the succession of King Charles III as a threat to the monarchy. Obviously the best way to behave would be to completely follow his mother’s model.

“Do the job to the best of his ability, thoroughly and competently.”

Sir Tom said the current monarch and his mother had an advantage at the moment compared to their predecessors as they were held in higher regard than UK political leaders.

“I am certain that is one of the reasons why the late Queen was held in such high esteem.

“That is compared to some of the people who had their hands on executive authority in the UK, she was way above them in terms of the moral high ground,” he said.

Queen’s grief

HE noted how the Queen sat alone at the funeral of her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, in April last year at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, in accordance with Covid rules while parties were held in breach of pandemic restrictions at Number 10.

“The big advantage the constitutional monarch has is that they are above politics and therefore they don’t get the brickbats that come the way of politicians,” said Sir Tom.

“And especially given the press about being an interfering individual, King Charles will do his damnedest to avoid that.”

King Charles will be the first to take the regal name for almost 450 years.

Charles I was an unpopular king who reigned for 24 years from 1625 until his execution aged 49 in 1649. He was born in Fife in 1600 to James VI of Scotland and Anne of Denmark, and took the throne at 25 after the death of his elder brother 13 years earlier left him as heir.

His belief in the divine right of kings, the notion that royal family members are pre-ordained by God to inherit the crown, saw him lock horns with Parliament upon his succession.

Charles I dissolved Parliament a number of times when faced with opposition, effectively ruling alone at various times.

Ultimately, his dispute with Parliament led to him going on trial and being convicted of treason. He was beheaded in January 1649.

Historic invite

AFTER his execution, the Scottish Parliament proclaimed Charles II King on February 5, 1649 and while England became a republic under Oliver Cromwell, Scots invited Charles to come to Scotland. He agreed to Presbyterian demands that he sign the National Covenant.

He was crowned Charles II at Scone on January 1, 1651, (this turned out to be the last such coronation at Scone). With a Scottish army, Charles II invaded England but was defeated by Cromwell at the Battle of Worcester in 1651.

He escaped into exile and returned to England in 1660 at the age of 30 to reclaim the throne, reigning until 1685.

Reflecting on the reigns of Charles I and Charles II, Sir Tom said: “Charles I lacked political nous and was guilty of the betrayal of the promises he made to the parliamentary party. He got himself into deep trouble.

“Charles II was a popular monarch. In the 1660s, when Charles returned there was a kind of relief about going back to the old ways [after the period of puritanism under Cromwell].

“Scotland had been conquered by Cromwell between 1652 and 1660, the only time in Scotland’s history when it was ever conquered, so you can imagine the celebrations in Old Scotia.

“People were quite amused by Charles II’s lifestyle and he was known as the ‘merry monarch’.”