A biographer of the British royal family has declared the monarchy “absurd”.
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Gyles Brandreth – a former Conservative MP who has written books on both Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles – believes the whole concept of royalty is a strange invention.
He is quoted in the Daily Express as saying: “Monarchy is absurd, it’s completely absurd, the whole notion you know, of saying ‘Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness’. The very phrases are absurd. Walking backwards in front of somebody is absurd.
“You wouldn’t necessarily invent royalty if it didn’t exist but since it is there it turns out to be quite useful. A lot of people feel they are given validation by the Queen when she comes to see what they are doing. And I think it is quite nice to have someone who is above politics, away from politics, who is kind of a figurehead.”
In 2004, Brandreth published a book on the queen’s marriage to Prince Philip entitled Philip and Elizabeth: Portrait of a marriage. He then released another royal tome in 2005 called Charles and Camilla: Portrait of a love affair.
The book detailed Prince Charles’ three-decade affair with Camilla, who he eventually married in 2005, eight years after the death of his ex-wife Princess Diana.
Camilla was famously described by Diana as the “third person” in her marriage to Charles.
