If you want to save democracy, then God save the King

A constitutional monarchy such as ours is ideally placed to make sure that power ultimately resides with the people, not the powerful, writes Susan Carter.

On Sunday I had the great, and unexpected, honour to meet King Charles III. It was a marvellous experience that I will treasure for the rest of my life.

Not because of Charles the man – because I really do not know him at all. But because of Charles the King, and everything which he represents.

A system of government, founded on the rule of law, with a strong democracy which protects the rights of all, and a clear separation of powers so that there are always pathways for accountability.

A system which we inherited as one of the great benefits of English settlement, but which we have developed and made uniquely our own.

As our King, Charles stands in a line which stretches back through Magna Carta to King Canute. It was Canute who tried to demonstrate to his subjects that even the power of the King is subject to the laws of God, and the laws of nature.

His Majesty King Charles III and Queen Camilla turn sausages at a barbecue at Parramatta Park. Picture: Jonathan Ng

For over 800 years since then, British – and now Australian – systems of government have been refining and developing that power sharing between monarch (or executive government), the people, and their representatives in parliament. And our common law courts have been solving disputes, providing justice and developing a jurisprudence which supports the rule of law which we all enjoy.

We are fortunate to live in a constitutional monarchy, with King Charles as our current monarch. The order of those words is very important. We are not a monarchy, where the King wields absolute power.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the King share a joke. Picture: Saeed Khan-Pool/Getty Images

Rather, that power is vested in the Constitution, and the King, or his representatives in NSW and Australia, exercise any power that they have subject to the Constitution. And that power really takes two forms: a unifying, ceremonial power.

Apolitical leadership in times of joy and of sorrow, which can bring us together as one, and which stands aside from the party politics of the day. Leadership dignified by the examples of service and self over others, which King Charles III and other royals constantly provide. And the power of an umpire – very occasionally needed over our history – most recently in November 1975, when that power was exercised to hand the dispute back to the people to decide by way of an election.

Because in a constitutional monarchy such as ours, that is where the real power resides – with the people who elect governments to represent them, and who hold their governments to account at each election.

We are celebrating this year both the 200th anniversary of the Supreme Court of NSW, and the 200th anniversary of the Legislative Council, the first parliamentary institution on the Australian continent. Both have developed and changed over the last 2 centuries (I certainly wasn’t qualified for membership in the first Legislative Council!) but both owe their heritage to the British parliamentary institutions which the King represents. And it was wonderful to be in the presence of the monarch – the head, and the heritage, of our strong system of government.

God Save our Democracy, and God Save the King!

Susan Carter is a Liberal member of the NSW Legislative Council

Originally published as If you want to save democracy, then God save the King