In 2001, a shocking event occurred in the South Asian country of Nepal, where the tenth monarch of the Shah dynasty, Birendra, who ruled Nepal for more than two hundred years, and 11 members of the royal family, including his queen, princes and princesses, were shot and killed.
Nepal's abolition of the monarchy seems to reveal a message that the monarchy still faces major challenges in the modern era of history, and perhaps in the near future, there will be countries that abolish the monarchy. There are not many countries in the world that still practice monarchy, and there are currently nearly thirty countries such as the United Kingdom, Spain, Japan, and Thailand.
Elizabeth II, the current monarch of the British Windsor dynasty
Of all the countries that still practiced a monarchy, Britain was one of the most stable. In recent years, relatively negative things have happened frequently in the British royal family, so there are rumors that many British people demand the abolition of the monarchy, but in fact, the British monarchy is very stable and cannot be easily abolished.
Why is the British monarchy so stable in modern times? All this is due to the great contribution of the Windsor dynasty to British history.
Elizabeth II of the Windsor Dynasty with her husband Prince Philip
In 1901, the famous Queen Victoria I died, and the throne was inherited by the eldest son and Crown Prince Edward VII, because Edward VII followed his father's surname, so victoria I's Hanoverian dynasty ended and the Saxon Coburg Gotha dynasty began, and this way of changing dynasties with surnames was the main way of changing dynasties in European history.
In 1910, Edward VII died after only 9 years as king, and his successor was his second son and crown prince, George V, thus becoming the second king of the Saxon Coburg Gotha dynasty.
George V, founding monarch of the Windsor Dynasty of England
Originally, the Saxon Coburg Gotha dynasty would last a long time, but only in the past 7 years, that is, in 1917 AD, which was the most intense time in the First World War, Britain was always defeated by Germany on the battlefield, resulting in the British people's extreme hatred of Germany, the British royal family with surnames from Germany was also hated by the British, the British nation fell into a kind of uneasiness, and even there were calls for the overthrow of the British royal family, the abolition of the monarchy, and so on.
At this critical moment, George V made a great decision by abolishing the German surname Saxon Coburg Gotha, which had been passed down for many years, and changing the name to "Windsor" after a castle in England called Windsor. George V's decision touched millions of British people in an instant, all the uneasiness disappeared, all the calls against the British royal family also disappeared, and inspired the British to completely defeat the Germans in the First World War.
In the manner of the dynastic succession of European history, George V changed his surname to Windsor, which means that the Saxon Coburg Gotha dynasty ended and the Windsor dynasty began.
The King of the Windsor Dynasty who made great contributions to English history was not only George V, but also George V's second son, George VI. In January 1936, George V died and was succeeded by his eldest son and Crown Prince Edward VIII. Since Edward VIII inherited the throne, he was suspected of being pro-fascist Germany by the British because of his marriage to Mrs. Simpson, and the British royal family was once again in crisis, which ended with Edward VIII's abdication in December 1936, and the successor to the throne was George VI.
Not long after George VI succeeded to the throne, World War II broke out. In World War II, fascist Germany bombed Britain indiscriminately, and the whole of Britain, including the capital London and other cities, was bombed to pieces, and on several occasions the royal palace was blown up, fortunately, King George VI and other members of the royal family were not injured, but they had caused great panic to the British.
King George VI of the Windsor Dynasty with his wife Queen Elizabeth
For the sake of safety, the British advocated that George VI evacuate England with the royal family and take refuge in a safe place, but George VI made a great decision, he refused to evacuate England, and often took Queen Elizabeth and other members of the royal family to inspect the dangerous front, encourage and comfort the injured British, and delivered a famous speech "With the People", indicating that he stood by Britain.
George VI's decision won the hearts of all the British and became the spiritual pillar of the British fight back against fascist Germany. It turned out that George VI, as the spiritual pillar of the British, won the final victory for the country and the nation. The Windsor dynasty was able to continue and rule England steadily, and George VI made a great contribution.
George VI, Queen Elizabeth, and two daughters
In 1952, George VI died, and the eldest daughter and Crown Prince Elizabeth II succeeded to the throne, the current Queen of England. Elizabeth II was an approachable and amiable Queen, who reigned for more than sixty years and was very popular and loved by the British, and also had great prestige throughout the world.
Therefore, in summary, the monarchy is very stable in England, at least in the short term there is no crisis and possibility of abolition, all of which is the result of the efforts of the monarchs of the Windsor Dynasty, George V, George VI, Elizabeth II, especially George V and George VI who made great contributions to British history.
The royal coat of arms of the Windsor dynasty that rules The United Kingdom to this day