Unfinished business

Simon Hobson

The 27th of March 2025 marks the 400th anniversary of Charles I’s accession to the throne of Great Britain.

Born in Dunfermline Palace in 1600, Charles Stuart was the second son of James VI of Scotland: who, upon the Union of the Crowns in 1603, became James I of England and, by English law, ruler over Wales.

While the Stuart dynasty embodied the supposed unity of the British Isles, their rule only deepened the fractures within the home nations.

Calamity

From the outset, Charles I’s reign was one of calamity. Within two years, he had embarked on disastrous military campaigns against both France and Spain, squandering resources and credibility.

His insistence on imposing Anglican worship in Scotland led directly to the Bishops’ Wars (1639–1640), which he promptly lost, further draining the coffers of his kingdom.

When his attempt to borrow gold from Spain ended in failure, with his bullion lost to the Dutch, he had no choice but to recall the Westminster Parliament, setting the stage for the conflicts to come.

The forced allegiance of Wales

By 1642, Charles had exhausted the patience of Parliament, plunging Great Britain and Ireland into civil war. Desperate for soldiers, he invoked the ancient Commission of Array, a medieval law last used in earnest over a century before. Under it, Royalist officers forcibly recruited men, particularly from Devon, Cornwall, and Wales, compelling them to fight for a king.

The Wars of the Three Kingdoms (for Wales, annexed in 1283, had long been politically subsumed by England) raged for six years. By the autumn of 1648, Charles had lost both the war and the trust of his subjects. A few short months later, on the morning of 31^st of January 1649, Britain awoke to a republic. The Commonwealth would endure for eleven years before the monarchy was reinstated, yet its brief existence proved a point: kings were not ordained by fate but could be removed by the will of the people.

376 years of change: but not in Wales

Since the beheading of Charles I, the world has witnessed revolutions, reforms, and the rise and fall of empires. Wales and its people have endured and contributed to some of history’s most defining moments: the English Peasants’ Revolt, the Protestant Reformation, the American Declaration of Independence, the Rebecca Riots, the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, the Welsh Church Act, two world wars, the founding of the NHS, and the moon landings. Germany has been divided and reunited.

The European Economic Community, which later morphed into the EU, was created to prevent further wars between European nations. Women gained the right to vote. Ireland declared independence from Great Britian and held its First Dáli, Monarchies have crumbled.

Yet, through all of this, one glaring omission remains: Wales is yet to become a republic.

The anachronism of monarchy

In an age where democracy, equality, and human dignity are championed, the existence of a hereditary monarchy as the head of the United Kingdom, and by extension, Wales, is a paradox.

The pomp of royal pageantry stands in stark contrast to the everyday struggles of ordinary citizens – people waiting months for NHS appointments, choosing between heating and food or having to drive roads with ever more potholes.

The idea that control of a nation can be inherited, rather than earned and gifted by that nation’s citizens, flies in the face of the principles upon which modern Welsh society ought to be built.

In parts of Wales, the emotional ties to royal institutions, of obsequiousness, run deep, but doesn’t the yearning for justice, equality, and human dignity run deeper still?

Supporters of the monarchy argue for tradition, yet they ignore the damage inflicted by entrenched hierarchy, privilege, and patronage.

The monarchy is not just a quaint relic; it is a symbol of systemic inequality. Monarchy is a constant reminder of exclusion, a testament to a structure that insists some lives are inherently more valuable than others.

 A Republic of Wales

A republic does not mean revolution. It means evolution. For Wales to become a republic is to ensure that those who represent our nation to the world, do so not by accident of birth, but by the consent of the people. It means accountability, transparency, and the right of Welsh citizens to shape their own destiny.

History shows that monarchies can modernise, yet even the most progressive remain rooted in privilege. As the 21st century unfolds, the question is not whether the monarchy can survive, but whether it should.

On the 27th of March 2025, two years and 199 days will have passed since the current king Charles of England ascended to the throne.

Let us collectively agree that Charles III, is the last English king, the last monarch, to be placed at the head of our nation.

It is time that the citizens of Wales awake to their own Republic.