Original version

BBC World Service Online

The Forum

Documentaries

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

The programme that explains the present by exploring the past

The programme that explains the present by exploring the past.

The Forum: 

Discussion & Talk

16/04/2011

16/04/2011 GMT

BBC World Service - The Forum, 16/04/2011

Where does the idea of royalty fit into our fast changing century?

Some 20% of all countries are still governed by a monarch of some kind - what makes monarchy so resilient?

There is a festive air in London, as the city prepares for the spectacle of a Royal Wedding at the end of this month - we are devoting this week's Forum to a look at where Kings and Queens fit in to our modern era. 

Is there still such a thing as a bond between sovereign and subject? Do modern monarchies need to update themselves? Or is the link with history the key to staying popular? 

Bridget Kendall is joined by Bangladeshi writer Tahmima Anam, British historian Justin Champion and Australian psychologist Dorothy Rowe.

Illustration by Emily Kasriel: The Prince ceremoniously marries a commoner, touching his subject and backed by generations of monarchs before him.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Forum

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service Online

About BBC World Service