Royal consent

IS THERE really a democratic paradox in having a constitutional monarch as head of a modern European democracy? I do not have any problem with “Elizabeth, Queen of Scots”, indicative of the monarchy being retained for “so long as the Scottish people want it”.

As far as I am aware, the doctrine of “the consent of the governed” was devised by Duns Scotus in medieval Scotland, when he was asked to opine on the constitutional position of a king in Scotland. His work was later considered by Thomas Jefferson in drafting the Declaration of Independence in the United States. There is nothing wrong with applying past to present, if a doctrine is still relevant.

Shirley Seaton

Eskmill Villas

Musselburgh