Our tragic crisis of dignity

Walter Bagehot, author of the authoritative 1867 book, The English Constitution, argued that the British government consisted of two essential parts—the dignified and the efficient. Bagehot defined the monarchy as the dignified part of government, and the monarch’s function was to embody and exemplify the dignity that is essential to social order. The dignified part of the government provided the authority and stability of the realm, setting an example for all people, regardless of social rank, to follow. Of course, such an arrangement requires a dignified monarch and monarchy.

Parliament and government agencies were identified as the efficient part. Bagehot argued that if the British people ever saw Parliament at work, they would be appalled. A modern government must be efficient, Bagehot recognized, and the making of laws is not a tidy process. As a matter of fact, the entire enterprise of politics can be downright tawdry. In Britain, the monarch is the head of state, while the prime minister is the head of government. If you get a chance to watch the British parliament at work, you will see the contrast. I must admit that I enjoy sitting in the gallery at Westminster as prime ministers and others debate. Decades ago, I had the rich experience of watching Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at work during various parliamentary debates. Her wit and eloquence, matched with rare courage, made every argument an event. Mrs. Thatcher (later Lady Thatcher) also had a temper, and she gladly revealed it in hot debate. As her enemies discovered, she could be elegant, but she was devastatingly efficient.

Queen Elizabeth II, however was exceedingly dignified. She understood her role in the monarchy and her role in history. During her long reign, she embodied the nation and she felt it, lived it, and bore it all with nearly unbreakable serenity and grace. She was the essence of dignity, as was her father, King George VI, and his father, King George V. All three understood that the monarchy would be fatally wounded if the monarch lacked dignity and respect. The crisis of King Edward VIII’s immorality and abdication early in the 20th century was a major turning point for the British crown.

The current monarch, King Charles III, now makes a serious attempt to be dignified, but the royal scandals of his decades as Prince of Wales are impossible to forget. The breakdown of his marriage to Princess Diana and his long-term adulterous affair with Lady Camilla Parker-Bowles (including the release of grotesque pornographic exchanges) seriously undermined his dignity. Now, of course, Camilla is queen. The scandal, however, is always there.

Now, of course, the scandal surrounding the monarchy is hotter than ever, with the former Prince Andrew, Duke of York going down in a horrifying involvement with Jeffrey Epstein and a succession of women. By late last year the situation had reached the point that King Charles understood that Andrew, his brother, had to go. He was stripped of his princely title and his ducal status, becoming for the first time in his life, merely Andrew Albert Christian Edward Mountbatten-Windsor. But, if the king thought the scandal would go away, it has only grown hotter with the release of new material. It’s not going to stop. Honestly, it’s now hard to imagine how the monarchy can allow Andrew to remain in the country. The king knows that dignity is running out fast, as is the patience of the public.

In Norway, the crown faces a series of challenges and scandals. The release of recent materials related to criminal pedophile Jeffrey Epstein reveals that Crown Princess Mette-Marit had a long friendship with Epstein, who was already known as a criminal sex offender. In an unrelated scandal, the princess’s own son (who is not the son of the crown prince) is now facing trial on multiple charges of criminal sexual activity. The crown princess was known to have had a succession of relationships with convicted criminals when she married the heir to the Norwegian throne.

Once again, a crisis of dignity, and the subversion of any sense of moral order. To put the matter bluntly, multiple monarchies now face a royal mess, which is rolling into a crisis. There is no reason to spend millions of dollars supporting an essentially dignified part of government that refuses to live dignified lives. Do the people want their national identity to be represented by this behavior? In the modern age, how can royals get away with scandal on this scale? The answer is simple—monarchy cannot survive if it is not dignified.

That brings us home to the United States, where President Donald Trump seems not to care that the presidency is, in our constitutional order, the union of the dignified and the efficient. The presidency, and individual presidents, cannot lead without moral authority and presidential dignity. We now know that a good many presidents committed scandalous and immoral acts, even in the White House. I will not attempt to offer a comprehensive list, but just think of the loss of dignity experienced by President Bill Clinton after his sexual escapades were exposed.

The appearance of disgusting images of former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama in a recent video posted on Truth Social is the latest evidence of a White House losing dignity fast. I am thankful for so much of what President Trump has done. Furthermore, I want to see him successful in reaching so many of his stated aims. Does he not understand that undermining his own dignity simultaneously undermines his personal political authority? Even the president’s most ardent supporters know that the racist images (drawing on Darwinian tropes) were a horrible mistake—no matter how they got posted.

President Trump needs to understand that efficiency in the White House cannot long survive the loss of dignity. Those of us who want the president to be successfully efficient, need to be the very people who call on President Trump to recover the dignified part of leadership—and fast.

Editor’s note: This column has been corrected to reflect that Crown Princess Mette-Marit is from Norway.