How do you feel about the British Royal family?
They are on the news all the time. More often than not, for all the wrong reasons.
And yet (or maybe because of this), we can't get enough of them. We want to know more and get as much information as possible about the Royals' personal lives.
The Monarch is a conservative institute
Did you get a chance to stand at the gates of Buckingham palace?
I remember seeing Buckingham palace and the Queen's guard for the first time. It felt like watching a tale out of our history books. I was fascinated by this ancient tradition and the many old ceremonies kept for hundreds of years. I was thirsty for more. Consequently, I visited the Tower of London and was mesmerised by it. It felt as if history is coming to life in front of my eyes.
I was amazed to hear the story of the black ravens who protected the crown. Then I watched the crown jewels and couldn't believe the level of wealth of the royal family and their lifestyle. For someone like me, a girl that grew up on a farm, it was a life from a fairy tale. Did you know that Queen's Elizabeth II crown is estimated to be worth around 5 billion pounds? And this is only one crown out of her many jewels!
While visiting London tower, I learnt a lot about the royal family's history, including the stories behind the famous prisoners of London Tower. Two of these prisoners were two queens – Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. They were both wives of King Henry VIII. King Henry imprisoned and executed them.
The royals and status quo
If you are not familiar with King Henry VIII's approach to marriage life, here is a summary –
King Henry VIII wasn't happy with his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. She didn't manage to produce a male heir to the throne, so King Henry wanted to marry another woman. But he couldn't just get a divorce and remarry. Back then, the way out of a marriage was to get an annulment. And the way to get an annulment was by convincing the church that this marriage was invalid. However, getting the church's approval was difficult, even for a king. The catholic church wasn't in a hurry to cancel marriages and wasn't willing to give the king what he wanted.
This little hurdle didn't stop King Henry VIII from getting what he was after. Although representing a very conservative institute, this king decided it's time to break the status quo and progress with the times.
Therefore, he founded the Church of England and appointed himself as the head of this new church. (It's a great way to solve his problem, isn't it?)
This set the stage for King Henry's infamous series of marriages and divorces. He ended up having six wives, of which two he executed.
The royals changing relationship with divorce
The complex relationship between the Royal family and divorce didn't end there. It was only the beginning. Historically, divorce was a huge no-no for the royal family and all British citizens. Therefore, even after King Henry VIII founded the Church of England, divorce within the Royal family was frowned upon.
Furthermore, the approach towards marriage and divorce within the royal family is the foundation for a few rules they must adhere to.
One of the rules they have to follow is the Royal Marriages Act which dictates the conditions under which members of the British royal family could get married.
Here are a couple of examples of what can happen if a Royal doesn't want to follow the rules-
King Edward VIII was forced to choose between marrying the woman he loved, a divorced woman, and being the king of the UK. King Edward decided to abdicate the throne to marry the love of his life- Wallis Simpson.
Early in Queen Elizabeth's II reign, she forbade her younger sister, Princess Margaret, from marrying divorced royal staffer Peter Townsend.
Fast forward a few decades, Britain has a king who is divorced himself and married to a divorced woman. How did that happen?
Rules are there to break them
The reason this could have happened is by breaking the rules.
Even the Monarch Institute, which symbolises conservativism, tradition and status quo, is progressing with the times and constantly breaking the status quo.
King Charles III can be the king of the UK because of an acknowledgment and acceptance that times are constantly changing, and what was right yesterday is not suitable for today. The Royal family has understood that the rules exist so we can change them as our world changes.
The great lesson we can learn from King Charles III is that if the Monarch can progress with time and break the status quo, we can do the same with our education system.
It is time for us to re-imagine our education system. Step away from what exists, from what is, and imagine a new education system.
It is time for us to break the status quo and create for our children the learning environment they need to thrive in the 21st century.
I can support you on this journey if you want to create an innovative learning environment in your classroom.
Therefore, if you want to amplify your impact, and create an engaging and enriching learning environment, let's start a conversation about the future of education - ortal@glitteringminds.com.au.
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