Is Britain truly a democracy, or are the unelected members of the
monarchy the true political power players?
The Power behind the
Throne attempts to unravel this potential conspiracy in which public
policy may be swayed by the wealthiest elite.
The
mainstream media may choose to romanticize it, but the existence
of a monarchy is nevertheless
a troubling and antiquated structure.
In the 17th century, Britain undertook a grisly civil war in an
attempt to win their democracy separate from the monarchy.
Ever
since that time - officially, at least - a king or queen's scope of
influence and power has been severely limited at best, especially in
comparison to the country's democratically elected members of
Parliament.
The citizenry are assured that the British monarchy has
no real political pull in the everyday functions of their
representative government.
Yet power is often synonymous with wealth, and the members of the
Royal family are among the richest in the country.
The Queen's
fortune alone is estimated at somewhere in the neighborhood of $350
million pounds.
Their ascensions, which are earned only by family
relation, are further flattered by a slew of privileges not afforded
to others, including their ability to reap tax-free profits from a
sizable seven billion dollar land portfolio and to avoid paying
corporation taxes on various business interests.
As detailed in the film, the monarchy's role in manipulating public
policy making became clear with the release of the "black spider
memos", a series of long-winded written communications between
Prince Charles and assorted government ministers and politicians.
These letters contained detailed viewpoints on a variety of
political issues, and persuasive recommendations from the Prince of
Wales on how these issues may best be handled.
The sycophancy with
which these letters were received and responded to by
representatives in the government makes their influence
self-evident.
According to the information presented in the film, the monarchy's
sphere of influence doesn't stop there. They have their hands in a
great number of additional avenues from international diplomacy
efforts to arms sales.
