Parliamentary democracy in Great Britain has been able to survive the most catastrophic stages of contemporary European history without breaking its continuity. Its governing system has given it a flexibility that other countries that are more stuck within their legal framework and constitutional rigor lack. Therefore, when the eccentricity, megalomania or the unpopularity of a politician or public figure starts to become a problem, the system does not hesitate to throw it away and move on to another phase. In the case of Boris Johnson, his Ides of March is just around the corner. In the case of Prince Andrew, sunk the rocky trial where he was accused of sexual assault to minors, Elizabeth II had made it clear in the last few hours that the main aim of the House of Windsor was to ensure her own survival, whoever fell.

Conservative politicians have become the most popular in recent decades, however has managed to emphasize all institutions with his behavior domestic and foreign. He forced the intervention of the Supreme Court when he unilaterally imposed a parliamentary shutdown to implement his Brexit plans. The judges themselves must come up with a law that will protect the queen, who was implicated in Johnson’s abuse of power. He then provokes an uprising in the House of Commons caucuses, when he looks to change the law to save a corrupt MP – Owen Paterson – and, incidentally, protect himself from future investigations. It has been able to drive an emotional and political rift between the UK and the EU that has never happened before. It was not a Brexit divorce, but the deception, half-truths and intimidation with which London managed to manage the development of an agreed separation that has left a rift that will take at least a generation to mend. Finally, the illicit party scandal in Downing Street, while the British were suffering from confinement that would not even allow them to say goodbye to their loved ones, had broken Johnson’s spell. Conservative lawmakers have received countless letters from their voters expressing anger, frustration and disappointment. Politicians who guarantee electoral victory with their charisma and sympathies have become a problem they will have to get rid of sooner or later.

The urgency that hit Buckingham Palace was different, though equal or more serious. Elizabeth II today maintains unwavering popularity and citizens and institutions will be turning heads in 2022 to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee, the 70th anniversary of history’s longest reign. But the future of the institution is not guaranteed, unless a new generation eradicates the abuses of past years and once again demonstrates its usefulness. That is why William of England, second in line in succession, had been a decisive part in imposing strict social and public ostracism on his uncle Andrés.