Elementi per uno studio dell'istituzione monarchica britannica: l'attività pubblica all'estero di Elizabeth II tra il 1952 e il 1972

This research project wants to give a meaningful account of the role of the Queen in the foreign policy from the beginning of Her Majesty's reign in 1952 to 1972 (date of the United Kingdom's entry in the European Community). The shape of the Monarchy has often been outlined describing Her Majesty's biographical events, but in this way a research following an institutional point of view has always been left out. Instead, this type of research could enable to understand with more clarity the real contribution of the Crown in the British constitutional system. The necessity to investigate the role of the Queen does not come only from the absence of adequate and comprehensive studies about it, but derives from the belief that Elizabeth II — despite her full respect of the constitutional practices — had effectively guided Her realms through those difficult years which have seen the dismantlement of the Empire, the birth of the New Commonwealth, the tortuous path towards the European integration and the terrible and dangerous tensions caused by the Cold War. The role of Her Majesty as Head of State and as Head of the Commonwealth, as well the tenacious practice of the three fundamental rights enunciated by Bagehot — the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, the right to warn —, make this research more than motivated. Moreover, the particular attention dedicated to the trips and the visits of the Queen shows that these moments have more than a symbolical value in the international relations. As the nature of this project is purely innovative, this research has been carried out using mainly archives sources.

La monarchia britannica – soprattutto quando viene considerata nella sua evo-luzione istituzionale contemporanea – rappresenta un oggetto di studio poco affermato sia in Italia sia, sorprendentemente, nei paesi di stampo anglosassone;il presente studio si pone l'obiettivo di analizzare la figura di Elizabeth II dal punto di vista dello svolgimento dell’attività di rappresentanza all’estero e nei paesi membri del Commonwealth durante il primo ventennio del suo lunghissimo regno. L’attività pubblica della Regina – i viaggi e le visite che compie e riceve ogni anno all’estero su suggerimento del Governo e con l’aiuto organizzativo del Foreign Office e nei paesi del Commonwealth su invito dei paesi stessi – rappresenta, infatti, una lente di ingrandimento particolarmente significativa e mai utilizzata prima per l’analisi della Monarchia.