Political Systems in Fantasy

With the sudden death of Queen Elizabeth II, who was our monarch for my entire lifetime, my thoughts inevitably turn to the ubiquity of kings and queens in fantasy, and what the alternatives might be.

It's easy to see why monarchs are so common in fantasy. Most stories are set in some version of Europe in the period between the fall of the ancient empires of the Near East and Mediterranean, and the rise of industrialism and the revolutions that accompanied it. During this time, monarchy was the norm, and many if not most nations were ruled by a king who was owed fealty by noble lords.

However even within this timespan there were exceptions, particularly in Renaissance Italy, which saw the rise of various small city-states and republics, as well as the theocracy of the Papal States. And in 17th-century England, the first King Charles was executed and replaced by a republic for eleven years. So there is no reason to stick to monarchies on the grounds of historical accuracy.

I guess the main reason for all those kings and queens of fantasy is a romanticisation of monarchy, or at least disillusionment with our own forms of government that make us long for something different in the hope that it might be better. Of course if you have any knowledge of history, you'll know that there were some good, even great, monarchs, but there were also some terrible ones who, whether through outright nastiness or sheer incompetence, made the lives of their subjects very miserable indeed.

I'll confess that my published works mostly feature monarchies, though for what I believe are good reasons: my Elizabethan trilogy would not have felt authentic without Good Queen Bess on the throne, and my upcoming series is set in a secondary world with its roots firmly fixed in Earth legend and folklore, with all the archaic pageantry that entails. On the other hand I have a project on the backburner set in a wholly invented world where I am free to employ any political system I desire - and so monarchies are few and far between.

I guess what I'm saying is that I have no objection to monarchies in fantasy as long as they are used with purpose, rather than as an unimaginative default. Let's see those parliaments and senates, those councils of lords and tribal assemblies. Yes, they'll probably be rife with corruption, but so is your typical king's court. People with power will always want more of it, and there are so many ways for that to play out. Or stick to your kings and queens, but look to history for all the ways that can go wrong, from child monarchs under the thumb of conniving regents, to narcissists who rule from a position of fear.

You know what they say: Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Your story has power, so make sure it's saying what you really want to say!