In 1603 the Scottish and English monarchies were united and at the start of the 18th century the monarchy of the United Kingdom was deprived of the decision-making privilege it once enjoyed. For the purposes of this essay, I intend to examine the many different arguments for and against the abolition of the British monarchy. Supporters strongly argue that the monarchy symbolizes all that is British throughout Great Britain and the Commonwealth realms. However, contrary to this, the monarchy receives exorbitant financial aid from British taxpayers to maintain the monarchy. Does the monarchy have its place in the 21st century? The monarchy symbolizes unity and traditions, which is unique and valuable to the nation. A monarch universally known as head of the Commonwealth, she is voluntarily recognized as head of state of 54 independent countries (The British Monarchy, 2013). The Queen of modern Britain is an icon that cannot simply be swapped for an elected politician. The British monarchy has played a pivotal importance in British history, forming an integral part of our national identity. The Queen reigned for 61 years and established a link between the past, present and future. This is exactly what a politician cannot offer the public; for example, Tony Blair, before 1997, was unknown at the state level, as he had done nothing significant for the British public. The traditions of the monarchy are famous not only in the United Kingdom but throughout the world. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II rules sixteen other countries, including Great Britain. Although the Queen enjoys many privileges as head of state, this comes at a personal cost. Her private life is limited because she is constantly scrutinized since the middle of the newspaper ...... y, 2013). Glasgow Central has one of the highest percentages of children living below the poverty line in the UK, a shocking 37% (End Child Poverty, 2013). Clearly, levels of poverty and deprivation would fall significantly with an annual cash investment of £33.3 million. Similarly, diverting money from the monarchy to statutory areas such as health would significantly reduce cuts to hospitals across the UK. “More than 5,400 nursing jobs have been cut since the coalition came to power, as NHS authorities tighten budgets following an unprecedented downturn in health spending. » (The Independent, 2013). Money invested in the health sector would help reduce waiting lists, increase the number of beds currently available, leading to better care for sick patients and even saving lives, because this money would be available to facilitate medical research..