Daniel Harte

Political commentator and self-described reluctant monarchist. Has strong opinions about the institution, its scandals, its failures, and its future — and absolutely no patience for spin. His pieces regularly start arguments. He considers that a success. "The monarchy survives on myth. Let's look at the facts."

He Stopped a Coup. He Couldn’t Stop Himself.

Crown Chronicles: history that still shapes the throne. 23 February 1981. That is the date. Two hundred Civil Guard officers storm the Spanish Congress. Shots are...

Ten Months of Silence. One Week of Panic. Edward VIII Couldn’t Survive 1936. He’d Have Zero Chance Today.

British editors sat on the biggest royal story of the century for ten months. That kind of silence is impossible now. The monarchy should be worried about what that actually means.

Three Monarchies. Three “Modernizations.” Only One Actually Means It.

Three monarchies all claim to have modernized succession. Only two actually closed the gap between sons and daughters. Here's what the third one left out, and why it still matters.

Spain’s Heir Is Doing Everything Right. The Polls Still Can’t Agree If It Matters.

Spain's polls on monarchy versus republic disagree wildly with each other. What they agree on is a generational shift the palace can't fix with a popular princess alone.

Thailand Has No Named Heir. That Is Now an Emergency.

A princess who might have steadied the succession is dead. A king with seven children has named none of them heir. Thailand is running out of time.

Edward and Sophie Were the Monarchy’s Safe Pair of Hands. So What Happens Now?

Edward and Sophie were the proof that the system could produce decent, scandal-free public servants. The NAO report has made that proof considerably harder to cite.

Japan Has Three Male Heirs and a Parliament That Keeps Looking the Other Way. That Should Worry Everyone.

Japan has had decades to fix its imperial succession crisis. It has chosen committees instead. The arithmetic will not wait much longer.

Peter Phillips Just Showed the Monarchy How to Stay Relevant. Will Anyone at the Palace Notice?

Peter Phillips didn't try to make an argument for the monarchy on Saturday. He just made the best one available.

The Monarchy Has a Young Person Problem. And Pretending Otherwise Won’t Fix It.

Nearly four in ten young British adults would replace the monarchy with an elected head of state. Daniel Harte on why the palace needs to stop celebrating its popularity and start worrying about its future.