Who Asked: Celebrity Guest-Stumper, Meg Cabot
Novel: Princess Diaries IX, Princess Mia in stores December 26, 2007
About the Book: Mia Thermopolis has hit a new all-time low: Her best friend isn't speaking to her. Someone is posting horrible things about her on the web. And, oh yeah: Her longtime boyfriend may have just dumped her. But this princess has more on her mind than recruiting a new Prince Charming, including solving a four-hundred-year-old royal mystery that's about to set Mia on a one-woman mission that could bring big changes to the little principality of Genovia. But is Mia really ready to get rid of her tiara . . . especially if it means destroying a dynasty? Read the ninth—and next to last—installment of the Princess Diaries series to find out for yourself!
Answer: According to Wikipedia, “A constitutional monarchy is a form of government established under a constitutional system which acknowledges an elected or hereditary monarch as head of state, as opposed to an absolute monarchy, where the monarch is not bound by a constitution and is the sole source of political power.”
An example of a system that changed from an absolute to constitutional monarchy is England, with the signing of the Magna Carta, which Britannia.com describes as, “The Great Charter of English liberty granted (under considerable duress) by King John at Runnymede on June 15, 1215.” It is basically a document wherein the King, rather reluctantly, agreed to rule within a set of guidelines decided on by the English Barons who wrote it. It was a result of perceptions of the king as abusive and a failure at both domestic and international policymaking. It was also a result of conflicts between the Catholic Church and the Church of England, which disagreed about the role of the king. The abovementioned Barons took London by force (actually, the people opened the gates for them) and forced the king to sign the document. It had to be resigned because John died a year later, and nine-year-old Henry III took the throne. Henry reissued it himself again when he turned 18.
It sounds like Princess Mia will be facing her own set of court conflicts and intrigues, though hopefully nothing as traumatic as what happened to King John! Remember, England now loves her Queen, even though most of the big decisions are made by Parliament.
Can’t wait to find out how this turns out when we get to read about Mia’s big shake-up.
Thank you for playing Stump the Librarian!
Amber
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