Reforming the British Royal Family: How the House of Windsor can survive the 21st century
Speaker
Andrew Lownie explores the challenges facing the British Royal Family today in the 2026 Maurice Fraser Annual Lecture.
The scandals around the former Prince Andrew have raised wider questions about royal privilege and accountability. The Public Accounts Committee are looking into the Crown Estates and there are calls for greater parliamentary scrutiny not least of how the Royal Family are funded , the removal of the royal exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act, the opening of royal wills, a royal register and reform of the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall. Andrew Lownie, who has long argued for greater transparency about royal finances and archives , outlines how the monarchy could make itself fit for purpose for the 21st century and whether it will.
Meet our speaker and chair
Andrew Lownie was educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he was President of the Union, before taking his doctorate at the University of Edinburgh. He later returned to Cambridge as a bye-fellow at Churchill College. He is presently Visiting Professor at the Ulster Literary Biography Research Centre and Senior Research Fellow in Modern British History at the University of Buckingham. His books include the prize-winning Stalin’s Englishman: The Lives of Guy Burgess, the top ten Sunday Times bestsellers The Mountbattens: Their Lives and Loves and Traitor King: The Scandalous Exile of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and most recently the no 1 Sunday Times bestseller Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York.
Simon Glendinning is Head of the European Institute and Professor in European Philosophy at LSE.
More about this event
The Maurice Fraser Lecture is the European Institute's annual public lecture series, established in honour of Professor Maurice Fraser, former Head of the European Institute. A distinguished scholar of European politics and former Special Adviser to the UK Government on European affairs, Maurice Fraser played a key role in shaping the Institute's development and establishing its reputation as a leading centre for the study of Europe. The lecture celebrates his contribution to academic and public debate by bringing leading figures from politics, policymaking, academia and public life to LSE, fostering discussion on the major issues shaping Europe and its place in the world.
Established in 1991, the LSE European Institute is a world-leading centre for the study of Europe in its global context. With eight master’s degrees and a doctoral programme, a vibrant research community, and a world-leading public events programme, our work spans Political Economy, Politics & Policy, Culture & Society, and Migration.
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