The Royal Government and the Courts

Abstract

This chapter provides a more general discussion of the royal government. It discusses the psychology of absolute power that is utterly different from the psychology of ordinary citizens or subjects. It focuses on the obstacles and constraints on the power of the royal government due to unwritten constitutional laws. The chapter argues that the psychology of the kings was in a sense self-defeating, in that their search for glory caused them to make choices that tended to diminish it. It also explains how royal officials were considered unreliable tools for the implementation of policy. This chapter ends by covering the mechanisms by which the courts could obstruct the king's will.