The Walter Bagehot reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Walter Bagehot

Walter Bagehot (February 3, 1826 – March 24, 1877) was a nineteenth century British writer and editor of The Economist magazine.

He was born in Langport, Somerset. He attended University College London, where he earned a master's degree in 1848.

In 1867, he wrote a book called The English Constitution which explored the constitution of the United Kingdom, specifically the functioning of parliament and the monarchy. While its references to the former have dated, his observations on the latter are seen as central to the understanding of the principles of Constitutional monarchy. He defined the rights and role of a monarch vis-a-vis a government as three-fold:

• The right to be consulted;
• The right to advise;
• The right to warn.

Generations of British monarchs and heirs apparent and presumptive have studied Bagehot's analysis.

He also divided the constitution into two components - the Dignified (that part which is symbolic) and the Efficient (the way things actually work and get done).

This is the "Walter Bagehot" reference article from the English Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.