What is the Point of Constitutional Monarchy?

The talk will consider the roles that leaders can play in states, both in terms of their capacity to help state action and their symbolic roles.  It will identify the potential roles that constitutional monarchs could play as leaders, and argue that, at best, the justification for constitutional monarchy is contingent, dependent on the character of the monarch and the social circumstances in which the institution operates.  As a result, constitutional monarchy is a time-limited constitutional form, one which contains tensions which will, sooner or later, lead to its demise.