Richard Cowley was born and educated in England. His wife, Elizabeth, is also British, and their three children were born in Venezuela, England and Uruguay. He holds two degrees from the University of Birmingham (UK). In 1978, took up the position of Director-General of the Anglo-Uruguayan Cultural Institute, the largest English-language and cultural centre in Uruguay. He held this position for 25 years. He was also President of the British Society in Uruguay for six periods, President of the Board of the British Schools in Uruguay, Representative in Uruguay of the University of Cambridge from 1978 – 2006, Honorary Cultural Attaché at the British Embassy in Montevideo. He was decorated twice by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth ll: MBE in 1982 and then an OBE in 2004. His wife has also received an MBE from the Queen.

A monarchy is a bit of a mystery for those who were not brought up with one. Why would you put one family in such a privileged position? Do the Brits really like their royal family? And what do the royals actually do, anyway? This talk will take a dry-eyed, unromantic look at the British monarchy and try to discover what on earth this arcane, antiquated institution is all about.