What's it like to have royalty?

[pdkoning]

Here in The Netherlands we still have a queen. Although she does not have much real power, only some ceremonial power, I, and many with me, regard the royal house as something that keeps people together. Every year on march 31, we have Queensday, and almost everyone celebrates that day. It is a national happening. The colour 'orange', you migh know it from the Dutch soccer team, also comes from the royal house, their surname is 'van Oranje'.
And when something happens with the royal house, birth, death, wedding, millions watch TV.

We do not often have political conversations about the royals, because they do not have a lot of power.

When playing D&D I like political intruiges and quests, politics, rulers, and royals. In my opinion the add a lot of interesting things to the game.

We are running a campaign in a homebrew world, but the DM never thought of an government. We (players) thought about claiming power and occupying cities, because no of the inhabitants of those cities knew who their 'real rulers' were.

 

[Staffan]

Norway, my country, is a monarchy...has been since 1814, when we imported a Dane with blue blood.

Don't you mean 1905? If I remember my history lessons correctly, 1814 was when Bernadotte took the road over Norway when coming home from fighting against Napoleon and grabbed you guys away from Denmark and attached you to Sweden instead... though that technically made you a monarchy as well, only not with a Dane on top.

 

[Carnifex]

I guess American "royalty" is quite different, because our folks actually earn their own money.

From what I hear, they mostly inherit it, don't they?

And the UK monarchy actually make a hell of a lot of money for the UK via tourism etc. I'm not a pro or anti-monarchist, but I at least appreciate the big chunk of cash they make for us

 

[Herremann the Wise]

Queen Elizabeth II or Princess Mary?

Hi Everyone,

On a technical basis, Queen Elizabeth II is our queen - I'm speaking from an Australian perspective here - but in reality, she has negligible power over everyday Australians. Our head of state is the Governor General who is the queen's representative but the Governor General is selected by the Prime Minister - the political leader of Australia - and can be hired and fired by the Prime Minister. Anyway, this is all very staid and boring.

However, with the marriage of Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark to the Australian Mary Elizabeth Donaldson, we Australians have most likely the closest thing to our first royal - even though she has to give up her Australian citizenship to do so. I think for those Australians who care, they are walking a little taller and will have a bigger smile on their faces this evening when the two are married. For some reason, there is just something special about a Crown Prince marrying a "commoner" - who may I say is absolutely gorgeous - from a different land. I think this is a fantasy that just makes you smile.

To see the way how the Danish seem to love their royals and have accepted Mary whole-heartedly is very special to some of us here down under. Anyway, three cheers for the happy couple and here's hoping their marriage brings further happiness.

I would be curious on the Danish perspective to those of you who hail from Denmark.

Best Regards
Herremann the Wise

 

[darklight]

Herremann the Wise I think the general attitude of the Danish population is quite similar. Mary is quite popular here, and is thought to make a fine Queen once. Personally I think that if the marriage helps bring our countries closer, Great! I've also done my part, my girlfriend is from Australia

 

[Morrus]

I guess American "royalty" is quite different, because our folks actually earn their own money.

Eh? Could you please explain to me the meaning of the American phrase "Old Money", then?

It seems to me that the American "royalty" (that sounds sarcastic, but it's not meant to be - I just can't think of an alternative word) has substantially more political power than royalty elsewhere in the world.

That said, I just broke one of my own rules and mentioned politics, so let's get back to royalty in gaming and forget this real world nonsense!

 

[Agemegos]

Personally I think the monarchy is a cultural heritage that once disposed of never can be reinstituted so I think they should stay.

The English disposed of their monarchy in 1649 and restored it pretty successfully in 1660.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

Besides I wouldnt want president elections here. It's much easier to have a non-political head of state

Here in Germany, the president gets elected by a weird assembly of our Upper and Lower Houses. He has next to no political power - most of the authority he has is moral. When he speaks, the country listens. He can't set policy - that's the job of the chancellor.

All in all, the system works pretty well - most of the people chosen for that job are politicians to whom most Germans can actually look up to, and since they can't mess up their image with everyday politics, this tends to stay so for their term in office...

 

[Frostmarrow]

Here in Germany, the president gets elected by a weird assembly of our Upper and Lower Houses. He has next to no political power - most of the authority he has is moral. When he speaks, the country listens. He can't set policy - that's the job of the chancellor.

All in all, the system works pretty well - most of the people chosen for that job are politicians to whom most Germans can actually look up to, and since they can't mess up their image with everyday politics, this tends to stay so for their term in office...

I kind of like this. I'm going to call king Carl XVI Gustaf and see if he'd agree to put something like that in use in Sweden. Not that it matters if he agrees or not...

 

[herald]

Really? I thought they inherited it, just like European nobles.

As for the Civil List, my understanding is that the British Royal Family work pretty hard for that salary, and that anyone who doesn't do the work doesn't get the pay.

Australia has a monarchy in theory, but it doesn't live here, rarely visits, and is forbidden by the Constitution from exercising any power (except in name to appont the GG, and to approve or veto bills that are specially recommended to it for that purpose). It certainly doesn't have your eyes gouged out because you don't get out of the way fast enough, the way the mediaeval monarchy sometimes did. And it doesn't start stupid wars for its own aggrandisement, though we somehow manage to get into quite a lot of stupid ways anyway: comes with speaking English, I guess.

Not to start a political debate, but the Kennedys didn't always have money, they got most of it running bootleg booze into America. In many ways the Kennedys weren't an old money Family when John Kennedy came along. (That doesn't mean to me that he was a bad president.)