01/14/2024 – 6:36
It's not just Denmark: 12 European nations maintain some type of monarchical regime. And around the world, 22% of countries are governed by kings, emperors, emirs or sultans, partly with absolute powers. After the Netherlands and Belgium (2013), Spain, (2014) and the United Kingdom (2022), it reached Denmark's turn to carry out the generational exchange of this one of the seven royal families governing European nations. Queen Margrethe II, aged 83, leaves the throne this Sunday (14/01), exactly 52 years after her coronation, to hand over the crown to her son Frederik.
The Danish royal family follows a current trend. With the exception of the United Kingdom, monarchs no longer remain on the throne until death, but abdicate during their lifetime, making room for their children.
Frederik of Denmark, 55, has prepared his entire life for a job that, according to his biographer, he does not want. It is said that he once shouted “I don't want to be king” to his nanny. And his days as a rebellious party prince are behind him.
He already has his heirs to the throne who guarantee, in addition to popular support (according to surveys, 80% of Danes are satisfied with the form of government), the continuity of the oldest royal dynasty in Europe.
The other Nordic monarchies also seem to have assured continuity, as is the case with Princess Victoria of Sweden and Prince Haakon of Norway. Vitória is ready to succeed her father, Carlos 16 Gustavo, who has occupied the throne for 50 years. Haakon will succeed his father, Harald 5th, aged 86, who rarely appears in public due to poor health.
Almost no political power
As heads of state in democratic parliamentary monarchies, all queens and kings in Europe have solely representative functions, relying only on political power. The same occurs in the royal houses of Luxembourg and Liechtenstein.
Prince Albert of Monaco, on the other hand, has a relatively strong position of power. In Andorra, another tiny country between France and Spain, two co-princes serve as heads of state. One of them is always the Spanish Bishop of Urgel, while the other is the President of France. In other words, Emmanuel Macron is also prince of Andorra.
The only elected monarchy in Europe, but whose throne is not inherited, is the Vatican. In addition to being head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis is also the absolute ruler of Vatican City, the smallest state in the world.
Life like a soap opera
“I believe that most citizens of states with a monarchical order actually enjoy their monarchies,” says historian and nobility expert Monika Wienfort. She notes that in none of the countries of Europe's seven sovereign royal houses and five principalities are there serious efforts to abolish this form of government.
The monarchy survived in all parts of Europe where there were no bourgeois revolutionary uprisings, as was the case in France, Italy, Austria and Germany. The fact that all royal families are related to each other, especially to the German nobility, means that, in the event of ruin, they can always go and live with their relatives, says the history professor at the University of Potsdam with a slight smile.
Royal families live on traditions, gossip and scandals of a happy family life, which is exposed more or less publicly, sometimes with pomp and sometimes without.
“Our lives are a great soap opera,” King Charles III of England once said. His father defined the Windsor family as a company forced to produce beautiful images in exchange for tax money.
One fifth of all states are monarchies
The monarchical system governs 22% of countries around the world, that is, 43 of the 194 recognized states are represented by sovereign monarchs. From the Caribbean to Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, monarchies are found almost everywhere across the globe. Many date back to the British Empire: the English king remains the head of state of 14 countries outside Europe, such as Canada and Australia.
Currently, Japan is the only empire in the world, but in Japanese democracy the emperor has a purely ceremonial role. In five states, the monarch, sheikh or emir, is the absolute ruler without parliamentary or legal control. This is the case of Brunei, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and the Vatican.
In countries like Jordan and Morocco, the king has political power determined by the Constitution. Malaysia has the only major elected monarchy in Asia. The sultans of the nine provinces elect the king, currently Abduallah Shah. Also in the United Arab Emirates, the head of state is in the hands of the emirs, authoritarian leaders of their respective principalities.
Profitable business with gossip
In the Middle East there is no sensationalist press to publicize or even criticize the dramas of monarchies. In European countries, on the contrary, there is a great interest in gossip about the nobility and monarchs. The most targeted continue to be members of the British royal family, such as Queen Elizabeth II, who ruled the country for 70 years until her death in 2022.
The interest surrounding Charles, Camilla, William, Henry and their dysfunctional families is non-stop. “Fascination arises from spectacular everyday things,” says historian and expert on nobility Monika Wienfort: monarchs do normal things like get married, have children and die.
They are completely normal biographies that unfold in a representative and luxurious, almost pompous way, with carriages, uniforms, dresses, and castles. That's why nobles are observed even by those who are not fascinated by blue blood.
Being a monarch is also a good business, almost a fairy tale. The richest king in the world, Rama the 10th of Thailand, has a fortune of between 30 and 43 billion dollars, according to calculations by American business magazines.
The richest prince in Europe is Adam II of Liechtenstein, with around 3.5 billion dollars. The private fortune of King Charles III of the United Kingdom and Ireland is estimated at more than 1.8 billion dollars.
Margrethe 2nd of Denmark will pass on to her son a mere 30 million dollars from the Crown's coffers, which is probably enough to maintain a real court. The Spanish king, Felipe the Sixth, has to settle for a measly 10 million dollars in assets, as the “poorest” monarch in Europe.
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