"True, most of the queens, kings, princes and princesses do work for their living. At 88, an age when most commoners are long retired from work and often from life, Queen Elizabeth II of Britain still maintains an arduous schedule of state ceremonies. And it’s hard to imagine what Europe’s glossy magazines would do without the endless photo features about royals donning full plumage for some grand event or producing a royal heir or leaving their castles to go biking or skiing with their subjects — or getting embroiled in some juicy scandal.
On a more serious level, the royal heads of state represent a nation’s history and continuity. Republican heads of state, whether politically powerful such as those in the United States or France, or ceremonial like Germany’s, all wrap themselves to some degree in tradition and pomp. But they cannot rise above politics the way monarchs can. And even when the monarchies generate scandals of royal proportions — think Princess Diana — politicians tend to rank way below the royals in popularity polls.
The European monarchies all have a small but vociferous chorus calling for the abolition of the institutions, and most countries have steadily opened their rulers to greater public scrutiny. For their part, the rulers, especially the Scandinavians, have dropped their lifestyles almost to street levels. But even they have maintained the minimum royal trappings that generate symbolic value.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/04/opinion/monarchies-more-useful-than-you-think.html?ref=opinion
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