Has there been a decline in the sense of royal duty?

Started by HistoryGirl, August 01, 2014, 12:09:05 AM

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HistoryGirl

This is one of my open ended questions and something that I've been wondering. It popped into my mind when discussing the comparison between Kate and the Queen Mother. This can include a general sense of loss with duty in the new generation not just of royals but people in general, so maybe examples can be brought in to discuss one way or the other.

TLLK

This is  a great question! I'm inclined to say that there is not a decline in a sense of royal duty within the royals that are followed here at RIF. There has been an increase in the number of royals participating in UN sponsored  projects ie: Microfinance (Maxima, Mathilde, Maria Theresa all commoner born consorts) water conservation (W-A as Prince of Orange) and aid for other humanitarian projects. We've seen participation grown among the Middle Eastern consorts in Jordan and recently in Morocco. Prior to Mohammed VI's marriage to Lalla Salma the consort did not play a public role.
  IMHO the commoner consorts including Daniel have been a great asset to their various royal families and continue to serve as a link to the public and excellent representatives abroad. Three new monarchs have ascended the throne in varying circumstances (easy-W-A and Maxima of the NL, so-so-Belgium's Phillipe and Mathilde and difficult Felipe and Letizia) with their spouse being very supportive and increasingly popular figures. Other royals married in under some controversy: Maxima, Camilla, Daniel, Letizia, Mette Marit but have IMO proved their value and sense of duty.  Some royals like CP Masako have faced very difficult transitions to their new lives while others like Mary,Mathilde, and Maria Theresa have had an easier path.
As the role of the royal families followed here evolve and become more involved in ways that can benefit their nations, I see them strongly upholding a sense of duty and IMHO prevails over the bloodlines and wealth that was considered necessary in the past.

Are these people perfect-no and they will make mistakes, however I do believe that there has been a continuation of the tradition of royal duty to the people of their nations. If they can serve as motivation to others than I am all for it!

HistoryGirl

Wow, that does seem like encouraging information. Perhaps it was an appearance of decline on my part more so related to the decline of the importance of monarchies in general than real decline in duty.

TLLK

IMO unless you read the royalty boards most people would not know what was being done by the royals around the world. There is less information about many of the Middle Eastern kingdoms/sheikhdoms and the Indonesian/Malaysian/Brunei royals that is posted so I'm not able to speak about their contributions.

Now they are certainly subject to scrutiny and their households need to be as transparent as possible especially with public funds ie: Spain and personal behavior needs to reflect the best for the nation. Juan Carlos, Albert...are you listening????

HistoryGirl


Curryong

However, both Felipe and Letizia of Spain have experienced a rise in their personal popularity and this is reflected in the fact that from a low in January more than 55 percent of Spaniards back the monarchy.

HistoryGirl


TLLK

^^^I agree Curryong. Felipe just released a new set of rules that would pertain to the activities of the royal family. Among the new rules is that members of the SRF: Felipe, Letizia, JC, Sofia, Lenor and Infanta Sofia cannot work for private companies. Hopefully these new rules which are aimed at promoting transparency in the SRF will continue to boost public confidence in the public's image of them. IMO that could be an issue for Infanta Sofia in the future.  (Elena and Cristina are now longer considered working members of the SRF once their brother became king. However, Elena can represent occasionally on Felipe's behalf but cannot receive any compensation from public funds.)

HistoryGirl

I think the smaller the monarchy the better. That way, the few members can devote themselves entirely.