Advanced Essay #3: Monarchy

Most of us are born into families where life is quite simple. We having a loving or two loving parents, who are attentive to our needs as we grow and expand in the world. Some of us have siblings, who immediately become discouraged at our birth with the realization that there is a new thing in town to be more prominent in our parents’ eye. We grow up normally. Eating three well balanced meals a day, enjoying playing and talking with friends, and learning from everything around us inside and outside of our schools. We try our entire lives trying to figure out who we are.

Yet, there are few whose lives have been written in the history books for them. The monarchs, those whose bloodline ranges from some of the most prominent and high-ranking leaders of their nation's history. The House of Saud, House of Bourbon, House of Windsor, simply to name three of the 26 principal royal families worldwide. Acknowledged across many nations, few still have a reigning, single family in charge of the country politically. Compared to the 18th Century, royal families have severely died down due to conflicts regarding their power and society's outlook towards them. The question remains as to why after so many deaths, problems, and public outrage across the history of our world, why countries (both internationally leading and minor) continue to have these families incorporated as either the nations head of state and/or head of government.

The most universally recognized royal family today, is the House of Windsor. The Queen (or the reigning monarch at the time) is the head of state for the United Kingdom. In the case of the UK, the royal family does not play a role politically. However, they have the opportunity in recognizing treaties, in addition to lesser roles in the government. The royal family gets their funds from the people, to note the cash that goes to the royal family is not a large amount at all. That is in the case of the UK however, for Saudi Arabia where the royal family rule the government of the country and which includes thousands of members, the taxation numbers are much greater. For the UK, the royal family receives over 40 million pounds each year from taxation (in many ways their salary for doing very little), while the Prime Minister who runs the country and is elected by the people of the UK only gets a salary of 142,500 per year.

Not all royals are good people. King Juan Carlos I of Spain, last summer abdicated his throne to his son a 39 year reign. The King was a celebrated liberal, peacemaker who created and developed democracy in the country. As good of a man and well liked domestically and internationally King Juan Carlos was, his family wasn’t as appreciated. His daughter and 6th in line to the Spanish throne, Princess Cristina and her husband have dealt with severe fraud charges in recent years. Due to the negative press involving the scandal, King Juan Carlos I of Spain had to abdicate his throne to his son Prince Felipe (a much more favorable, public figure) and his very much loved wife Princess Letizia, in hopes of saving the monarchy. For now that stands, but the Spanish people are still not sold on the monarchy anymore.