Exploring the Relevance of Royalty Today

My social media timeline will almost always have some sort of post or update from some of the people I follow about royals. Particularly, about the British royals. I think that while there was already a lot of news about them in the past, it seems that there have been even more after Queen Elizabeth passed away. It’s like her death made everyone else go nuts with the whole publicity thing, like she was the one reigning everyone in all along and now that she’s gone, it’s a free for all on their attempts to be in the news and relevant. The question is, how relevant is royalty nowadays?

It’s not that I don’t like royalty. I love them. I’ve been fascinated by the lives of royalty for years. But these days, I can’t help but wonder what sort of actual function do they have? I ask this not to be sarcastic or to shade anyone. I ask this as someone who really wants to know. Do they have any say in the laws of the land? Are they the ones who decide or are their opinions asked (and if yes, do those opinions matter)? Or are these people just ultra-rich people who were descended from the people who ruled in the past? Is it the same for royals all over the world or are there some royals who hold more power than others?

Royalty. Kings and Queens. Princes and Princesses. The life of royalty makes me think of a fairy tale type of existence. Let me rephrase that: I USED TO think of it as a fairy tale existence. But after the death of Princess Diana and understanding the kind of life and struggles she had to live as a royal, I realized that her life was anything but a fairy tale. These days, reading about the feud that her sons William and Harry have and their opposing views on how the royal family does things have given me this idea that the royal life seems to be a difficult world to live in. I wouldn’t want that life for myself, that’s for sure.

Some people see royals as people to look up to. Like they set a certain standard that we aspire to. I can’t say anything about royals in other countries as I am not that familiar with them but with the British royals, I find it hard to say that there is a standard there that I would like to aspire to. There has been so much intrigue and scandal involving them that have made them tabloid regulars and that kind of thing is very hard to overlook. I also find it a bit off to keep seeing them making appearances in TV shows in ways that make them seem non-royal (that American Idol thing with the new King Charles is a good example). It’s just a little weird for me. 

I think the reason I am more familiar with the British royals is that they are almost always in the news. Every single day. Other royals seem to be more low-key compared to them. I really admire that about them. They do their thing without much fanfare despite being royals. Yes, they would still be in the news, but it seems they prefer a different way of doing things, which I think is classier and yes, more royal/regal.

A lot of people say that royals are still relevant because they represent tradition and history. But they seem more like celebrities to me these days. So much about them is being discussed in the media and it has been said that for the British royals, the rumors and gossip come from the royals themselves (or those who are royal-adjacent). It’s like a royal version of the Kardashians. Considering that the royals are said to be relevant because they are examples of class, that is not too classy for me. 

Royals may be relevant to all of us in different ways, but for me, their relevance is more about my curiosity about them since they are descended from historical figures. Well, that and finding out how everything plays out in their lives after that book of Prince Harry came out. 

Off to read Spare now.