6 ms·

Is it only the British monarchy you have an issue with? How do you feel about the monarchies of Belgium, the Netherlands, Japan, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Norway

Is it only the British monarchy you have an issue with? How do you feel about the monarchies of Belgium, the Netherlands, Japan, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and the many others? I presume you are from the US? It seems a substantial number of US citizens believe the British monarchy to be an outlier and the only one worthy of comment.

hn_throwaway_99 3y ago
Did you miss the part where TFA is about the British sovereign specifically? That's why I commented on it, but yes, I think they're all bonkers, though I do think the British Royal family (and British media) play up the pomp around their royals more than in most other countries.
- eichin 3y ago
  Also, isn't the British Monarchy the only one Americans have had cause to take up arms against, multiple times? (To the point where we still do annual re-enactments of some of the events?)
  - hn_throwaway_99 3y ago
    No, the US has fought against plenty of monarchies plenty of times, e.g. the Spanish American War, WWI, etc.
tedunangst 3y ago
British monarchy certainly seems to have an outsized presence in media.
- dhosek 3y ago
  I think that it may be primarily in American media (or perhaps English-language media?) Other monarchies certainly get their news moments in English-language media and presumably are more discussed in other subsets of the media.
- arrowsmith 3y ago
  They did rule half the world within living memory; that tends to be the kind of thing that cements you in the public psyche.
esperent 3y ago
I don't think it's something to blame Americans for. The reason the English monarchy gets so much more attention is for two main reasons (I'm not sure which is more important): 1. English language and media being more widespread than e.g. Danish 2. The commonwealth - the English monarch is also the (figure)head of the commonwealth which is another ten or so countries spread across the globe. There are other reasons too - perhaps tourism plays a big part. If you visit London then you'll almost certainly go to Buckingham palace to see the stupid palace guards and all that pomp. Millions of people do it every year and are told the Queen/King is living right there. Especially if you're a child that puts them into an important position in your imagination. I don't think this amount of pompous touristy bullshit surrounds any other modern monarch. And finally, a large swath of English people either love or hate the monarch, while a large swarth of Irish also hate them, both of which fuel attention. Most other European monarchs are just sort of... there, to my understanding.
- amiga386 3y ago
  > the stupid palace guards and all that pomp > I don't think this amount of pompous touristy bullshit surrounds any other modern monarch. Ahem. Hans Majestet Kongens Garde (Norway): https://www.royalcourt.no/artikkel.html?tid=29281 https://www.royalcourt.no/artikkel.html?tid=29281 Den Kongelige Livgarde (Denmark): https://www.kongehuset.dk/en/palaces-and-the-royal-yacht/changing-of-the-guard/ https://www.kongehuset.dk/en/palaces-and-the-royal-yacht/cha... Livgardet (Sweden): https://www.forsvarsmakten.se/en/activities/events/the-royal-guards/changing-of-the-guard/ https://www.forsvarsmakten.se/en/activities/events/the-royal... Guardia Real (Spain): https://www.esmadrid.com/en/whats-on/changing-guard-royal-palace https://www.esmadrid.com/en/whats-on/changing-guard-royal-pa... What is the purpose of an army? To defend their nation. What is the essence of a monarchic nation? ... Armies in monarchies tend to have these type of honour guards and traditions, even if their typical audience is tourists. Armies in republics also love a bit of pomp and circumstance and will gladly show off their troops marching, their aerial acrobatics, their latest hardware, etc.
  - esperent 3y ago
    > Armies in republics also love a bit of pomp and circumstance Also mostly stupid and hilariously anachronistic, in my opinion. The videos of Indian and Pakistani border guards showing off to each other comes particularly to mind.
astrange 3y ago
Other countries have constitutional monarchies. The UK still has an absolute monarchy, they just agree not to use any of the powers. They need a real constitution first to have a constitutional monarchy. (Instead they pretend a bunch of random historical documents are a constitution. At least one of them is a letter to the editor of a newspaper written under a pseudonym.) Japan's monarchy was a Meiji invention; he had no power before that and has no power now. He's more like the opposite, a prisoner we specifically wrote into the constitution to have no human rights.
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago
  > UK still has an absolute monarchy, they just agree not to use any of the powers This is true to the extent that North Korea is a republic.
- petesergeant 3y ago
  > The UK still has an absolute monarchy Hey, could you do us all a favour and update Wikipedia[0] to reflect your research on this matter? Sadly it still lists the government as a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy. 0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom
  - astrange 3y ago
    British people will also tell you they have good food, a working healthcare system, and that people care about their monarchy, but you don't have to listen to them about any of it. We're just humoring them. To have a constitutional government, you should first have a constitution.
    - qwytw 3y ago
      > you should first have a constitution Sure they do. The constitution doesen't have to be a single document. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. The American constitution has basically become immutable at this point while meaningful reform is still possible in Britain.

hn_throwaway_99 3y ago

Did you miss the part where TFA is about the British sovereign specifically? That's why I commented on it, but yes, I think they're all bonkers, though I do think the British Royal family (and British media) play up the pomp around their royals more than in most other countries.

eichin 3y ago
Also, isn't the British Monarchy the only one Americans have had cause to take up arms against, multiple times? (To the point where we still do annual re-enactments of some of the events?)
- hn_throwaway_99 3y ago
  No, the US has fought against plenty of monarchies plenty of times, e.g. the Spanish American War, WWI, etc.

tedunangst 3y ago

British monarchy certainly seems to have an outsized presence in media.

dhosek 3y ago
I think that it may be primarily in American media (or perhaps English-language media?) Other monarchies certainly get their news moments in English-language media and presumably are more discussed in other subsets of the media.
arrowsmith 3y ago
They did rule half the world within living memory; that tends to be the kind of thing that cements you in the public psyche.

esperent 3y ago

I don't think it's something to blame Americans for. The reason the English monarchy gets so much more attention is for two main reasons (I'm not sure which is more important): 1. English language and media being more widespread than e.g. Danish 2. The commonwealth - the English monarch is also the (figure)head of the commonwealth which is another ten or so countries spread across the globe. There are other reasons too - perhaps tourism plays a big part. If you visit London then you'll almost certainly go to Buckingham palace to see the stupid palace guards and all that pomp. Millions of people do it every year and are told the Queen/King is living right there. Especially if you're a child that puts them into an important position in your imagination. I don't think this amount of pompous touristy bullshit surrounds any other modern monarch. And finally, a large swath of English people either love or hate the monarch, while a large swarth of Irish also hate them, both of which fuel attention. Most other European monarchs are just sort of... there, to my understanding.

amiga386 3y ago
> the stupid palace guards and all that pomp > I don't think this amount of pompous touristy bullshit surrounds any other modern monarch. Ahem. Hans Majestet Kongens Garde (Norway): https://www.royalcourt.no/artikkel.html?tid=29281 https://www.royalcourt.no/artikkel.html?tid=29281 Den Kongelige Livgarde (Denmark): https://www.kongehuset.dk/en/palaces-and-the-royal-yacht/changing-of-the-guard/ https://www.kongehuset.dk/en/palaces-and-the-royal-yacht/cha... Livgardet (Sweden): https://www.forsvarsmakten.se/en/activities/events/the-royal-guards/changing-of-the-guard/ https://www.forsvarsmakten.se/en/activities/events/the-royal... Guardia Real (Spain): https://www.esmadrid.com/en/whats-on/changing-guard-royal-palace https://www.esmadrid.com/en/whats-on/changing-guard-royal-pa... What is the purpose of an army? To defend their nation. What is the essence of a monarchic nation? ... Armies in monarchies tend to have these type of honour guards and traditions, even if their typical audience is tourists. Armies in republics also love a bit of pomp and circumstance and will gladly show off their troops marching, their aerial acrobatics, their latest hardware, etc.
- esperent 3y ago
  > Armies in republics also love a bit of pomp and circumstance Also mostly stupid and hilariously anachronistic, in my opinion. The videos of Indian and Pakistani border guards showing off to each other comes particularly to mind.

astrange 3y ago

Other countries have constitutional monarchies. The UK still has an absolute monarchy, they just agree not to use any of the powers. They need a real constitution first to have a constitutional monarchy. (Instead they pretend a bunch of random historical documents are a constitution. At least one of them is a letter to the editor of a newspaper written under a pseudonym.) Japan's monarchy was a Meiji invention; he had no power before that and has no power now. He's more like the opposite, a prisoner we specifically wrote into the constitution to have no human rights.

JumpCrisscross 3y ago
> UK still has an absolute monarchy, they just agree not to use any of the powers This is true to the extent that North Korea is a republic.
petesergeant 3y ago
> The UK still has an absolute monarchy Hey, could you do us all a favour and update Wikipedia[0] to reflect your research on this matter? Sadly it still lists the government as a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy. 0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom
- astrange 3y ago
  British people will also tell you they have good food, a working healthcare system, and that people care about their monarchy, but you don't have to listen to them about any of it. We're just humoring them. To have a constitutional government, you should first have a constitution.
  - qwytw 3y ago
    > you should first have a constitution Sure they do. The constitution doesen't have to be a single document. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. The American constitution has basically become immutable at this point while meaningful reform is still possible in Britain.