[MR] Surviving European Monarchies

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,


It’s been a rather dry week in history, as well as dearth archaeological
news about our main period of interest. Having nothing better to share, I
thought I would toss out a topic near and dear to all of us: monarchies and
royalty.


Concentrating on Europe only, there are still eleven monarchies:


Andorra; ruled jointly by French President Emmanuel Macron and the Bishop
of Urgell Josep-Lluís Serrano Pentinat. They are actually co-regents, and
rule tiny Andorra through their offices, not as hereditary rulers. Yes, it
may sound weird, but Andorra is still considered a monarchy.


Belgium; King Philippe, a ceremonial role.


Denmark; King Frederik X, a ceremonial role.


Great Britain; Charles III, a ceremonial and advisory role. Charles is also
Head of State for 14 members in the British Commonwealth of Nations, though
this is a really ceremonial role.


Liechtenstein; Prince Hans-Adam II, an executive ruler.


Luxembourg; Grand Duke Guillaume V, a ceremonial role.


Monaco; Prince Albert II, an executive ruler.


The Netherlands; King Willem-Alexander, a ceremonial role.


Norway; King Harald V, a ceremonial role.


Spain; King Felipe VI, a ceremonial role.


Sweden; Carl XVI Gustaf, a ceremonial role.


Vatican City [and the Holy See]; Pope Leo XIV, the only absolute monarch
left in Europe. The Vatican City, by the way, is the smallest recognized
country in the world, .19 square miles.


With the exception of the Vatican, all these countries have
democratic/constitutional governments. In Liechtenstein and Monaco, the
sovereigns are actually heads of the government, rather than merely
ceremonial heads of state, and so wield a bit more power. Even the
ceremonial rulers do a lot more than just open new supermarkets, attend
each other’s lavish dinners, and star in tabloid newspaper scandals. They
provide their countries with historic continuity and a sense of national
identity, support national cultural institutions, plus act as their
countries’ chief diplomats and national “brand” promoters.


At the present time, all these sovereigns are male. Great Britain and
several other countries have had reigning female monarchs in recent years.
The current heirs to the throne in Belgium, Netherlands, Spain and Sweden
are women.


Of course, there are a whole mess of out-of-work royals floating around
Europe with lots of blue blood, but no country to rule anymore. These
include Italians, Greeks, Russians, Poles, Austrians, assorted Germans from
pre-unification states, and even a possible descendant or two of Charles
Edward Stuart (aka Bonnie Prince Charlie).


You can explore the list, plus the rulers of non-European kingdoms, at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_monarchs_of_sovereign_states .


Yours Aye,


Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆

Continuing a crusade to keep the original Merry Rose relevant and in
business.