re: #72 Justanotherhuman

But where does the personal wealth of the royals come from? William is said to have inherited $20M from his mother, and will inherit an even more substantial sum from his father, Charles. Even more than the amt of money involved in keeping these people up by the govt, is the entire idea of privilege and wealth brought only by birth and the advantages it brings.

The royal prerogative is still there in the constitutional republic, and the monarch is still considered the head of state, the commander-in-chief of the British forces, and the head of the Church of England, even if only nominally.

Well, any American knows that you don’t need noble titles to have an entrenched class of hereditary privilege and wealth. I’m not fond of inherited wealth, but I’ll admit there’s something to be said for grooming children that you know are going to be fabulously wealthy adults in the skills and responsibilities incumbent on being a Professional Role Model.

You might say their peccadilloes show that they haven’t done well at their jobs, but compare them to our Waltons, Kennedys, Bushes, Hiltons, etc. and maybe they don’t look so bad for all that.

Still in all, I prefer the German system, where they elect a head of state who explicitly drops all party affiliation for the duration and represents the “soul of the people” in a non-governing, advisory, role-modeling way, much as the British monarch does. Keeps the reprobates out.

(I sometimes suspect Elizabeth II of similar opinions, when she’s alone with her conscience. *heh*)