IN ONE SCENE from The Lord of the Rings – The Return of the King, Denethor, the steward of Gondor told Gandalf the Wizard that ‘I will not bow to this Ranger from the North last of a ragged house long bereft of lordship.’
Denethor’s animosity was due to the fact that Aragorn’s House, the House of Elindil, had largely collapsed many years ago, and from his point of view had lost all authority.
Denethor’s bold statement was also a challenge to all broken or disgraced noble houses who have lost their nobility and authority, and there are plenty of examples of those in our modern world.
I don’t normally pay attention to royal news, but the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s decision to step back from their royal duties reminded me of the sad state of royal houses all over the world.
According to one report, “Harry and Meghan have quit as senior royals and revealed they will live between the UK and North America while working to become financially independent.”
The Queen had been reportedly angry by their decision, and both Duke and his Duchess are now the central figures of another ongoing royal scandal in the UK. But here’s the thing. Royal scandals are nothing new, nor are they unique to the British Royal family.
King Juan Carlos of Spain has faced accusations of money laundering, for example, and King Carl Gustaf has been allegedly involved in sex scandals.
Over in the Middle East, Qatari Princess Sheikha Salwa was allegedly involved in a sex orgy with seven partners while visiting London, and I don’t even want to talk about Arab Princes and Sheiks.
Here in Asia, we have our own share of scandal-ridden royals. In Thailand, there are several alleged photos of King Vajiralongkorn wearing a crop top and covered in tattoos, while his sister, Princess Ubol Ratana is a rather colorful figure in the country. And then there’s Prince Norodom Ranariddh of Cambodia who briefly fled his country over a corruption scandal only to return later after he received amnesty.
Bottom line – Royals and scandals go together, and this really isn’t a new phenomenon. History is filled with scandalous tales of nobility in all kinds of scandalous dramas. But such dramas rarely mattered, because most royals in the past wielded real power, and wielding power requires a certain amount of strength, wisdom and mastery.
A stronger king or prince can afford to have the occasional faux pas because they are – on the whole – stronger and wiser than the general population, even if they do make mistakes.
But we no longer live in an
age where royals held overwhelming control over their countries (except in
Saudi Arabia where the royals still wield a lot of power). Today, elites are
bankers, bureaucrats, specialists and “deep-state” types. Many of these modern
elites have their own skeletons in their closets, but as I pointed out earlier,
degeneracy becomes a side note if one has real power.
Do royals still have power? It’s true that many royal families still command
respect, but most of them are relics of a bygone age; a less technological age.
And the only thing powerless royals have left are their nobility and dignity.
Take that away with scandals, corruptions and plain, old silliness, and what do
they have left? (jdr456@gmail.com/PN)
