The different royal families around the world where monarchy is still observed are under constant scrutiny of the media’s eyes. To the public they are the ones blessed with the power, the money, and the privilege that none of us would ever have because it takes a certain kind of blood and DNA to achieve. Yet in the present day, assuming that the royal family has that kind of power and money is being too presumptuous. The constitutional monarchy and the parliamentary system practically stripped royalty of their powers, and left them as merely ceremonial figures in their respective countries. So while they do hold some level of privilege and honor, they no longer hold as much power as they used to; in consequence, they no longer hold as much money as they used to as well, for the people’s money is controlled by the parliament and is distributed according to the budget they have set for the country for that particular time.
It is because of this that members of different royal families are beginning to break out from their expected molds. Take for instance, Sarah, Duchess of York, former wife of HRH Prince Andrew. Sarah Margaret Ferguson, more commonly known as Duchess Fergie, owed a total of about 4.2 million pounds by the time her divorce with Prince Andrew was done. What she did was she lost a lot of weight, flew to the United States, became a spokesperson for Weight Watchers and paid back her dues. To this day, she remains a well sought-after speaker and a spokesperson for different consumer brands and she has paid off both her debts and the debts of her mother.
Another good example is Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana of Thailand, the only daughter of Crown Prince Maha Vajralongkorn. With a little nudging, she has joined the SEA Games in 2005, and although this can be taken as simply following the footsteps of her grandfather, the fact remains that royals don’t normally just join the SEA Games. Also, this year she debuted as a fashion designer in one of the major fashion capitals of the world – Paris.
These two are perfect examples of breaking the mould and breaking away from the constraints of being royalty. They have proven that they can make lives for themselves and that they can make themselves known for something else, something other than being royalty. Slowly the monarchy is evolving to be more self-reliant, given the slight independence that comes from being stripped of their powers to an extent. Still, they make it a point to try and stay out of trouble for as long as they can – they are still representatives of their respective countries, after all, and are still expected to behave a certain way.