Quick question, but this was inspired by my suit guy when buying a suit.

Americans, why are you so enthralled with royalty?

Because we don't have an equivalent.

Listen, I would take QEII over Obama any day. Charles, well....there would be discussion first.

That was his joke, but he was serious about it.

His complete quote was, "Look for America to have fought so hard against the monarchy, we are so enthralled by them. Think about that when buying your suit and tie, and the particular occasion it is for, and what type of image you want to project when you walk into the room."

I care less about your politics, but if it is political reasons, I'll put you in the category of loving to be ruled by bloodline.

;)

Why are Americans enthralled with celebrities generally? I think it's a specialized form of our celebrity-enthrallment, fed, as k_s says, by our not having an equivalent.

There's also the British-American connection involved -- it's really only British royalty we're so enthralled with. I mean, Quick! Someone name the heir to the Dutch or Swedish throne without looking it up.

Then there's the pageantry. We may not want all that to-do here, but there's no denying it can be fun to watch them do it; they do it better than anyone.

And finally, for some of us there are the historical connections and implications as well. I mean, they've been doing this for 1000+ years.

ETA:

Apples to oranges, though. She's a Head of State without being a Head of Government. An American president is both. You might feel differently if she was pushing a political agenda instead of having to stay above politics.

And as I type I think that may be another factor in American fascination with the British royalty. I think to a greater or lesser degree, many of us envy the idea of a nationally unifying figure (in theory at least; I know there are certainly those in Britain who'd prefer to abolish the monarchy) who is above politics. That's what we don't have. I've often thought that in some ways, the flag is the closest equivalent we have in that regard.

That's one of the things I was explaining to my wife.

At one time Britain had their hand in everything in the world. They are better marketers.

I'm glad you brought up the star gazing, I wonder is it psychological. We don't have Kings and Queens but we have Hollywood and Camelot.

Queen Beatrix van Oranje-Nassau is the current queen, Willem -alexander (to be named Wilhelm) is expected to take over in a few years. He'll be the first King in a century. He's married to Maxima Zorreguita (Argentinian) and has 3 young daughters: Amalia, Alexia and Ariane


Heir to the Swedish throne is newlywed Victoria (who is Amalia's godmother)



But I live in Europe ;)

I can see why he is part of the Order of the Thistle and the Order of the Garter, but what connection does he have to Canada, Papua New Guinea and Australia besides being married to their Sovereign? Can those orders extend membership to people not of the country?

I actually knew the Dutch Queen because she's on the back of the Dutch Euro! :)

Being in history at a Canadian university, we definitely study our government thoroughly. To answer your second question first, all current members of the Queens Privy Council for Canada ARE Canadian, aside from Prince Philip, with I believe all past members being Canadian also. Being that our Privy Council was formed to provide a Canadian opinion for the Crown, it only makes sense to have Canadians on the Council. And to answer your first question, it is his marriage that connects him to us. Canada, Papua New Guinea, and Australia are all territories of Her Majesty, so the titles given by each country are afforded to him as they are usually the highest honour given in that country. A lot of Canadian-British relations trace back through the history of colonialism here.

Whose dress was about 7,000 degrees of gorgeous.

I know, right? She was a very stunning bride!

LOL!!! Now why didn't I think to limit the question to the American GCers, or at least to those who don't live in the Netherlands?

(And yes, I could have named Queen Beatrix as well, but while I know about the Dutch and Swedish heirs, I wouldn't have been able to remember their names without looking them up.)

We won our Revolution. They didn't really try.

I posted a picture of her - I love her dress, and she wore it quite well! Unfortunately, I posted it in the Wedding Cake Thread.

http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editor...c1317c8d6.jpeg

My mother subscribed to both Royalty and Majesty magazines. I had no chance.