As Britons and Commonwealthians celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s 70th anniversary – an event that is also exciting elsewhere in the world – how are other monarchs perceived by the population? Response in Spain, Morocco and Thailand.
In Spain, the monarchy promises transparency and modernity
In Spain, King Felipe VI recently launched a “transparency and modernization operation” of the Royal House. At the end of April, the monarch thus made his heritage public. No Spanish king had until now revealed his personal fortune. Via a press release, Felipe VI reported a heritage of 2.5 million euros, stating that he does not own any real estate or property abroad. Since his ascension to the throne in June 2014 and after the financial scandals that stained his father, King Emeritus Juan Carlos, Felipe VI has been striving to promote the principles of transparency and integrity to strengthen citizens’ confidence in the Crown. He also undertook to modernize it.
The Spanish government has also adopted a decree which makes it possible to reform the structure and functioning of the Royal House. The accounts of the monarchy will now be audited each year, like public institutions or political parties.
El Duque de Edinburgh dejó el pasado año un legado de servicio y dedication a la Corona y al Reino Unido.
In honor a las inolvidables ocasiones compartidas, los Reyes asistirán hoy a la misa de Acción de Gracias por su vida y trabajo. pic.twitter.com/FHCFWz5WXI
— Casa de SM el Rey (@CasaReal) March 29, 2022
The political class, just like the Spaniards, are very divided on the question of the monarchy, these transparency measures therefore arouse contrasting reactions. The right-wing parties, which defend this political regime, welcome the efforts made by the Spanish monarch. For the left-wing parties, mostly republicans, the monarchy is an institution that is no longer at all in phase with the 21st century.
The Spaniards are equally divided, even if King Felipe VI has a rather good image, because he knew how to distance himself from his father. According to a latest poll published last October, the Spaniards shun their monarchy more than ever. Only 36% support this institution, seven points less than in 2020, and 44% of Spaniards are calling for a referendum on the monarchy.
In Morocco, a distant and undisputed king
In Morocco, King Mohammed VI is seen as the guarantor of the country’s stability. Even during the Arab Spring of 2011, it never occurred to anyone to question the monarchy. The constitutional reform that followed consolidated the parliamentary monarchy and clarified the separation of powers. Since his accession to the Alaouite throne in 1999, the popularity of King Mohammed VI has never wavered. He is loved by Moroccans who see him as the guarantor of modernity but also of traditions.
However, Mohammed VI almost never walks in crowds and only speaks during official speeches on national holidays. But he is there, present through “postcards”. He is seen on social media accepting a selfie while traveling abroad. Internet users film him in the streets of Rabat when he drives his car himself and stops to greet passers-by. And finally, another type of “postcards”, Those are the “royal anger” which the press sometimes echoes, when the sovereign raises and settles serious dysfunctions on the spot.
— King Mohammed VI (@SM_Mohammed_VI) April 7, 2022
The royal family has just grown. Morocco celebrates the birth of Prince Moulay Abdeslem Moulay Abdeslem, born on Wednesday June 1. He is the son of the king’s brother, Prince Moulay Rachid. The press release from the royal house does not give the weight of the baby but specifies that the king himself baptized his nephew. Moulay Abdeslem thus takes 4th place in the succession, far behind his cousin and son of the king, the crown prince Moulay El Hassan who has just celebrated his 19th birthday.
In Thailand, the king is a controversial figure
In Thailand, it has been more than five years since a new king, with a sulphurous reputation, ascended the throne. A monarch who has made a lot of noise about him abroad. The least we can say is that Rama X does not benefit from the same aura that his father had in the country. The reformers of the student movement accuse him of being an almost absolute sovereign who, from his arrival on the throne, endeavored to concentrate power in his hands with constitutional reforms and who spent under his own name the billions of euros of the crown budget. Above all, they reproach him for continuing to allow the lèse-majesté law to be used against political opponents, which provides for up to 15 years in prison for any criticism of the king or queen.
The Royal Coronation of King Rama X https://t.co/raWSttHaDP pic.twitter.com/l2QQDoEoEL
—PR Thai Government (@prdthailand) March 8, 2019
As for the conservative royalists, they may support the king because they believe that Thai identity is deeply linked to the monarchy, some are not very comfortable with his escapades, his multiple wives, his mistresses to whom he offers military ranks with a vengeance and a reputedly angry personality, even if in general opinion Rama X has softened since he came to power.
Paradoxically, due to his bad reputation, the new king has opened up a space for freedom of expression in Thailand. Whereas in the time of his father, who embodied the ideal Buddhist king, the symbolic father of the nation, Thai people did not dare to criticize the ruler in public, today it is common to hear jokes about him or even to see spectators refuse to stand during the royal anthem in cinemas, which would have been absolutely unthinkable a few years ago.