Cathérine Bergeyck
Heir Presumptive
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2003
- Messages
- 2,927
Hello "aj00192557", I can only answer your questions for myself of course, I live in Belgium which is a monarchy and this is how it is in our country
-do you curtsy when you see a royal? i dont think i can stomach curtseying to somebody just because they were born royal. in fact, the royals should maybe acknowledge the people for paying them to be their kings and queens.
It's happened a few times that I saw someone of the Belgian royal family on the street. People don't curtsey then of course, you just turn around to look again
Only on very official ocasions (let's say you were received by the king at the palace; also on the wedding reception of the crownprince a lot of people curtseyed to him and his bride) people can curtsey. But it's no problem if you don't. But you should stay polite of course
-if somebody has a title like lord or lady, count/countess, etc., do they use it in real life? do they write their name as Lord X blah, blah, blah in signing credit cards and writing checks?
Aristocracy is usually raised with a sense of "noblesse oblige", meaning that you get a priviledge by being born with a title, so you should also show yourself worthy of it. That means charity and also to a high degree modesty. So when a noble presents himself (let's say to someone new at work) he won't metion his title or his complete name (In Belgian noble sirnames are very long). On the other hand amongst nobles they do 'coquette' with it - also a way to see if they've got a common ancester. Usually the title isn't used to sign something , but it depends from person to person. It's a part of their name after all.
-do theses nobles with title get preferential treatment at work or at school? i would hate it if your boss or your principal shows preferential treatment towards a kid with a "Lord" attached to his name or to a kid with a really well known last name.
No certainly not. For young nobles (teenagers) it's often something their classmates make fun of. The days that a title gave you access to everything you wanted are over. But since the time that it has become necessary for nobles to work to make a living, a large part of them have good careers (now that they don't excell anymore by their name they want to excell by their career ?) and so in Belgium you can always find nobles among national bankdirectors, politicians, judges etc.
-do these noblemen actually feel entitled and look down on commoners? i am not talkin about a royal family. of course some of them could be snobs because they are prince or princesses, etc. but im talking about, for a lack of term, your "minor" noblemen ( your lords, barons, and a really old last name).
No, generally speaking not. As I said modesty and helping others is a part of the average noble upbringing. They're usually very proud of their family, its history and the part it played in their country but you won't find them boasting about it too easily. There are exceptions of course.
-do you guys "respect" your monarchs? if yes what makes you respect them? sure, well all need to respect each other but you know what im talking about.
I do, but that's also because of who they are and what they do for our country, I woudn't just like anyone just because he or she is royal. I think most people in Belgium think this way.
- why do you have a monarchy? is it because the ancestors of these ruling dynasties established your country and made it the way it is right now through war and conquest. i think that is the reason why europe has monarchy.
Belgium was founded in 1830 and at the time it was the best solution to keep that young small country viable. A German prince with family connections in Britain became king, and he married a daughter of the French king, that way Belgium got protection from powerful neighbouring countries. Through the years the Belgian kings (and their family) have worked hard for the country and the first 3 kings are personnally to be thanked for the fact that the country still exists today.
Nowadays the RF in Belgium is seen as the "glue" that keeps the country together. There's also a bit of a fairytale aspect which people love of course, but it goes deeper than that. When a little prince or princess gets born, it's like there's a birth in your family, and the same if someone dies - it affects you personnally. The big and small history of a royal family runs together with the history of your own family.
-do you curtsy when you see a royal? i dont think i can stomach curtseying to somebody just because they were born royal. in fact, the royals should maybe acknowledge the people for paying them to be their kings and queens.
It's happened a few times that I saw someone of the Belgian royal family on the street. People don't curtsey then of course, you just turn around to look again
Only on very official ocasions (let's say you were received by the king at the palace; also on the wedding reception of the crownprince a lot of people curtseyed to him and his bride) people can curtsey. But it's no problem if you don't. But you should stay polite of course
-if somebody has a title like lord or lady, count/countess, etc., do they use it in real life? do they write their name as Lord X blah, blah, blah in signing credit cards and writing checks?
Aristocracy is usually raised with a sense of "noblesse oblige", meaning that you get a priviledge by being born with a title, so you should also show yourself worthy of it. That means charity and also to a high degree modesty. So when a noble presents himself (let's say to someone new at work) he won't metion his title or his complete name (In Belgian noble sirnames are very long). On the other hand amongst nobles they do 'coquette' with it - also a way to see if they've got a common ancester. Usually the title isn't used to sign something , but it depends from person to person. It's a part of their name after all.
-do theses nobles with title get preferential treatment at work or at school? i would hate it if your boss or your principal shows preferential treatment towards a kid with a "Lord" attached to his name or to a kid with a really well known last name.
No certainly not. For young nobles (teenagers) it's often something their classmates make fun of. The days that a title gave you access to everything you wanted are over. But since the time that it has become necessary for nobles to work to make a living, a large part of them have good careers (now that they don't excell anymore by their name they want to excell by their career ?) and so in Belgium you can always find nobles among national bankdirectors, politicians, judges etc.
-do these noblemen actually feel entitled and look down on commoners? i am not talkin about a royal family. of course some of them could be snobs because they are prince or princesses, etc. but im talking about, for a lack of term, your "minor" noblemen ( your lords, barons, and a really old last name).
No, generally speaking not. As I said modesty and helping others is a part of the average noble upbringing. They're usually very proud of their family, its history and the part it played in their country but you won't find them boasting about it too easily. There are exceptions of course.
-do you guys "respect" your monarchs? if yes what makes you respect them? sure, well all need to respect each other but you know what im talking about.
I do, but that's also because of who they are and what they do for our country, I woudn't just like anyone just because he or she is royal. I think most people in Belgium think this way.
- why do you have a monarchy? is it because the ancestors of these ruling dynasties established your country and made it the way it is right now through war and conquest. i think that is the reason why europe has monarchy.
Belgium was founded in 1830 and at the time it was the best solution to keep that young small country viable. A German prince with family connections in Britain became king, and he married a daughter of the French king, that way Belgium got protection from powerful neighbouring countries. Through the years the Belgian kings (and their family) have worked hard for the country and the first 3 kings are personnally to be thanked for the fact that the country still exists today.
Nowadays the RF in Belgium is seen as the "glue" that keeps the country together. There's also a bit of a fairytale aspect which people love of course, but it goes deeper than that. When a little prince or princess gets born, it's like there's a birth in your family, and the same if someone dies - it affects you personnally. The big and small history of a royal family runs together with the history of your own family.