As something of a history buff I’ve read about a fair few Kings and Queens through history. There are many of them, most mediocre, a lot of them objectively bad, however, now and again one stands out from the masses as a good one.

So, what (according to you) makes a good monarch? Feel free to point to a particular person, or event as an example :)

  • SanguinePar@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    No monarch is a good one IMO. The very idea of a monarchy is repulsive to me.

    However, there are certainly some who are worse than others. The trouble is that by the time you find out, they’re already the monarch and you can’t get rid of them without a great deal of trouble.

      • SanguinePar@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        This argument comes up every time. What if you get a KING Blair, Johnson or Sunak? At least a president can be voted out.

        • deadcatbounce@reddthat.com
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          10 months ago

          I don’t think you really understand how monarchies work.

          FYI Charles I was voted out to all intents and purposes.

          • SanguinePar@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            Ok, how do I vote out the current King then? What’s that? I can’t?

            I absolutely do understand how monarchies work, so don’t patronise me - or at least not without expanding on your point so I can reply with more than "Yes I do”.

  • Sordid@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    If titles are anything to go by, murderizing an absolute shitzillion of people makes monarchs pretty great.

    • Albbi@lemmy.ca
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      10 months ago

      Reminds me of how nobility are talked about in the Brandon Sanderson book “Tress of the Emerald Sea”.

      He’d apparently been quite heroic during those wars; you could tell because a great number of his troops had died, while he lived.”

  • stoy@lemmy.zip
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    10 months ago

    A monarch understanding that they work for the people, and represent the people.

    The same goes for any nation’s leader, monarch or not.

  • Iceblade@lemmy.worldOP
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    10 months ago

    I submit King Haakon VII - the first modern King of Norway. Throughout his reign he worked to support the Norwegian people, acting as a unifying and stabilizing figure, particularly in times of crisis. Examples are during the first few years of the country, during WW1, the occupation of WW2 and also after the 1927 elections, where he decided to uphold parliamentary convention and allow the workers party (which at the time espoused a revolutionary socialist manifesto) to form a government (against the wishes of the liberal and conservative majority in parliament, which had failed to form a government).

    • stoy@lemmy.zip
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      10 months ago

      I agree, and for the most part C Gurra hasn’t really been this kind of figure for us In Sweden, but in the last few years he has made a speech to the nation at christmas, which I feel have started to bring the out the unifying figure we need.

  • Devi@kbin.social
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    10 months ago

    I think it’s pretty similar to what makes a good person, empathy, kindness, that sort of stuff.

    A lot of the monarchs better thought of are the ones who made social reforms, bettering the lives of others much lower down the totem pole.

    Like all people, it’s kind of impossible to be all good, so even with the good ones there’s awful stuff there, but it’s all relative.

    • Iceblade@lemmy.worldOP
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      10 months ago

      Having 20 years of relative peace to start off is no small feat given the size of Rome and the issues mounting at the time. Still, he failed to in securing a good heir to lead the empire after his death. His son, a mere 18 at his death would be rather unprepared to lead the empire. It might have been more prudent to adopt a more suitable heir.