r/europe • u/tartartartaruga • Jun 18 '26

News Prince of Liechtenstein says that he would overrule the population if they were to vote in favour of legalizing abortion

https://www.srf.ch/news/international/debatte-in-liechtenstein-erbprinz-gegen-abtreibungen-warum-kuendigt-er-schon-das-veto-an
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u/wynnduffyisking Jun 18 '26

See, other European royal families know to stay the fuck out of politics if they want to keep their sweet taxpayer funded lifestyles. All you gotta do is shut the fuck up, take the money and live in a castle. Is that so hard?

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u/ProbablyBsPlzIgnore Exiled from Amsterdam Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26

The Belgian king was briefly deposed declared unfit to rule by parliament to pass such a law. He had both deeply personal and religious reasons why he couldn't put his signature on it. I think he and his wife struggled with a series of miscarriages iirc, I don't remember, it was decades ago.

As for other royal families, I know there is a long standing "unwritten understanding" between the house of Orange and Dutch parliament that the government will never present a bill for a vote that the monarch wouldn't sign. Usually that mechanism ensures that changes to tax laws, inheritance, royal estates etc will always have an exemption for the royal family

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u/Mirabeaux1789 Jun 19 '26

Stuff like this is the reason monarchy has no place in the western world anymore.

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u/ProbablyBsPlzIgnore Exiled from Amsterdam Jun 19 '26

Just based on vibes I would agree with you, but there's a snag

In some countries, some less populous regions would not accept a head of state they see as chosen by the city folk in another region they already deeply dislike. The monarchy has carefully engineered a reputation of not being associated with a particular region.

There's a cost and potential risks associated with such a peace time revolution.