What Does The British Royal Family Actually Do?
10 fascinating duties a royal family performs for the world.
Royals do not only enjoy the title but also work. Apart from living in extravagant palaces, they glorify their heritage by performing royal duties.
The family of Queen Elizabeth II is a busy one, shouldering several responsibilities. Ever since the queen has been crowned, she has taken a keen interest in her tasks, performing them with due diligence daily.
Excelling in several duties and performing them tirelessly for decades, Queen has consistently outperformed. But throughout the time, she needed the assistance of other high-ranking royal family members to share the responsibility.
The royal grandchildren maintained their careers and jobs while performing the royal duties for full time simultaneously — Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie both own a job outside the royal family.
So, it is not only the queen who manages the workload; instead, her entire family wears different roles — from her children to grandchildren. They are supposed to conduct different abroad tours and attend various events.
Let’s dive into the details of such a list:
1. The Queen approves all legislation
Being a constitutional monarchy, The United Kingdom gives little to no power to the Queen, making her role more symbolic than political — though in medieval times, the monarch possessed the real power.
Today the parliament runs the country, and the monarch acts just like a rubber stamp. The Queen is supposed to approve the legislation passed by Parliament — the Royal Assent.
2. The Queen opens Parliament every year
The Queen’s symbolic importance means she participates in vital state ceremonies, like opening the parliament annually.
When Parliament opens each year in May, the Queen, clad in the robe and crown, delivers an Official Speech signifying the commencement.
The Queen has been religiously opening the parliament for decades and only missed it a handful of times.
3. The queen announces Royal Honors
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One of the tasks of a Queen involves honoring the individuals through official ceremonies held twice a year — once on a new year and second on the Queen’s Virthday.
The list of Royal Honors includes the Order of the British empire. The Queen not only announces the names of individuals receiving the knighthoods but also presents them with medals.
4. Royals attend more than 2,000 official engagements each year
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Several royals, throughout the day, get involved in participating in a wide range of functions — from private meetings to openings and public charities.
The presence of the queen is not vital, as any family member qualifies for royal representative. Like, if we talk about the year 2018, in particular, then it was Prince Charles and Princess Anne who had attended most of such royal meetings.
5. They organize royal events for 70,000 guests
The Royals, throughout the year, especially in summers, get occupied in throwing lavish royal parties. The House of Windsor officially invites seventy thousand people each year.
One of the most significant official functions includes Royal Garden Parties that host 30,000 guests in Edinburgh and London — imagine the time they give to not only prepare for such parties but also host them ideally.
6. Royal Family Patronize About 3,000 Charities
One of the most significant roles of the royal members is acting as patrons of charities — every high-ranking royal family member has to choose different charities to patronize.
What do they do as a patron? They act as a spokesperson or some sort of a PR representative — only their title suffices in giving any charity event a colossal exposure.
Talking about the Queen, then she alone has helped raise over £1 billion for charities. Interestingly, each royal family member has a choice to patronize the events which bounce their interest.
Majoring in art history, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge’s, treasured interest in patronizing art organizations, including the National Portrait Gallery. Similarly, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, patronizes the National Theatre, and Prince Harry helps raise funds for wounded veterans for the sporting events.
7. They host foreign VIPs
Not being officially a political figure does not mean Queen Elizabeth does not roll out the red carpet for chief guests. It has been seen that she typically arranges a lavish state dinner at Buckingham Palace for visiting heads of state.
Wondering what goes in such formal events? Nothing but goodwill toasts and elaborate menus — American presidents who had received such treatment includes Bushes and Obamas.
8. Royals go on Commonwealth Tours
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Apart from being the monarch of the United Kingdom, the Queen is also the head of the Commonwealth of Nations — an organization that represents those states which once fell under the British Empire.
Taking the role seriously, Queen Elizabeth tours many countries herself for cultivating not only cultural links but also charitable endeavors. She had visited Kenya, Jamaica, and Australia personally.
Even the royal children and grandchildren undertake the commonwealth tour when the queen is unavailable — the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge represented the Queen in the 2014 visit to Australia.
9. Royals respond to 100,000 letters Each Year
The Royal family, the most popular family in the world, receives stacks of mails every year. Responding to a heap of letters is not a walk in the park, but the royal family reply to, on average, 100,000 notes received — some are fan letters, and others are function invitations.
10. Royals are recruited as unofficial UK ambassadors
Not only the queen visits several residences sprawled across the United Kingdom for personal reasons but also visits overseas places as part of her royal duties — she stopped by 265 overseas countries in 2015.
The overseas trips are often political, where they represent the UK unofficially. For instance, acting as a UK ambassador, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited European nations for releasing Brexit tensions. They were specially recruited for visiting European countries to offer goodwill.
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References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarchy_of_the_United_Kingdom