Above them in station

[BradfordGirl]

I think one of the fundamental issues at the heart of the Royal Family is that those higher in the hierarchy do believe they are better than those lower in the hierarchy. This is what they are raised to believe. So William and Kate do think they are automatically better than Harry and Meghan. And George will believe he is better than Charlotte and Louis.

It is a messed up and it is obvious why it would lead to dysfunctional family relationships.

Better? No. More senior with added levels authority and responsibility? Of course! The monarch is also the head of the church, another hierarchical intuition. Is the Bishop better than the dean? Of course not. Are the a more senior leader? Yes.

It's a unique institution, family as well as monarchy. Anyone who thinks they can walk into this system with pedicured bare feet and hug the hierarchy away is ignorant and deluded. Anyone who wants the titles, the prestige but not serve and adhere to the expected rules of engagement is a chancer.

Bishops will happily hug someone in a lower job in jeans. It would be strange if they would not.
And the Royal Family also happily hug strangers in jeans.
It is a nonsense argument and ignores what I am saying.

It is not about having a senior job role. It is about being brought up to think you are more important and matter more than your siblings, that you matter more.

Well, Kate isn't a member of the clergy as far as I know, but I would argue that she hugs people in public because that's part of her job. But when she's in private she should be afforded the same bodily autonomy the rest of us have.

I am not disagreeing. Anyone should have that right. But not really relevant.

The issue is about William, Charles and George being raised to think they are more important and matter more than their siblings.

They are the future King and Queen of England, next in line to the throne. On a basic level, they are more important. They are all aware of a seniority within the family. Believing someone thinks they are 'better than' or 'matter more' than someone else is a childish notion. Harry may think this, because as proven, he is very immature and emotionally stunted. W & K however are both intelligent adults in their 40's who understand what their role will become. They don't 'think they're better' than anyone else, they're just aware of their role within the monarchy.

Have you spent time with many Bishops? I have. They certainly don't go around hugging people they barely know!

Nope. I'm sure they're brought up to honour the role they're expected to fulfil, but tbh I think Harry has a far more exaggerated sense of his own importance than William. I think William has been educated and trained to think it's really not about him.

I think William has been educated and trained to think it's really not about him

Really? I would say quite the opposite. He is the second most powerful person in the Royal Family and he will know this and be brought up accordingly.

Not his fault, but bound to be what it's like.

First reply nails it.

I’d much rather be in Princess Anne’s position than King Charle’s, or Harry’s (pre flounce) than Williams’s. They have less focus on them (unless they go off the rails!) and more chance of a life than the first in line. And still have so much privilege.

William will have had it drummed into him from a very early age that it's all about service. He doesn't come across as arrogant. I'm pretty sure the Queen will have modelled not being a prick in the face of a life of incredible privilege, it's not about you, it's about the role etc etc.

@HaroldandWilly They are not more important at all. It is a ceremonial job. It would have very little impact if the roles no longer existed.
Many other people are far more important in terms of their positive impact on others.

How do you know what members of the Royal Family are raised to believe? Have you been with them all at every moment of their lives? Whose standards are you measuring them by? Did you ever sit by the late Queen and Prince William when they had a discussion about her faith and what she was doing giving out Maundy Money?
This notion that one person is 'better' than another is unChristian tosh. Some people are higher than others in the man-made organisations like the constitution of a country, the armed forces, churches, firms, national government, local government et cetera. Most people show respect to someone higher in one of those hierarchies, but it doesn't mean that the boss, the colonel, the headmaster etc, are 'better'.
This fucking, fucking, fucking, boring word 'dysfunctional' has been thrown around for decades. If examined I should think many families in this country are more dysfunctional than the Royal Family. I wish the sheep could find a different baa to bleat.

Nice to hear I'm not the only one bored of the word 'dysfunctional' in every other post. What's 'dysfunctional'? And what's 'functional' for that matter?

If it's not 'dysfunctional' it's the equally poorly defined 'toxic'.

Well the roles do exist. And, weather you like it or not, the future monarchs are considered to be more important, by a vast amount of people. Including some in the family/institution.

Many non royals could be considered much more important/worthy of admiration etc yes. Many others aren't. As is life. What's your point or is this just another one of your threads having a pop at the Royal Family?

If examined I should think many families in this country are more dysfunctional than the Royal Family.

Looking at the affairs & airing of dirty laundry which was a thing way before Harry plus throw in Andrew I would disagree!

There are families more dysfunctional, but not many.

It is not having a pop at the Royal Family as individuals at all. I am saying that the institution breeds a certain way of behaving and thinking and makes all this inevitable.

Yes there is ttuth in this. Princess Margaret felt the same. The then Princess Elizabeth had specisl tutors ans studied subjects Margaret didn't. Nothing to do with ability or interest.

There is a massive nod to hierarchy in the RF. Unbelievably so. The words 'minor royal' and 'heir to the throne' and 'order of succession' are forever bandied about.

As soon as the Queen died, W&K moved up the hierarchy with new titles, it was the first thing that Charles did. It's all to do with british nobility and a ranking system. Peers of the realm ... duchess, marchioness, earl, duke, viscount etc. They all jostle for position. And they're all addressed in different ways. Your Grace, Your Honour, My Lord etc.

No one can tell me that they all treat each other equally!

You cannot be serious? How can anyone be so utterly naive. Domestic violence, child abuse, racism, these things permeate our society behind closed doors. How can you possibly think not many families are more dysfunctional

and arguably they are more important constitutionally, that doesn’t mean they are more important in terms of family

honestly you’re writing a lot of confused nonsense

I agree I will also add that Kate is not from the same social class and had a bit of a hard time from some people in Will’s social circle. For example, they would shout ‘doors to manual’ in reference to her DM’s past career. I’m not saying that behaviour is ok but I’m pointing out Kate wasn’t instantly accepted. M just expected everyone to love her instantly and life just isn’t like that.

Anyone who has been to a private school thinks they are better than everyone else.

One of the weirdest aspects of all this Harry stuff is that he seems surprised and aggrieved that the royal family is hierarchical and privileged. Granted he hasn't been the major beneficiary of this, but in terms of the UK he's been in the top 0.0000001%. Yet, he doesn't appear to acknowledge this to himself.

And whilst I'm at it, his main gripe seems to be press leaks. It's as if he thinks the rest of us haven't known that the palaces are in cahoots with the press and release/leak stories surreptitiously. He's the great man opening our eyes to the truth. However, I think most of us were fully aware of this already, not least because the younger royals have benefited from this arrangement, e.g. when Harry was at school or serving in Afghanistan.

I think one of the fundamental issues at the heart of the Royal Family is that those higher in the hierarchy do believe they are better than those lower in the hierarchy

That is the point.

Otherwise anyone could be Royal.

From what we hear, the Queen had an absolute sense of duty and was very much motivated by her Christianity, but that still just means that she thought she was chosen by God to do the job, and her family had to show her deference, even in private.

She may have been a good Queen, but Margaret, Charles and Andrew all seem to have been damaged by the institution, sometimes with wider reaching consequences - and that’s before you get to the next generation.

The problem is that it is all bat shit crazy, and pull at a thread and the whole thing unravels.

But remember, Harry says he supports the monarchy.

I agree OP, and the fact they still expect bowing and curtsying when in private kind of proves it.
I could not imagine in any situation that I would curtsey to my older sister simply because she was born before me.