President and monarchy

I can’t speak for the UK, but it’s not the only modern-day monarchy in Europe. Norway, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain…

In Norway, people are generally quite happy to have the monarchy continue, although occasionally there are some short-lived disputes about a republic.

I think the main reason is that the Norwegian royal families (and the case is similar in many of the other remaining European monarchies) have worked hard to be like their people, instead of standing on a pedestal.

In Norway, the royal children have attended regular state (government, not private schools). They’ve gone to regular universities and have held regular jobs (not the king and queen, I mean the others in line), and have exercised their functions as non-political, non-partisan representatives of all the people (and not just the members of a political party that got them into office)

In what is known as ‘constitutional monarchies’ (like those of Scandinavia and also the UK, although the UK doesn’t have a formal written constitution) their powers are definitely limited. Running the country is in the hands of the prime minister, chosen by the political parties who wins in the elections (in Norway elections are held regularly every four years, and not whenever the prime minister calls them).

The functions of the monarch are largely ceremonial and ‘representative’, but it is the monarch who formally open the Parliament, signs bills into laws, and confirms the appointment of the prime minister.

Most of what the US president does is the job of the prime minister and his or her government.