On Good Royalty
Jun. 9th, 2014 02:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jducoeur(Not a comment on any particular Royals: this just occurred to me in passing.)
This morning, I happened to be thinking about a few past Monarchs who I think of as "Good Royalty". And it occurred to me to think about what I mean by that phrase.
It isn't about anything as simple as whether they give the best Court: it's a fine thing to have Monarchs with a sense of theater, but I've known some who I deeply respected despite being very shy up in front. It isn't about whether they spend a lot of effort on Law and Curia, or stay away from it (I find that the ideal is somewhere in the middle, making tweaks when necessary but not gratuitously). It certainly doesn't mean doing the job perfectly -- I don't think I know any Royals who haven't made at least *some* mistakes.
I think it mostly comes down to attitude, and specifically *why* someone fights in Crown Tourney. The best Monarchs, by and large, are the ones who are looking to serve the Kingdom in a big way. It's a subtle thing, distinguishing self-aggrandizement from that sort of service, but the ones who are really looking to serve show it in many ways: they pay more attention to the little details, they *listen* more than they talk, they find out what everyone else's priorities are and try to take them into account.
In short, the best Royal Peers, the ones who I seriously consider top-notch role models, are every bit as service-focused as any Pelican. It makes me happy to consider that I do know quite a number of examples of such...
This morning, I happened to be thinking about a few past Monarchs who I think of as "Good Royalty". And it occurred to me to think about what I mean by that phrase.
It isn't about anything as simple as whether they give the best Court: it's a fine thing to have Monarchs with a sense of theater, but I've known some who I deeply respected despite being very shy up in front. It isn't about whether they spend a lot of effort on Law and Curia, or stay away from it (I find that the ideal is somewhere in the middle, making tweaks when necessary but not gratuitously). It certainly doesn't mean doing the job perfectly -- I don't think I know any Royals who haven't made at least *some* mistakes.
I think it mostly comes down to attitude, and specifically *why* someone fights in Crown Tourney. The best Monarchs, by and large, are the ones who are looking to serve the Kingdom in a big way. It's a subtle thing, distinguishing self-aggrandizement from that sort of service, but the ones who are really looking to serve show it in many ways: they pay more attention to the little details, they *listen* more than they talk, they find out what everyone else's priorities are and try to take them into account.
In short, the best Royal Peers, the ones who I seriously consider top-notch role models, are every bit as service-focused as any Pelican. It makes me happy to consider that I do know quite a number of examples of such...