A Hereditary and Constitutional System
As a hereditary constitutional monarchy system, the role and operation of Belgium's monarchy is governed by the Constitution. The royal office of King is designated solely for a descendent of the first King of the Belgians, Leopold I.
Since he is bound by the Constitution (above all other ideological and religious considerations, political opinions and debates and economic interests) the King acts as an arbiter and guardian of Belgium's unity and independence. Belgium's monarchs are inaugurated without the blessing of the Catholic Church in a purely civil swearing-in ceremony. These words (above all other ideological and religious considerations, political opinions and debates and economic interests) are not written in the Belgian constitution: nevertheless, they conform with the spirit of this Constitution. There have been occurrences, however, of Belgian monarchs not always respecting this spirit.
Read more about this topic: Belgian Monarchy
Famous quotes containing the words hereditary and/or system:
“People think they have taken quite an extraordinarily bold step forward when they have rid themselves of belief in hereditary monarchy and swear by the democratic republic. In reality, however, the state is nothing but a machine for the oppression of one class by another, and indeed in the democratic republic no less than in the monarchy.”
—Friedrich Engels (1820–1895)
“Fear, coercion, punishment, are the masculine remedies for moral weakness, but statistics show their failure for centuries. Why not change the system and try the education of the moral and intellectual faculties, cheerful surroundings, inspiring influences? Everything in our present system tends to lower the physical vitality, the self-respect, the moral tone, and to harden instead of reforming the criminal.”
—Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902)