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: Monarchy Of Belgium
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 (18201895)
“Loving feels lonely in a violent world,
irrelevant to people burning like last years weed
with bellies distended, with fish throats agape
and flesh melting down to glue.
We can no longer shut out the screaming
That leaks through the ventilation system ...”
—Marge Piercy (b. 1936)