Monarchs of Europe and royal families have hung onto last vestiges of power and prestige with differing character and impact across modern unified continent

Why do so many European countries still have monarchs?

The Ottumwa Courier

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands abdicated on Tuesday, making way for her son Willem-Alexander to become the first Dutch king in more than a century. European monarchs are largely powerless. Why do so many countries keep them around? Because breaking up is hard to do. When asked whether they want to?