Against Inherited Prestige
Excellence is a continuous process and not an accident. — A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark recently announced that she is stripping some of her grandchildren of their royal titles. These grandchildren are not in direct line to the Danish throne, and they are being demoted to counts and countess. Her reasoning for this is that they need the space to “shape their own existence.” She later apologized for the decision after her grandchildren expressed outrage and claimed that they “can’t understand why their identity is being taken away from them.” This response by the grandchildren speaks volumes—and not in a good way.
Frankly, any title that can be quickly stripped away by another human being should never be at the nucleus of a self-respecting person’s identity. The idea of having one’s identity being inextricably tied to a title received by accident of birth is undoubtedly pathetic. Fundamentally, the notion that the most interesting thing about an individual is that said person was born into a family that someone, somewhere decided was special enough to be deemed royalty may seem charming initially, but on careful reflection, it is merely a bejeweled cage. Whether people agree with the decision of the Queen of Denmark or not, those grandchildren who are being stripped of their royal titles are being liberated to make something of their lives, rather than just sitting around being told how special they are because of their grandparents’ and great-grandparents’ successful colonial conquests.
It is not only the children of royalty who are trapped in the farcical web of inherited prestige. Sometimes, it can be the children of acclaimed world leaders, politicians, academics, and celebrities. Meghan McCain, for example, is often mocked on social media for the embarrassing relentlessness with which she cites the fact that—lest anyone forget!—she is the daughter of the late Republican senator and presidential candidate, John McCain. The reason she cites this fact so much is because her name holds no weight on its own, and she is using her father’s earned prestige as currency. Without being McCain’s daughter, who is she? Without being Danish royalty by title, who are the four embittered grandchildren of Queen Margrethe II?
While families should strive to make future generations better off, suggesting that the identities of future generations ought to be dependent on the achievements of those before them is the best recipe to create insufferably pompous weaklings who only know how to use inherited prestige, as opposed to creating authentic prestige by producing undeniable excellence and making the world a better place with talent and hard work. Telling folks that their most important characteristic is that they were born to a special family does not foster individual strength. Inherited prestige is a farce that often robs many of the zeal to blaze their own path in the world.
Often, many criticize the alleged silliness of creating pop culture and sports royalty, but these “monarchs” had to put in work to earn their admittedly fictional royal titles. For the most part, people in pop culture and sports who receive the titles of “King” and “Queen” have to demonstrate nonpareil ability and earn unprecedented success. Serena Williams did not become the Queen of Tennis because she was born into some special family that left her the title as an inheritance. She became the Queen by dominating a sport, against all odds, for decades. The late Michael Jackson did not become the King of Pop because he inherited his position. He created music that resonated with the world and sold an absurd number of records. LeBron James is known as King James for demonstrating great talent in basketball. These titles are at least earned, and often earned by people who did not grow up with the immense wealth and incalculable privilege that many people tied to actual monarchies do.
To be clear, it is important to note that these legends who are part of pop culture and sports royalty did not get to where they are alone. People had to sacrifice for them to be where they are, and sometimes these helpers are appropriately lauded. For instance, the Academy Award-winning film, King Richard, focuses on Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena Williams, and the sacrifices that he made to create these two revolutionary sports stars. Manifestly, putting in the work to raise one’s children and push them to greatness is a royal achievement. Even a father like Joe Jackson, who was abusive, but still taught his children the work ethic required to dominate music, ought to be celebrated for his greatness while critiqued for his shortcomings. But what achievement is there in simply being born to someone who achieved greatness? What achievement is there in being born into royalty?
At the end of the day, whether royalty or not, everybody is given a name at birth—and it is imperative that every person has the impulse to strive to ensure that their name—with or without titles—is perpetually associated with demonstrated excellence. Lamentably, being born into royalty removes that impulse. There is no reason to fastidiously pursue excellence when one is relentlessly told that merely existing is evidence of superiority over others. Civilization is advanced by individuals who do more than live off the past glory of others. If unearned titles are removed from one’s name, one’s existence should not be stripped of all meaning and relevance. It is impossible to strip the identity of people who are defined by their undeniable excellence and achievement.