To a great amount of hype, the engagement of Englands Prince Harry to commoner Meghan  Markle was announced on Monday.  The last time an English royal married an American divorcee, there was an abdication.

If all goes ahead as planned this will be the first time a person of color, American and a divorcee actually joins the royal family.

Prompted by this announcemnt  and the associated level of interest, one of my colleagues asked a most interesting question,  what do the royals do?

Symbolism

Do you believe in Santa Claus?  Well you might not believe in the existence of an actual Santa Claus, as a descrete entity,  it is likely the concept and philosophy he symbolizes resonate with you.

Although the royals do exist, unlike Santa, the parallel is like Santa Claus, what they represent is larger and more powerful than their actual existence.

What you Do/What you represent?

Actions are critical, what you do is what you are.  In the case of symbols, e.g., royals, religious icons, fictional idols, it is not what is done but rather what is represented.

So, the answer to what the royals do is; support the symbolism.  Missteps on their part can damage the image of what the symbol stands for,  but to a large extent this damage can be overlooked in favour of the value provided by and the need and desire to believe what is being represented over what is occurring.