But not all families have constitutional roles and live in lavish, publicly funded palaces.
Most European monarchies were abolished after World War I and World War II, but a dozen countries continued to retain the crown and scepter, even though they were forced to give up most of their political power.
These are Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, as well as the Principalities of Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and the theocratic absolute monarchy of the Vatican.
Others, such as Romania and Montenegro, lost their thrones but retained semi-legitimate ceremonial roles, or, as in Greece, retained at least some public attention.
“The Norwegian royal family is clearly a family with challenges, and that's true for many other families in Norway,” said Jonas Gaer Storre. Cornelius Poppe/Getty Images
As a result, even today the continent is filled with royal families of great influence and prestige, and, when they do wrong, bring untold grief to their governments.
Belgium's notoriously rebellious Prince Laurent was reprimanded by Prime Minister Yves Leterme after making an unauthorized trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2011, who threatened to revoke the prince's allowances.
