Business as usual? How Europe’s royals mix work and duties

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FILE - In this Monday Nov. 27, 2017 file photo, Britain's Prince Harry and his fiancee Meghan Markle pose for photographers during a photocall in the grounds of Kensington Palace in London. As the British royal family wrestles with the future roles of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, it could look to Europe for examples of how princes and princesses have tried to carve out careers away from the pomp and ceremony of their families’ traditional duties. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)

europe-working-royals

British Prince Harry and his wife Meghan’s desire to step away from royal duties have plunged the royal house into crisis. A quick look at the history of European royalty shows that some other royals have struggled to keep all their business activities above board, while others have managed just fine to combine business activities with royal duties. The Dutch king sometimes flies KLM jets and the British-American husband of a Swedish princess turned down a royal title so he could continue his work as a financier. But beware of trying to cash in on royal links.