Nutzliche Leichen

The monarchical rule had lost its naturalness at the latest with the French Revolution. Nevertheless, it remained the dominant form of government in the 19th century and even celebrated happy births in newly emerging European states. It was able to do this not least because it was removed from the lowlands of daily political issues and increasingly grew together with the national interests of its states and societies. The visibility of dynasts and symbolic actions thus played an increasingly important role - especially under the conditions of an exploding media landscape. Jrg Zedler shows how the ceremonial surrounding the death of a king and queen acquired an important function in the integration of one's own society, as well as in the representation of the country to the outside world, and that monarchs still had political functions even in death.