I don't care how much "real" power they have. If you actually believe in a meritocracy how can you defend someone getting a job because of their lineage, attending real political events and ceremonies and influencing policies that way? And let's not forget that in many cases, they ACTUALLY have institutional powers they just don't use because they don't have to, the institutions serve their interests all the same.
Sorry for the pointless rant. It just happens way too often.
The monarchy is institutionalized parasitism, it should have gone extinct when the middle ages ended.
"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest."
~ attributed to Denis Diderot
heck yeah