Reply #8: Yes, although I fully understand the purpose of cultural preservation

[Snow]

and feel it's important, the IHA and folks like them sometimes get odd ideas going. Two of their biggest misapprehensions are the unbroken dynasty back to 5,000 years ago (or whatever it is) and the one you mention, that a 'commoner' has never married into the royal family. In China, Japan, & Korea you find these sorts, the dynastic nobles and upper aristocracy, having enormous influence and getting into incredible Hatfield & McCoy feuds, but they do serve a real purpose of a restraint and check on power. Asian monarchs follow confucian ethics and in general tend to have a much greater sense of responsibility and indeed of service to the people than was historically true in Europe (*koff* France *koff*), but when they do get out of hand they usually get jumped on faster. All-in-all, it's quite a system, and it makes me extremely grateful Korea's royals aren't sitting on any thrones - they haven't strictly followed the male succession thing that the Japanese picked up from European influence a while back, and the person who's about 6th in line for that thankfully absent throne is my wife.