Whether as national figureheads or absolute heads of states, Asia’s royals still wield what author and Southeast Asia expert Michael Vatikiotis describes as “moral and spiritual power” over the court of public opinion.

And while this power may have eroded over the years, as in Malaysia, where Vatikiotis says the federal state has hijacked the supervision of Islam from the monarch, they still play a “low-key and periodically assertive role in maintaining social harmony and resolving political conflicts”.

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But if this search for relevancy unites the region’s monarchs, the reasons behind their continued influence are as varied as the countries and kingdoms themselves.

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY

In oil rich Brunei, for example, the sultan’s largesse is legendary. Citizens enjoy free healthcare, education, cheap housing, and pay no income tax or VAT. There’s a payback for the sultan: while Brunei has come in for criticism overseas for introducing a strict sharia penal code, at home most locals hold their leader and his family in the highest regard. On social media, the Bolkiah princes and princesses enjoy celebrity status, with posts depicting their super-rich jet-setting lifestyles tending to attract adoration rather than envy.

How far into the future this popularity can endure is an open question. Brunei’s oil and gas reserves are expected to run out within two decades and there are already grumbles among the Malay-Muslim majority over cuts to welfare programmes. Although Bruneians are careful about open criticism due to sedition laws, anonymous internet platforms like Reddit have given them a platform to pan the nation’s energy-centric economy and what some see as a creeping Islamisation.

Still, for now, the 71-year-old sultan, the world’s second-longest reigning monarch and one of its richest men, remains outwardly popular, last year marking 50 years in power by riding his chariot through the streets, cheered on by his subjects.

GOD SAVE THE KINGS

This religious strand to Brunei’s monarchy is mirrored across much of the region, such as in Thailand and Cambodia where the concept of “divine kingship” permeates the throne.

“The Thai and Cambodian kings are supposed to perform as Buddhist Dhammarajas, or virtual kings, so as to augment their charisma, and subsequently reverence from their subordinates,” said Pavin Chachavalpongpun, of Kyoto University’s Centre for Southeast Asian Studies.

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Under Malaysia’s constitution, hereditary rulers are charged with safeguarding Islam, an important dimension of their power in the Muslim-majority nation. However, historians say the respect they receive from their subjects owes to a mix of factors, including the country’s roots as a feudal society.

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Malaysian prince Tunku Zain Al-’Abidin, the second son of Negeri Sembilan state’s ruler, says the monarchy’s enduring popularity is because it appeals to people from “completely different backgrounds”.

“Some people value the symbolism of tradition and history; others value the constitutional aspects of having non-political figures to represent the nation and perform important functions; and others value how the institution is able to highlight particular causes.”

Malaysian historian and academic Ramlah Adam stresses the functional aspects of the Malaysian monarchy: “The Agong’s duties cover education, administration, governance. The state rulers too work closely with their state chief ministers.”

In Thailand, gauging public support is far harder, as its lese-majeste laws that forbid insult of the monarchy are among the strictest in the world. Since the junta took power in a 2014 coup that ousted the government of Yingluck Shinawatra, an increasing number of people have been jailed under the law, prompting criticisms – including from the United Nations – that it is being used to clamp down on free speech.

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“It’s impossible to do any kind of effective research on support or disapproval of the Thai monarchy given the extremely harsh constraints on speech, which have been expanded significantly in recent years – as well as what appears to be a campaign of violence against anti-monarchy activists,” researcher Josh Kurlantzick said.

Still, even if gauging the popularity of Thailand’s monarchy is a risky business, there is little doubting its enduring influence.

“Together with the military, [the late] King Bhumibol played a key role in setting the terms of discourse of Thai politics during the cold war, he played a major role in the post-1976 government and in setting the terms of the government in the 1980s, and he mediated Thailand’s early 1990s political crisis,” said Kurlantzick, referring to other key dates in Thailand’s 80-year cycle of coups and political crises.

“Bhumibhol was a central political actor in Thailand. As in her own way was Queen Sirikit [the queen consort of Bhumibol]. The Crown Property Bureau is a massive landholder and cross-shareholder in major Thai companies. So, Thailand’s monarchy has always been highly political even in the post-absolute monarch era.”

LAND OF THE RISING SON

Over in Japan, there’s little point in trying to stifle public dissent, as there is precious little of it in the first place. “It would be fair to say that the Japanese public reveres the imperial family and support what they stand for,” said Koichi Ishiyama, a professor of media studies at Toin University of Yokohama. Subsequently, any attempts to engineer a media scandal are generally given short shrift.

Indeed, if anything, it is the monarchy abandoning itself that appears its greatest threat. Eighty-five-year-old Emperor Akihito, citing failing health, plans to become the first emperor to abdicate in over 200 years this April, when he will hand over to Crown Prince Naruhito. Under Japanese law, only males born to the male lineage of the Imperial family can ascend the throne; after Naruhito takes over, there will be only three male heirs left out of 16 royal family members.

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The size of the imperial family took another hit late last year when Akihito’s granddaughter Mako gave up her title of crown princess to marry a commoner. She was forced to delay those marriage plans following a scandal in which the mother of her fiance borrowed 4 million yen (US$36,000) from her former fiance to cover family debts, but few Japanese believe the scandal has done lasting damage to the royal family’s reputation.

CROSSOVER KINGS

In Indonesia, royal families have proved remarkably adept, with the democratic era receiving a “bonus” from some royal descendants and nobles who have run for public office, according to international relations expert and academic Teuku Rezasyah.

“In most parts of Indonesia we had local kingdoms but these couldn’t survive because of the arrival of the colonialists. There are still some local kingdoms left, like Solo and Yogyakarta, but while they do not have real political power they serve as important cultural and spiritual guardians,” he said.

Instead, some royals have managed to cross over, from presiding over people to politics.

“Democracy permits royalty to climb the [political] ladder,” said Teuku. “But you don’t receive preferential treatment for being royal. It is just a bonus, as their influence is recognised in specific sectors and events.”

Although aristocratic families still exist in Indonesia, the only royal house with officially sanctioned status and even some sovereign powers is the Yogyakarta Sultanate of Central Java. As historian Susie Protschky of Monash University explained: “Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX supported the Nationalist administration during the Indonesian war of independence [1945-9] and Sukarno’s government was based in Yogyakarta for part of the revolution. The sultan was seen as loyal to the nationalists and held various offices in government after the transfer of sovereignty to Indonesia in 1949. Monarchies were officially abolished in the republic, but the Yogyakarta sultanate always retained special powers and has since been constitutionally recognised as an hereditary office.”

MONARCHS WITHOUT BORDERS

But Asia’s enduring love affair with royalty cannot be explained entirely by the political power its monarchs wield, democratically or otherwise.

Driving this obsession with royalty is a wider fascination with the upper levels of society and a need for idols to emulate, according to Bettina Ding, a consultant at Cherry Blossoms, a Hong Kong-based Asia luxury marketing firm.

“In Asian countries that still have royal lineages – for instance Thailand, Japan or Bhutan – the royal family still serves as a role model for citizens,” said Ding. “[But] in capitalist Hong Kong, the non-official royalty are the tycoons like Li Ka-shing whose every move is reported to avid followers.”

For those populations without royal lineages or suitable tycoons of their own, there is always the option of borrowing from abroad.

In Britain, a new generation of royals has piqued Asia’s interest once more, breathing new life into a centuries-old brand that had appeared to be in terminal decline as recently as the 1990s, when Queen Elizabeth declared her famous annus horribilis in the aftermath of Princess Diana’s death.

Perhaps ironically, given the car crash that ended Diana’s life was blamed on the speeding paparazzi pack hounding her vehicle, it is the highly public lifestyles of the latest generation of Windsors that has done most to resurrect the family’s fortunes.

“In China, the media will report on what Kate [Middleton], Meghan [Markle] or even Prince Charles are wearing and may strongly promote some of the brands,” she said.

“These women are lacking a role model in the current crop of Chinese celebrities whose style is too young, street or just not sophisticated enough,” she said.

And while recent films and television series about the Windsors may have helped raise the family’s profile – as did Prince Harry’s recent marriage to Markle, who shot to fame by featuring in the Netflix drama Suits – the younger members of the family have mastered an art vital to their popularity: social media.

For modern royals, everything from the shoes they wear to the brand of wines they drink can be scrutinised and discussed.

SOCIAL MEDIA – KINGMAKER?

It is this advent of social media that is largely behind the renewed international interest in royal families, according to Malaysian prince Tunku Zain. “I think public figures of any sort have received greater attention – and thus greater scrutiny – in the age of the internet, and social media in particular,” said the royal.

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For those royals who can harness its power for good, a promising future of engagement with one’s subjects awaits. Tunku Zain is himself the founding president of libertarian think tank the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs, though he does not attribute his career path to his royal upbringing.

“I always had an interest in public policy and political theory, well before my father became ruler, so doing something in the think tank or civil society space was something I would have done in any case,” he said, adding that he’s “fortunate to still be active in my other pursuits such as squash, tennis and classical music”.

Of course, engaging the public works both ways: social media can also give a voice to subjects who may question their majesties.

Malaysian historian Ramlah says some younger Malaysians lack the strong respect and veneration elder generations have always shown towards royalty.

“Younger people are more critical. With more freedom of speech, they don’t care much about the position of rulers and there are more negative comments. Contrast this with Thailand – there, they have strict lese-majeste laws and the throne is almost sacred. In Malaysia it’s a bit more lax, even with our sedition laws.”

Then there are those royal families that are seemingly impervious to the march of social media. In Japan, where few royals have a social media account, experts say such modesty and shunning of the limelight is part of what endears them to the public. Some polls put support for them at 98 per cent of the population.

SUCCESSION QUESTION

As Asia’s royals take stock of the rising influence social media has on their subjects, it may be inevitable that it will play a growing role in answering the question that all royal societies must sooner or later address: who takes the throne next, and when.

One royal who has shown surprising insight in this regard is the fifth king of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. He was just 28 when his father, Jigme Singye Wanghuck, abdicated in a surprise move, handing down the crown in 2008, but not before democratising the tiny, landlocked nation.

The public were initially baffled. “They thought – why change Bhutan into a democratic society?” said travel consultant Gwen Leung at Charlotte Travel, a Hong Kong-based firm that specialises in trips to Bhutan. “But then the people saw that he wanted to reform the country so Bhutan could be like other world-class nations. The people were very proud of the king for this.”

Today, the younger Wangchuck, often called the “dragon king”, is seen as a continuation of his father’s forward-thinking and liberal rulership.

The landlocked South Asian nation’s relatively poor economy may remain largely dependant on traditional industries such as agriculture and animal husbandry, but with its newly constitutional monarchy it has one foot planted firmly in the future.

Much like the British royals, Wangchuck is posting for a new generation, projecting an active, youthful image. “The king’s Instagram has him walking through mountains, through the trees, doing all these different activities to show that he is energetic and young,” said travel consultant Leung.

But if Wangchuck has one foot in the future, he also has one in the past. He continues one of his father’s greatest legacies – an index of Gross National Happiness that measures the collective well-being of his country’s general population, rather than their material wealth.

Like the photos of Wangchuk and his father that adorn the walls of countless of his subjects’ homes, the index is a reminder from poor, tiny Bhutan, that however uneasy lies his crown, a monarch’s subjects may still be happy. ■

Additional reporting by Julian Ryall