For 70 years, King Bhumibol Adulyadej provided a steadying hand in the rough-and-tumble world of Thai politics. Through nearly a dozen coups and 17 constitutions, the king developed a role as the ultimate adjudicator between an over-zealous military and a notoriously corrupt civilian political class. As he grew ill and retreated from public life, however, Thailand entered a period of heightened uncertainty. His death on Oct. 13 provides an opportunity to consider the benefits of constitutional monarchy — a system of government with many virtues if the right person holds the throne.

Since Bhumibol took the throne in 1946, almost half of monarchies that then existed around the world have been abolished; only 27 survive.

It’s hard to be the king. To endure, a constitutional monarchy requires a leader who stays above the fray and yet remains available, who is grounded in principle and yet in touch with popular opinion — and who can master the ceremonial trappings of the position while exercising a good deal of political savvy. Because the stakes are lower, this task is much easier in rich democracies like Denmark and Belgium than in the developing world. Whereas Queen Elizabeth, now the world’s longest-serving royal, has presided over a period of post-war reconstruction and European integration, Thailand has during the same period transformed from a poor agrarian country to a mid-level developing nation while surviving a regional wave of war, dictatorship, and revolution.

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