The absolute truth which is a shame. That's why monarchs often exposed their children to horrors at a young age (executions, slums, etc.), and often times force their children to live in another nation for some time. They were the assured future ruler, and that "trauma" they earned in their youth, it built a certain connection between the future monarch and their subjects, one that someone raised in the bubble of a castle would never get. Much like politicians who fought in war before becoming a politician (JFK, Hitler, etc.), they almost always have a much greater respect for human life rather than viewing it as some form of currency.