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If one happened to be in a place at a time when a member of a royal family walked by, should one make the Berachah that one says upon seeing a king?
Assume the royal person did, in fact, wield great power, including absolute authority with regard to matters of life and death for those who rank below him.
If so, should one make the Berachah if one did not realize until after the fact that this was a royal person of such rank?
The beracha is only on seeing a king (or a queen who is a female king). A member of the royal family does not count. Some say that the bracha is not on any king, but on a king with power over life and death. You could say the bracha over the King of Saudi Arabia, but perhaps not the Queen of England.
