Royalty issues re: SOV. Lets be very candid. Historically, almost all royalty are the descendants of the first gang of thugs who successfully took control of a settlement. At root, they were gangsters, ruffians, thugs, thieves, and brutal enforcers of their gang's right to take from the weaker people around them. The weak 'farmers' or whatever came under the 'protection' of the autocrats because THEY don't want to mess with farming. Is this an early form of 'protection racket?"
Over time, their 'rights' were legitimized by tradition and religion. Remember 'divine right of Kings?" (We now have divine right of multi-millionaires.) Some, perhaps, even became 'enlightened' autocrats. It took many centuries for ideas of the 'obligation of the nobility' to take root. History has been, in large measure, the story of common folks banding together to get 'more' rights from the Autocrat / Nobles.
Remember, Magna Carta did nothing for the masses. It was about the rights of lesser nobles vs the strongest noble (the king). 'Peers' were all nobles - memebrs of the 'peerage' which becmae 'the house of Lords.'
Basically, this is a long way of saying that SOVs, no matter their 'history,' become nobles by virtue of their power to channel, to control the enviornment (the lesser people must live in). The SOV may be the offspring of the lowest of the low, or be related to ancient "Royalty." It matters not - being a channeler makes one the new royalty - and people will flock to the protection, security (food, water) etc. that SOV offers.
Not sure how to 'fix' it in the game.