The Royal Family

[H.H. Holmes]

Being an American, I don't really understand why the UK still takes any notice of the royal family.

The news, both here and abroad, has been full of details about the upcoming wedding (I forget who is getting married, I think one of the princes, oh well). Celebrities and diplomats from around the world are going to be in attendance, but I ask myself "why?". From my understanding, they have no real legislative power in the UK anymore, much of that has gone to the parliament and the PM (I could be mistaken, so feel free to correct me). So why do people feel that it is so important to hear what they have to say or care about who is going to be the next "king" or "queen"? Why keep these relics of an old, outdated Monarchy?

Would appreciate any comments on the matter, I am just trying to understand this...

[Rhyme]

I live in England, and even I have exactly the same questions too! I never have been and never will be a monarchist.

This quote from Thomas Paine sums up my sentiments;

"It is inhuman to talk of a million sterling a year, paid out of the public taxes of any country, for the support of any individual, while thousands who are forced to contribute thereto, are pining with want, and struggling with misery. What is called the splendour of the throne is no other than the corruption of the state. - Thomas Paine, Rights of Man

In a poll commisioned by the BBC in March 2009 76% of people said they would like the monarchy to continue after the present Queen, while 18% said they would prefer a Republic. (link)

This truely shocks me! Why anyone would support an inbred, elitest, racist and homophobic family is completely beyond me. Oh, and the fact they aren't even british bothers me too.

As for the upcoming wedding, I couldn't give a rats-ass. My street is having a party, you can guess where I will be!

/rant

[H.H. Holmes]

Rhyme,

Thanks for the reply, I think that it is good to hear from someone who lives in the UK who has the same questions that I have about the royal family. You give a viewpoint that I don't think is given much of a voice in the media, at least from the sources over here.

Those numbers from the poll you posted are quite surprising, I would think that more people would be for abolishing the monarchy, but I still expected a majority would be for it's continuance. Maybe people have a romantic idea of the monarchy of old and want to hold onto to that tradition even into modern times? I still don't understand why American news media is giving this wedding much attention, I guess that people over here are enamored by the thought of royalty, which I think is quite naive. We forget the hundreds of years that it took for most western nations to break free of their respective monarchies into a more modern form of government.

I still would like to hear from those who support the royal family, though.

[Pezmo]

They are a part of our history and our heritage.

The Royal Family does a lot for this country.

-Prince Phillip for example started the Duke of Edinburgh award which is a youth charity in which you get an award out of it. Its pretty good a lot of people do it at my college, i had the chance to but didnt take it wish i did now you, get to and do all sorts of activities.

The Queen does a lot of things to help the country she travels a lot to the commonwealth realms which is difficult considering her age, She does a lot of ceremonial duties of course. and our military would be completely different if they got rid of the monarchy and created a republic. Tourism in London would drop considering there would be no point in having all the regiments that switch to guard the Palace and other royal properties. No queen so what the hell would happen to the palace?

Prince Charles is involved in a lot of charity and he also has support of maintaining our old buildings for historic value.

Prince Harry & William are both serving in the military, serving their country. Don't see many politicians doing that do you?

So yeah, i support having a Royal Family its traditional, ceremonial and natural in these lands. The Queen is a figure head nothing more. If you live in England and want a republic p*** of to France, pip pip cheerio

[Pezmo]

This truely shocks me! Why anyone would support an inbred, elitest, racist and homophobic family is completely beyond me. Oh, and the fact they aren't even british bothers me too.

/rant

They are Christian and the Queen is the head of the Church of England so not supporting homosexuality is something i can understand because its against religion. If you wanna whine about homophobes and anti-gays go rant at the Religious communities who killed them in the past (in this country) killing of gays still goes on around the world today.

Elitest? they are the Royal Family you muppet, Britain has a heirarchy structure. Working Class, Middle Class & Upper Class. Although it is much more complex these days there is still a class system.

Inbred? Heres an example of Inbreds, Bradford Muslims. Over 50% of their Muslim community has defects from marrying their first cousins. Thats a lot worse than the Royal Family supposedly being Inbred, it happened a lot of in the past but I'm pretty sure its not so bad now or not even going on within the Royal Family.

Of course they are not British, In order to keep the Royal Family going they marry into other families across Europe this was common in the past. They are of German descent. The English people themselves are of German Descent. Anglo-Saxons for example, English blood is mixed with all sorts of culture groups from Europe.

[Space Commander Travis]

Simple answer: what would be the point in replacing them, old & Outdated though they may be? Would they be replaced with a modern, thrusting Republic? What'd be the Point of that? Trade the Queen in and replace her with a President? So what would happen to the Pry Minister? Would they still have all the power, and the president just be a figurehead, just as the Queen is now? Or would the President have the power, so we'd still just have an "elected" leader, just with a different job title? Again, why would that be any tangible advantage over how it is now?

[Space Commander Travis]

I live in England, and even I have exactly the same questions too! I never have been and never will be a monarchist.

This quote from Thomas Paine sums up my sentiments;

"It is inhuman to talk of a million sterling a year, paid out of the public taxes of any country, for the support of any individual, while thousands who are forced to contribute thereto, are pining with want, and struggling with misery. What is called the splendour of the throne is no other than the corruption of the state. - Thomas Paine, Rights of Man

In a poll commisioned by the BBC in March 2009 76% of people said they would like the monarchy to continue after the present Queen, while 18% said they would prefer a Republic. (link)

This truely shocks me! Why anyone would support an inbred, elitest, racist and homophobic family is completely beyond me. Oh, and the fact they aren't even british bothers me too.

As for the upcoming wedding, I couldn't give a rats-ass. My street is having a party, you can guess where I will be!

/rant

Racist and Homophobic? Besides, if we wish to quote Thomas Paine concerning the inhumanity of paying millions (billions, now) out of public taxes to support any body or individual, why not look at the EU? I read something interesting the other day; the amount, they say, that it costs to support the Royal Family for a year would buy about 32 hours of EU Membership.

[+DieChecker]

I was going to say 2 things are important here.

1) The Royal Family is Absurdly wealthy. Probably the richist people in the UK.

2) The Queen is the head of the Church of England, so she is like the Pope of England.

These are both hereditary positions and so William will be gaining this position and stutus eventually. Probably within the not too distant future.

[+DieChecker]

Question: Can the King or Queen run for Office and become the PM, or a member of the House of Lords?

[Admiral Danger]

im not really interested in the royal family at all.

but they're supposed to be good for tourism and bring money into the economy. thats an advantage i suppose.

but i dunno, times are hard, maybe we could sell the royal family to the arabs perhaps?

[H.H. Holmes]

Thanks for all of the replies.

I wanted to get both sides of the issue, both supporters and detractors, and I wasn't disappointed. I think that the arguments on each side are valid and reasonable.

I also learned alot about the royal family, I had no idea that the queen was practically the "pope" of England, nor did know of the charitable acts they fund.

So who is line to be the next king? It seems there hasn't been one in a while.

I still don't get all of this commotion about this wedding, though.

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

Question: Can the King or Queen run for Office and become the PM, or a member of the House of Lords?

Because of the relationship between Crown and Parliament, no they can't.

[H.H. Holmes]

Oh, I just thought of a question.

What happens if the king and queen get a divorce?

[Viral]

Oh, I just thought of a question.

What happens if the king and queen get a divorce?

Don't think they'd ever bother announcing it publicly - way too much hassle.

Also, they're a good arm for gaining national pride and also pretty good for tourism, that's all they're really good for.

[Sthenno]

The reason you see so much about the Royal Wedding is the same reason you hear about the ups and downs of every B-list celebrities marriage... as long as people keep buying into the celebrity culture the media will keep harping on about them. The celebrity status of the royal family is no more or less deserved than the celebrity status of reality TV stars or famous offspring.

The only people in the UK who care about the royal wedding are either over 70 or Heat-magazine buying gossip-hounds.

Edited March 12, 2011 by Sthenno

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

Oh, I just thought of a question.

What happens if the king and queen get a divorce?

used to happen a fair bit. Only by divorce I mean "executed as a traitor". Those Tudors knew how to party.

[zebra99]

I don't know where the figures come from for support of the royals.In the pubs I hang round in the majority couldn't give a toss about them.The trouble is if we kick 'em out the alternative is no better.President Blair?...he would have loved that,he always fancied himself.

Money from Tourism?...America and France seem to get loads of tourists without.There's plenty of flag wavers over here,but I wouldn't leave my drink to look out the window at 'em passing.

Lifes getting hard here with the vicious cutbacks and fuel three times what they pay in the States.The last thing the ordinary bloke over here needs is to see this filthy rich bunch poncing about with all their hangers on.

The press here are going nuts over this wedding thing with our future King...they seem to forget that Charlie and his adultress have got the job first.

Most of the the middle classes love 'em because they're the ones that get invited to the garden parties and Royal Ascot (Horse Racing) Where the blokes can wear their silly top hats and the women in their daft hats and posh frocks can do some serious bowing and scraping.

The Queens done a good job...kept her nose clean and worked hard for the country...But the rest of them aren't worth a damn with their affairs ,divorces,and weird goings on.All protected against real life by their bodyguards and hangers on.

Millions here are struggling to live a decent life now...why should we be jealous of this woman and her family living it up?..The Queen has a private stamp collection...that alone is worth over a £100,000,000...nice for them 'aint it?

In a nutshell it's all corrupt,but the alternatives stink too.

Edited March 13, 2011 by zebra99

[little_dreamer]

I don't know how much the British identity and national pride is tied up with the whole monarchy issue, or how a new identity could be created.

[Flashbangwollap]

I have to agree with Zebra. I just googled richest woman in the world and for some reason the Queen has fallen out of view on that listing. However with all the mud flinging here in Britain it's not surprising she would want to keep a very low profile at the moment. If things pickup or when Charlie takes over perhaps we'll see her popularity climb. Over all the whole idea of royalty is holding Britain back imo.

[zebra99]

I don't know how much the British identity and national pride is tied up with the whole monarchy issue, or how a new identity could be created.

British identity and National pride was at it's highest during WW2.If you visit Britain and talk to ordinary people you will find this has mostly gone.

The massive increase in immigration has watered this down considerably.We've always been a nation of mixed races and creeds,but the numbers allowed in has created many problems.Some schools brimming over with pupils that don't have English as their first language.

The watering down of traditions so as not to upset the newcomers.Avoiding the use of the word Christmas...not mentioning pigs so as not to upset Moslems...Denying us the display of the English flag of St.George,it being perceived as racist etc.

Mind you most of these petty rulings are brought about by White English idiots who will do anything to be politically correct.Most of the newcomers have no problem with our ways.

The above...stupid wars brought about by Blair, and the behaviour of the younger royals have not helped national pride.You don't see the national flags displayed over here anywhere near as much as in the States.Except when some poor sod has his coffin draped in one when brought back from a war zone.

Although generally the Queen is held in high regard,people do wonder what the future is for the monarchy.

[little_dreamer]

Well, there's always football, which the British seem to take great pride in. But I think there should be something more...

[Space Commander Travis]

I was going to say 2 things are important here.

1) The Royal Family is Absurdly wealthy. Probably the richist people in the UK.

2) The Queen is the head of the Church of England, so she is like the Pope of England.

These are both hereditary positions and so William will be gaining this position and stutus eventually. Probably within the not too distant future.

With the dfifference from the Pope being that (a) she has no power or influence over the Church of England; and ( b ) it wouldn't make any difference if she did, since the C of E doesn't have any power at all. I honestly think that in the US, for all the much vaunted "separation of Church and State", certain "Christian" denominations, particularly those on the more literalist Creationist/the-Bible-is-literally-true side, have much more influence in the corridors of power. Maybe that's why; because the Church is separate, it has so much more freedom and hence power.

[Space Commander Travis]

I don't know where the figures come from for support of the royals.In the pubs I hang round in the majority couldn't give a toss about them.The trouble is if we kick 'em out the alternative is no better.President Blair?...he would have loved that,he always fancied himself.

Money from Tourism?...America and France seem to get loads of tourists without.There's plenty of flag wavers over here,but I wouldn't leave my drink to look out the window at 'em passing.

Lifes getting hard here with the vicious cutbacks and fuel three times what they pay in the States.The last thing the ordinary bloke over here needs is to see this filthy rich bunch poncing about with all their hangers on.

The press here are going nuts over this wedding thing with our future King...they seem to forget that Charlie and his adultress have got the job first.

Most of the the middle classes love 'em because they're the ones that get invited to the garden parties and Royal Ascot (Horse Racing) Where the blokes can wear their silly top hats and the women in their daft hats and posh frocks can do some serious bowing and scraping.

The Queens done a good job...kept her nose clean and worked hard for the country...But the rest of them aren't worth a damn with their affairs ,divorces,and weird goings on.All protected against real life by their bodyguards and hangers on.

Millions here are struggling to live a decent life now...why should we be jealous of this woman and her family living it up?..The Queen has a private stamp collection...that alone is worth over a £100,000,000...nice for them 'aint it?

In a nutshell it's all corrupt,but the alternatives stink too.

And how does any of that differ from our "elected" politicians...?

(Except perhaps for the top hats. Actually I think that'd be an improvement. I think a top hat would suit David "Cam" Cameron.)

And that's another of my points: Politicians are far, far more harmful, since they have the power, and what they do with that power is, almost invariably, cause harm. Since the Royals have no power (if we overlook all the Illuminati theories for a moment), they're less harmful than politicians. And that can only be in their favour. I'd say, get rid of the Politicians (since all they do is cause harm), and leave the Monarchy. That's what I say.

[Space Commander Travis]

I have to agree with Zebra. I just googled richest woman in the world and for some reason the Queen has fallen out of view on that listing. However with all the mud flinging here in Britain it's not surprising she would want to keep a very low profile at the moment. If things pickup or when Charlie takes over perhaps we'll see her popularity climb. Over all the whole idea of royalty is holding Britain back imo.

Holding back? From what? From advancing into a bright new future for mankind? From becoming a modern technological society? What improvements would you propose, and how do you envisage these releasing Britain from its current backward status?

[Flashbangwollap]

Holding back? From what? From advancing into a bright new future for mankind? From becoming a modern technological society? What improvements would you propose, and how do you envisage these releasing Britain from its current backward status?

In terms of having a realistic future by putting the common peoples needs before the elite, a truly democratic vote would be nice instead of being a subject. To stop looking at past glories and BS, to move on in the world and drop this Britania rules the waves nonsense. To even allow the old girl to pay her own tax and maintain her own fortune it's like a state within a state. Sure there will always be someone else as figure head but at least they may, just might that is contribute something other than just pomp and circumstance. And before everyone rushes to her defense I think she has been a good Queen it's those waiting in the wings that worry me most.