Gawping at the royals has to stop

Exactly. France is the most visited country in Europe.

The figures are much higher than this - this ludicrous figure doesn’t include the vast security costs attached to them. They cost us far more than this. Not to mention the cost of not having a functioning modern democracy while we’re stuck with this feudal nonsense 🙄.

They don’t bring in tourists! They absolutely don’t. You need to look at the actual facts and not just believe the palace PR machine. The buildings would still be there and the affect on tourism would be zero.

I’d prefer not to have a RF, but we do. Therefore they’ll have to deal with the attention they get from some people, whether positive or negative. They can walk away if they don’t want it, but they stay. I don’t know many people who are interested in them in a positive way, lots are appalled by Andrew and gossip about Kate’s cancer, but no one I know really gives a shit about them.

The RF board on here is awful and if I wasn’t put off already, I would be after reading what their supporters over there have to say. Part of me thinks it’s the same few posters socking themselves though, it’s all so weird and cliquey. Very strange board.

Fairly mediocre? Most barely passed A levels despite the best education money can buy.

Mildly dysfunctional? I don't know any other families with such a history of infidelity, bulimia, depression, racism, accusations of racism, squealing on Talk shows, sibling rivalry, father son sulking....

They make the Roys on Succession seem functional.

I totally agree, which is why I'm a Republican. Get rid of the grant / civil list, make them pay taxes and they can get on with being 'normal'.

It's the media obsession - and I guess it sells and generates clicks - but you just have to look at websites like the Mail and the Express with loads of pictures, sycophantic headlines and a complete obsession with them - and especially with the Harry / Meghan story.

It's unbelievable how obsessed they are - an obsession that is fed by people who consume it up.

What are they so interested in?

The celebrities people mention on here do something useful - like create music, do sport etc

Exactly, @ll09sm . They're like ultra royals, just taking the status, money and privilege and milking it. No morals.

Anyone who holds up whinger and ginger as role models for anything cannot be taken seriously. You seriously think that those two clown are the ones to look up to.

OP, is this your way of dressing up your republican opinions as faux concern for the Royals?

Why the intellectual contortionism. Just say if you don’t agree with the monarchy.

Oh dear OP, you've made a mockery of your argument by holding up the Sussex Grifters as your paragons.

Those two who are so desperate to use their Royal connections to line their own pockets whilst claiming to be derisive of the same establishment.....

Epic fail OP. Epic.

Most well known figures have some skill or knowledge that people are interested in. The royals are just rich people, from rich families going back generations. At some stage one of them decided that meant they were better than everybody else and that poor people should worship them. Subsequent generations of that family have worked to keep that myth alive to protect their wealth, even going as far as to claim god chose them for this purpose (see coronation).

I don't object to people being wealthy but being expected to worship them because of it is sickening.

I don't get the obsession with them or why people camp out for days to see them from a distance. I won't even do that for Wimbledon tickets (and now Nadal isn't going to be there it's even less likely). I've seen Kate, my mum has met Sophie. They're normal people who do normal things.

They all look like they'd rather be somewhere else in that photo, and Sophie is looking more and more fed up as time goes by.

'Celebrity-dom' is something people bring on themselves. If everyone stopped taking interest, it wouldn't exist. Funding of it is voluntary - you can avoid buying tickets/music/merchandise/whatever content celebs are creating. Same can't be said of the royals.

I would equally not be happy to pay 80p per month (which in my family would be £3.60 a month- is it really that high!! Jesus.) for anything else that offered so little. Perhaps the people that want the Monarchy so much should be the people paying through a different mechanism like a charity would.

What kids!?
Though actually I do think it's better to teach kids to not buy into the monarchy. It is a bit of a silly concept if you think about it.
They should, as we all should, question the status quo rather than blindly accept that Prince Charles etc al have some god given right to rule over us.
If we didn't question such things we would be all living as indentured serfs.

You may have a point, but describing Meghan and Harry as "the only ones having gumption" made me 😂!
They're still royal just trying to make more money out of it than the others! Money out of others' private lives. Gumption? Greed more like.

They are not ordinary people. Their lives are nothing like anyone else’s in this country. So it’s understandable that people want to be nosy, like they’re in a zoo. I think it’s the only purpose that they serve. It is optional for them, not for us having to pay for them. I want my 80p back. And I don’t think the 80p includes all the excessive security costs. I’m not interested in what they all wear and who gets on with who but if we didn’t hear about this bollocks in the media then they’d be even more irrelevant.

The other part of the panto is the ludicrous amount of money being paid to them. Let's address that first. They are welcome to then decline to attend the panto.

Judging by all of the horrific NHS posts I see on here, it seems that 80p pp could be put to better use.

People don't understand why other like the royals, will stand for hours to see them, and yet think they are a waste of money at a little over 80p pp per annum
People don't understand why others like Taylor Swift, and will sit for hours chasing codes, tickets, swapsies, and hysteria, all for about a 1000 times more money

And if you can't you just come on here and have an ill-informed moan about it

You can't take one photo and say look how miserable they are, they hated it. There's other photos where they all look as though they're enjoying it.

When I was little, we went on a big treat day out. It was a wonderful day and we all had a wonderful time. I remember how excited we were and chattering for days about how wonderful it was and begging to go back. When my dad's photos were developed I think there was one where we looked cheerful in it, the rest we looked like we were in a forced labour day.

“Have you heard of the English Civil war?
Do you know how badly this country fared during the interregnum?
Why do you think they bought the monarchy back and binned Oliver Cromwell?
The ignorance here is astounding”

Some people are ignorant of the actions of Oliver Cromwell and why people wanted to get rid of him. It was 400 odd years ago. Not all republics ban Christmas, festivals etc. There are alternatives. Plus the old “ royals bring in tourists “ line. How many tourist see the royals? Versailles get way more tourists than Buckingham Palace.

I'm a Republican, and would love to see them all gone. I do feel particularly strongly about the way the children are used by the family. And I am always amazed that Mumsnetters, who are vociferous in support of parents IRL who want to maintain their children's privacy are so eager for pictures of the royal children. No one not old enough to give informed consent should have to endure those balcony appearances for example.