Hard working royals?

[Willsandkate]

There are as an article today explaining the split of public engagements members of the Royal Family have done this year. Prince Charles made 507 engagements compared to Prince William’s 220 (while Meghan and Kate did just 183 between them, but Kate was pregnant and Meghan is new).

What do you think? Waste of taxpayers money? Or are they earning their keep?

Waste of money. I think once the Queen passes away, the public opinion on the Royal Family is going to massively shift and so will the tone in the media.

Lazy scrounges, especially the younger generation.

Hopefully the monarchy will be abolished when queenie dies.

That’s not the whole picture. What difference did their work make? Unless backed up by that kind of data, all these numbers are meaningless. I suspect that the effect is not substantial hence not publicised.

It's not just about the number of days they work, it's the tourism aspect etc that brings visitors and money into the country.

I can think of far greater wastes of tax payers money than the royals.

An engagement means they are transported somewhere in the utmost luxury to be feted and fawned over in some spruced up venue, before going home again to be waited on hand and foot. Doing engagements is better than doing nothing, but they're not exactly sweating their backsides off.

I'm sure they don't just turn up somewhere and wing it, they will be briefed before they arrive and have someone to prompt them when they meet X, the lollipop lady who got an MBE last year. It's hardly difficult, but is clearly 'work'.
Whether it justifies their income and way of life is another question, but then there are plenty of wealthy people who've never raised a finger and I suppose the royal family do perpetuate the myth of privileged & entitlement.
There are far more important injustices that need addressing before we get to inherited power like this.

Complete waste of money. Like a PP poster said they are only turning up to events. But then I am a republican and find the fawning over the royal family very odd. Like the posters who pretend Kate has spent the morning of a royal wedding wrangling her kids into their clothes whilst trying to blowdry her own hair.

I also find them quite hypocritical. They want the media to report all the nice things but ignore anything bad. They moan about being in the media spotlight but wouldn't be happy if the media didn't turn out for an engagement. They could give it all up if they wanted and live in their own considerable wealth but they dont.

It's hardly difficult, but is clearly 'work'.

I agree it's work, but it isn't 'hard work'.

I really like QE2 and think she has a sense of duty towards it all. Can’t fucking stand Kate & wills, Harry & Megan et al.

I’d rather the Royal family than Trump or Putin and their henchmen.

I don't know any other 70 yos that do 500 engagements every year. Am I the only one who would actually be exhausted by that? The travelling, even when in luxury, the small talk, getting dressed up, having everyones eyes on you. Rather them than me.

There are however lots of wealthy and not wealthy people who do a lot for charity without public funding or the associated media coverage. Some of them will be elderly too.

I expect there are plenty of 70 year olds still working out of necessity because they are so poor.

Trump is American and Putin is Russian and given their overwhelming unpopularity in this country unlikely to be voted in as President. Also if the queen were to be replaced as head of state the incumbent would not be the centre of power as that would remain with the prime minister.

it's the tourism aspect etc that brings visitors and money into the country.

How so? It's the trapping of royalty that bring in tourists, not the royals themselves, which is why Versailles gets so many visitors. We'd probably get loads more if we turned all the royal palaces into massive museums.

I think if the Crown went to William and Kate the monarchy would retain popularity, I think Charles would be a disaster.

Anne did more then. She has always done the most engagements. This year followed by Edward i think.

Anne supposedly does shit tonnes of unreported work behind the scenes for Save The Children.

So you can keep her.

Sophie and Edward are constantly roaming about the Commonwealth on the Queens command and get next to no publicity. Edward also apparently has taken over all the Duke of Edinburgh award behind the scenes stuff.

So you can keep them too.

Charles works a lot and isn't slowing down. You can keep him too.

The rest of them are just dress up dolls. I enjoy the clothes very much. But they seem to have little impact otherwise.

Yes the queen doesn't come out and greet the tourists personally does she. It the history that draws people in.

If those engagements have a hidden run-up of research and reading up and contact with the organisations that’s impressive. The Queen only takes two days off her red boxes a year.

If those engagements have a hidden run-up of research and reading up and contact with the organisations that’s impressive

I reckon I'd be good at that. Where do I apply? Oh.

If those engagements have a hidden run-up of research and reading up and contact with the organisations that’s impressive.

They undoubtedly do - but it isn't done by the Royals themselves. They're briefed by aides during the journey there. In fairness, there are some charities where there's a personal involvement - Camilla and osteoporosis, for instance - but not the majority of them.

Come this revolution...

I’m no Royalist, far from it but they do attract public interest and tourists.

I think I’m in an agreement with most, it is the hangers on that don’t contribute much but seem to be a drain. I understand the need for security but I read that Me-again had a wardrobe of £1.5million for her tour of Australia. That’s an incredible waste, and totally unnecessary.

It’s undemocratic to have people in a royal role by virtue of their birth. No argument about whether they’re hard working or bring in tourism will convince me having a Truman show style family to amuse the masses is the right thing in a modern society.

It’s very hard to justify the immense wealth, power and privilege that these people have merely as a consequence of their birth. For the most part I think abolish the fuckers, but if that too extreme, let’s strip them down: fewer of them and less money. The sovereign grant is an absolute scandal when there are literally millions of families only surviving thanks to food banks.... but the sovereign grant has gone up by 15% to renovate Buckingham Palace.

I think the majority of 70 year olds though still have to go to the supermarket, cook their food, wash their clothes, clean their house.
Charles doesn’t do any of that, so engagements will basically be all he does.