To think that the planned Diamond Jubilee celebrations are ridiculously extravagent and a kick in the teeth for those of us facing difficult times?

[LifeHope11]

I am not saying that we shouldn't mark the occasion but seriously:

A decorated barge plus flotilla of 1000 boats?
500 horses to be shipped into the UK from around the world?
A 'Jubilee' concert and a thanksgiving service?
A vast jolly of free holidays - sorry, 'official visits to the four corners of the globe' of dozens of 'royals' with their attendand flunkeys?

I don't know how even the most dedicated royalist can justify all this ridiculous extravagenceat a time of looming recession, austerity measures and squeezed households, cuts on the vulnerable and disabled etc, rising unemployment, homelessness and poverty. I think this could backfire on them very badly indeed as they are showing themselves up as being completely out of sympathy with people's concerns and fears

No I didn't care about the Royal Wedding either. Got an auntie in Dunoon, wonder if she'll have me and dd for a year

The 'economy boost' will be in London, like the 'economy boost' for The Olympics.

Up North we're just paying for it.

YANBU

Oops.

You are being really silly. Royal occasions have absolutely no bearings on anyone's ability to pay their mortgage. If they did I'd be right with you. And I see no reason why the whole country should be miserable, none at all. Quite the opposite in fact, in whatever form it takes

YABU.

Elizabeth II has been our sovereign for almost as long as Queen Victoria. It will be wonderful and heart warming. She has been an absolute credit to the UK and the cost is a tiny smidgeon of the benefits she has brought the UK in the context of tourism and ambassadorial excellence. The celebrations in context are no more extravagant than a sensible wedding for the average family. I shall enjoy it and respect her and hope it will be the year when the UK cleans up the the Olympic gold medals and when Andy Murray wins Wimbledon just as Virginia Wade did for the Silver Jubilee.

re the Olympics Strathclyde Police will have a bill of £1.1million pound for the football matches in Hampden that has hardly sold any tickets

apple I'm sure your Dunoon auntie will be delighted to have you.

London 2012 costs so far, over a billion!!

funny how DC can magically pull £40million out of his back pocket to make the opening ceremony fabulous!

Apart of the length of time at the the throne I wouldn't compare Queen Victoria with Queen Elizabeth II, they are totally in different leagues.

YANBU

The Royal Wedding was very well-timed and managed.

When I was at school in the eighties we had a great teacher who would make us do role-playing games. One was about crop-growing and I was widely ridiculed for something like growing stupid amounts of fields of grass but the stats said it would make the most money so it made sense because the point of the game was to make money.

We did another one and I would always win by being absolutely dastardly and having as many Royal Weddings as possible in order to distract my ever-increasingly impoverished populace. They didn't have Jubilees built into that game but I always won them anyway despite my draconian policies.

This is such a gift to the government. As was the wedding. And the Olympics.

Other side of the argument smallwhitecat - they have been shrewd enough to play to a succession of different governments to maintain their position when many royal families across Europe have failed spectatcularly. The reason for that success is in part due to the Queen's innate good sense and not inconsiderable intellect. She has been a credit to herself and to the country.

Jan 2010 was well into the financial crisis, and rockiness of the general situation was clear by then. It's not really changed that much. Jubilee events on this scale have an inherently long lead time and so a budget needed to be settled. Once it had been, then of course events will be planned to fit it. If major celebrations were in poor taste, that advice should have been given then.

I don't happen to think it will go down badly. HMQ is generally held in high esteem. And it is only the second ever Diamond Jubilee - it really is an exceptional occasion. And compared to the cost of the Olympics, it's a drop in the ocean.

I'd like Queen E to do her duty and say "Hang on, we can't afford this - let's put the money into public services." Surely that's what a responsible monarch would do.

oh, flotilla of 1000 boats??!??!! 500 different horses??!?! extra holidays ?!!????! !!! oooh, sounds like fun and terribly jolly, extra holidays, red white and blue bunting, national pride silliness and lots of royals in badly thought through hats???

oh

Oh, sounds terrible. Completely agree, last thing England needs is party, an extra bank holiday and a piss knees up.

I think they should have a budget diamond jubilee. Mr Kipling cakes, paper plates and a carriage borrowed from My Big Fat Gypsy wedding.

I don't think we're getting an extra holiday, looking at next year's diary the late May Bank holiday's vanished and instead there's one on the first Monday of June.

I'd rather have a Diamond Jubilee than the bloody Olympics. I admire the Queen immensely, but have very little interest in e.g Graeco-Roman wrestling.

Norman!

Oh I think she's a very clever woman who well knows once she's gone they're fucked. Or she would have retired and let Charles take the thrown.

Sorry, throne. Stupid iPhone.

You admire someone with no particular talent, born into almost unbelievable privilege who's never done a day's real work in her life, over people who have been working and sweating to improve themselves for most of their lives?

Fair enough...

GwendolineMary - no I am not having you calling me silly. I never claimed there was a direct link between royal extravagance and my (or anyone's) ability to pay my mortgage - although the extra tax expenditure does not help. You may be happy and in the position not to begrudge such expenditure from your taxes but many of us are not so lucky.

All i am saying is that said extravagance is inappropriate and insulting at a time of austerity for many. So you 'see no reason why the whole country should be miserable', presumably those who can't help being miserable at this time should put up and shut up, and not spoil the party?

As I say, by all means have the celebration but the mood of the times needs to be considered ...... many will be offended by conspicuous consumption.

Smallwhitecat - you say that, but a lot of the hatrid of Prince Charles will fade when he's finally King, he's going to be an old man, and people will say "ahh, crazy old King Charles, bless! He's just like my grandad but posh!" and the stuff he spouts will be generationally correct (plus the stuff he was slagged off for like his views on architecture and the enviroment are rather more fashionable now so don't sound so bonkers conkers like when we were young.)