AIBU to think the current Queen has been a mediocre to poor Monarch?

[ComposHat]

Anyone else think all the praise lavished on her is undue? We are all told that she has done a 'good job' but has she really? The servile media, including the supposedly balanced BBC won't broker any attempts to criticise her in any way. We are simply told that she has been 'beyond reproach.'

I'd argue that she's been a dull and unimaginative Monarch, clinging to hidebound tradition and fighting to preserve arcane privileges like a Royal Yacht (actually a mini cruise liner) and resisting paying tax on her income. At crucial moments in her reign she's dallied and shown weak leadership.

On her watch the monarchy has at best stagnated and at worst slipped into an inexorable decline and has begun to feel like an anachronism.

I'll venture that history will not judge her as kindly as all these fawning contemporary commentators do. Her reign will be seen as the point at which the rot set in.

I'd always been a fan of Queenie, but she went way up in my estimations after she closed the doors of Balmoral and tried to comfort and support William and Harry, following the death of their mother and the subsequent media onslaught. and she got crticised, unjustly IMO for it.

Id rather have a 'dull' Queen, than a President Cameron - the thought sends a shiver down my spine.

Don't be sucked into believing she approves of anything that her many of her children do. Can you reign an adult in? Really? As I said earlier in the thread there are many royals who aren't worth it. I don't believe she is one of them.

And you have no idea whether I know her or not

You haven't pressed me, and I have given you examples and can give you more if you would like, please see my first post on this thread.

As to whether or not she has left the monarchy in a stronger position, I don't think that is ever going to be possible in the development of our country. I think our royal family will go very much the way of the European Royals in years to come, it doesn't mean she has been a bad monarch. She knows this is the case and that is why she has not given up her role in her 80's.

We can all agree that the country has progressed in the past 50 years and she has done her best to keep up, if she was a monarch 100 years ago I think you would say she had left the monarchy in great shape. I would prefer to have our queen over a european/us president. Whether I would prefer the next generation is questionable.

But really, don't dismiss the fact that our current monarch does a very good job in the business sector as an ambassador. That is worth far more to us as a country than the tourism aspect that is often trawled out.

She does a better job than the queens I know so I think UABU

Granted she isnt Charles II

But she is way better than Henry VI!

Oh and if you think we would have the opportunity to visit any of the palaces in a similar vein to visiting versailles if they were no longer in the "firm", it isn't necessarily true and we could find a situation where they are permanently closed to the public. It might not necessarily happen but equally although she doesn't OWN Buckingham Palace it is in a trust which might not let us mere mortals visit.

FLICK look at my link with regards to QEST and the Queens Awards.

some examples here

The queen is fantastic!

No one's given a concrete example of how she's harmed the country either...

she is a firm believer in not wasting things and frowns upon those of her family who do

How can you possibly know this?

So much so that in the immediate aftermath of his links to Middle-East despots and a convicted paedophile in 2011 - she made Andrew a 'Knight of the Grand Cross' the highest award for personal service to the Queen.

I think that because we are British we are too polite to give the Queen and the Royal Family notice to leave the job. I wouldn't want to be the one knocking on the door and sidling into the room to give her the news, would you?

However, I think I could tell Charles. I would be quite happy to do that. You hear bad stuff about his spending. The citizens will be streaking up the staircases with flamming torches unless they give his image a makeover before he becomes King. He was the hardest working royal last year though so where do I get this bad image from?

YABU! She has devoted her life to the people and the country after the shock of her father dying at a very young age - she didn't expect to become queen at 26!

She has never once done or said anythign embarrassing or that can be criticised. Imagine how you would feel, having people scrutinise your every move and just look out for things to criticise? She has a strong marriage, she has good extended family - imagine a family of 4 kids and you'd get a similar divorce etc. rate anywhere in the country. In fact, she has been a better monarch than mother, I think - leaving Charles with nannies for months and months to go on extended tours of Australia etc when he was a baby/toddler - perhaps that's why he's screwed up now!

She actually volunteered to pay tax.

She was very sad to let go of the Royal Yacht Britannia as it represented some of the 'freest' time she had enjoyed, away from cameras and paparazzi and being on show all the time. Can't blame her for that!

And I think the monarchy is more popular now than it has been for years. William and Catherine are popular. The more embarrassing royals are being quiet and not attracting much media attention.

She has maintained traditions in a time when the world has changed extremely rapidly - more rapidly than at any time in history - and fashions, manners, etiquette and so on have also changed drastically. You can't expect her to change her habits of a lifetime to appear 'trendy' now nor can you expect her be 'down with the kids' at 86 - she should remain dignified, unchanging, steadfast. IMO!

The giving of this title at the time was deemed questionable, however you seem to think that it was done as a pr stunt whereas you will probably find that it was embargoed for a time and had been a long term plan that wasn't decided in 24 hours. There is no question that Prince Andrew is a ridiculous figure, however as this in all likelihood was given to the press prior to his questionable friendship/links it is the press that probably found the dirt to get it out prior to the embargo.

And as small example of recycling

Hmmmmm so hard to compare

She's executed a lot less people than some previous monarchs, not started any wars on dodgy religious grounds or had people burned as heretics, let parliament get on with things, so not looking too bad

Which was your fave monarch then, op?

And as small example of recycling

Wow, wearing a hugely expensive tailored frocks upwards of SIX TIMES. My god what thriftiness, what an example to us all, I now feel guilty for chucking out my tax-payer funded made to measure clobber after five wears!

I like Charles

He has passion about his interests and does a great deal for young people with the princes trust.

I hope he gets to be king

I actually like camilla too

I think she is a wonderful woman, strong, beautiful, dignified.

We are the envy of many nations.

We are a better nation for having her as our figure head.

He has passion about his interests and does a great deal for young people with the princes trust.

Thats what people tend to forget, how much good a lot of members of the royal family do be it things like the princes trust of "Meeting and Greeting" and presenting of rewards which although they seem like small things mean a lot to those who are invited to take part.

Realistically she doesn't cost us personally that much to run and out of this cost she employs a significant amount of people. The Duchy's are a misnomer as far as income is concerned as it could be argued that without a member of the royal family heading them up they would not be worth as much.

In addition to that her private income from inheritances that aren't to do with the the royal family we wouldn't see any part of anyway. She might get £x milliion per year but has to pay for her own security, households etc etc therefore employing people. She doesn't sit there spending that money on redecorating every room in her private residences. At BP alone there are 800 or so staff.

Oh well sorry OP. You obviously hate her, however I wonder why? What has she done to you?