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.

The bottom line is that she is successful. People flock to see her and the Jubilee will be a big success.

Awww leave her alone! That's someone's nan you're slagging off. Poor Liz :(

Got splinters up my bottom on this one. I used to be a republican but now wouldn't lift a finger to make a republic happen, I guess that's my increasing age. My main feeling is that the mere idea of living the life of a Royal fills me with horror. Why do we imprison these people who have done nothing to deserve it? On the other hand, what would they do if we took all the structure away - would they then just unleash the full honking hedonist element without the restraint of public office? Just what we need.

creighton is that true (about the Mall)? Where did you hear/read that?

I thought the Mall was widened to house the Queen Vic memorial...

headfairy, i am v. old i got that information from a documentary in the 1980s. they would be off to canada in a shot if they needed to.

i think she will get a good write up in the future. she at least saved us from president blair, thatcher, cameron....

Would you really like to go back to how monarchs used to rule the country and have your head chopped off and have no- to very little idea about how the real people live? Whilst the queen's life is miles away from the average person, she does at least understand an awful lot about how the country works and doesn't work.

Our queen (although I wouldn't necessarily call myself pro-royal) has taken a vast and varied interest in Great Britain and all of it's commonwealth countries and undertakes much of her time and energy doing charitable work and learning about lots of different aspects to GB.

She is a very savvy business woman and whilst some aspects of royal life seem a waste of tax payers money, generally I think she what the monarchy represents something good.

I for one, would trust the Queen over the Prime Minister every time .

OP .

Do you think you could have done better?

The royals will fight to keep their position and priviledge. The most important thing to them is their own survival in their plastic bubble world away from the things that most of us have to worry about day to day. They are the most selfish people on the planet. Why on earth should we bow and scrape to the family Windsor. They are no better than anybody else and a lot worse than many.

creighton, thanks for that. Very interesting. I seems a bit odd considering how much they stayed in London during the war, but then nuclear war is a very different prospect isn't it?

Mary - how do you figure they are selfish?

Things like the princes trust are oh so selfish aren't they!!

headfairy! they did not stay in london during the war, they went to windsor every evening to avoid the bombs.

creighton decisions like that were probably made by the government at the time and not her. Because back in the 50's the govt felt they were very much more important to the people than obviously they do now.

I am sorry you have left this thread flick I do disagree that those jobs could be made elsewhere, I think previous govts have made jobs that are really non jobs in the past that spend money on researching the research as to whether something should be done or not and being wasteful and I would be sad to think that a future govt would do this again, if they were to find the jobs cheaper elsewhere. BP has a great deal of staff yes, but they aren't all being paid huge huge amounts, I think you would be suprised at what very normal every day salaries they earn. They don't just work for the Queen either, they have to hold state banquets and the like which is expected of not only this country but would be expected in other countries, so they aren't just dishing up some scrambled eggs every night for the Queen and being paid the mega bucks.

I find it really sad that you would consider someone of the war generation who lived through it and supported their country (and were also rationed, although they probably purchased some black market items - but so did my GP's so..........) as wasteful. I don't think I have ever met anyone over the age of 65 who can remember the war who is blatantly wasteful. That isn't to say that their children aren't wasteful and I think our generation is the worst at being a throw away generation. We can't all be fully responsible for our adult childrens actions, some of her offspring are completely misguided BUT also the press love a story and will do anything to cause a reaction and some form of scandal.

I hope I haven't been quick to criticize other people's opinions, I think the examples I have given have been battered about a bit by some posters but I have tried to give examples and back up what I have said rather than just assuming something (they would ditch the country, they expect us to worship them, being the most recent that I have read - however I can't see anything that would back this up).

Every evening? Did they not have rationing imposed on them then? Or did they get a train? There's no way the petrol ration would have allowed that much driving around.

I can well believe they are an over privileged, pampered lot though, despite all the talk of the Queen going around turning off lights at Buckingham Palace.

Why does no-one on the uk seem to understand that the monarchy contribute more to the economy than they cost? Far more in fact?
If you became a republic you'd make a massive loss to the exchequer.

JoanofNark, that is bollocks, sorry - total bollocks. It is invented crap by the Royal PR machine - lies, damn lies and statistics.

They might have gone to Windsor (which was also bombed- the area) but they didn't go to Canada like the govt wanted them to.

An alternative perspective

that was my understanding Joan, that they dont actually "cost" anything.

A good monarch is no monarch.

We can't call ourselves a democracy when we have an institution like the Royal Family in place. I'm sure Liz is a very nice woman, but so is my nan.

Actually its not, when you understand about the lands and business owned by the royals. But as I said, no-one seems to know about it.

Pooh, the royal family is basically german, they came over here by luck. the only members of the royal family with british blood were the queen mother and diana, the others are all german/danish. i have no problem with people supporting the monarchy but i am surprised that people don't see them for what they are. a europe wide network of people protecting their own interests. they will and do go anywhere to keep power/privilege to themselves.

The Queen mother wasn't royal. She was much derided in her time for being a commoner.

oops, sorry, of course you weren't saying the Queen mother was royal

Diana was more closely connected to the original royal family than Charles thanks to his German blood.