to wonder why the whole country has gone completely bloody Royalist?

[Hullygully]

Erect the scaffold.

Up the Republicans.

We are ADULTS we don't need a feudalistic Divine Right of Kings addled parasitical bunch of halfwits to live off our taxes.

I was told to be a secretary.

I even went for an interview for a secretarial course (pisses self at the thought).

The interviewer took one look at me and said " Do you really want to be a secretary?"

"No" I said.

She suggested I did A levels instead. This had never occurred tome because I thought 'people like me don't do A levels'. In my 16 year old, comprehensive school head I thought you could only do A levels if you went to a grammar school.

My mum's a writer. She's had over 30 books published. No one knows. She doesn't tell people.

Hully, the non-bunting moon crier sounds better than your version. Lets go with that.

I love Tifty's mum.

I must go to bed.

I love you too ol Tifty

And Mme

xxxx

Thats amazing, Tufty. Did you do A-levels?

I have only had one book published (well, not even published yet) and I am boasting about it everywhere. How can your mum contain herself?

Goodnight, lovely Hully.

Oh and congrats on your book, I am not only well jell, but terribly pleased for you xx

She's modest Mme. She han't written what was in her heart so she tells no one. I'm proud of her though.

Goodnight. I love you long time Hully.

Let's all have coffee on the beach.

I did do A levels.

Well done on the book. Keep going.

Or SEX

SEX on the beach duh duh duh duh duh

That is brilliant, Tufty. What a great story. I am so glad you did A levels.

Your mum sounds lovely. What kind of books does she write? I wonder if I have read any of her books.

Thanks, Hully.

Start by telling out kids that they can be anything they want to be and move from there

Aha, you can be anything except the head of state. That is a pretty big deal no? This is an important message being passed down to our children... Class trumps ability when it comes to the most important face of our nation.

Like others said, the monarchy represents our shared Britishness... A rotten class system which says who your father is and whom you know are more important than your own achievements.

Abolishing the monarchy will be the most powerful message to our children they can truly be anything they want to be...

[Haven't read rest of thread emoticon]

Just dropping in to say viva la revolucion.

Feeling like I am the only republican in the WORLD where I live. And I'm not even a particularly strong republican. More of an agnostic one. If that's a thing.

Having read this thread in a quite bemused manner I can't resist pointing out that the "centuries of tradition" cods wallop being referred is the institution of the monarchy, not the current incumbent. The idea of monarchy as a continual state -ie the King is dead, long live the King- posits the idea that the system is a constant and the actual kings and queens just accidental figures. This is why the place of birth of the monarch is neither here not there. The important thing is that there is the nearest "blood relationship" possible between previous and current monarchs.

It is a pile of crap in the fact that parliament has regularly interfered with this succession in order for it to be politically acceptable. You couldn't have a monarch married to a divorcee, or a Catholic or whatever.

The Britishness argument is also a pile of crap in the sense that Britain as a political entity derives from the Act of Union in 1707 and is thus just over 300 years old. It is an old imperial discourse trying to make out that the English monarchical tradition -which is many more centuries old- is the common history of all parts of Britian. In fact, the whole Britishness as identity was mainly forged during the imperial project of the nineteenth-century. Linda Colley has written very interestingly about this.

Finally, the monarch is far from a decorative appendage to the British governmental system. She is actually the lunch-pin of the whole system and legally has very great powers (an absolute veto on laws, the right to dissolve parliament and choose her own government and ministers). These have fallen in disuse since the 18th century but they still exist, and should the monarch wish to, she could use them. It is only precendent and custom, her good nature and a probable desire not to destroy the whole complicated balance that stops her. But if she wanted to cause mischief and she certainly could. Can we really build a system on the trust that the monarch will behave herself? It seems silly to me to say the least.

My feeling is that the monarchy and the church should be disestablished from the state. No guillotines nor radicalism, just a reform in the laws to strip the monarch of her powers, cancelation of the civil list in its totality and a negotiated settlement concerning her estates. I am sure she and her family could manage in the incomes from the estates that she would conserve. She could even carry in being called the Queen, if it were really necessary, she just wouldn't have any legal power.

One's mother has informed one that one is Damn Well Attending one's grandmother's jubilee party, and what's more, one is to eat coronation chicken and jelly and ice cream. Also, one is not to complain about, variously, hereditary priviledge, religion, Grandmama's Daily Mail habit, misogyny or mention evolution.

It will be SUCH fun.

In other news, CBBC was basically propaganda today, I'm cross.

A hard rain's gonna wash the streets clean (hopefully). Wake me up when the Republic arrives. x

Abolishing the monarchy will be the most powerful message to our children they can truly be anything they want to be...

Will it fuck!

How come the countries that lefties all rave about, Scandinavia, the Netherlands etc, are all monarchies then? Whereas the hated USA is a republic, but you need billions of dollars if you want to have even a chance of becoming president?

If we had a president, instead of a monarch, it'd be just as restricted and the president would be a hell of a lot less popular than the monarch is. They'd just be out to line their pockets after they left the job.

If you think the Monarchy is so bad, would you like a referendum? With the adjunct that if the Republicanists lose, they have to shut up about it for the next century?

Polly Toynbees article in the Guardian is the biggest evidence of why the Monarchy is so popular. Here we have an miserable cunt-faced cow of a woman, who has led one of the most privileged lives anyone in Britain could ever face, yet still she sees herself as some kind of rebel fighting against the system. It's just utterly pathetic. Polly should retire to her mansion in Tuscany, as should Billy Bragg and all the other pathetic lefties who have tried to ruin this country for the past 30 years.

I haven't, Hully. I am ignoring the whole thing and will continue to do so.

I would love to see the back of the monarchy and I'm not changing that view because there's lots of union flags on everything.

get rid of them, make them the interesting history of britain, fully open up those of their houses which we pay for or own to the public and make lots of money. hell, turn some of them into bloody hotels! some people will pay a shedload to stay in former palace! I do not accept that a significant amount of money is brought into britain because we have a royal family that would not still come in if we got rid of them. oh, I was going to go on holiday to britain to look at buckingham palace, but now that it's just the place where a royal family used to live and which you can tour the whole of totally freely at any time, I don't think I'll bother. I really just wanted to look at the state rooms and gardens and think about the old woman currently 500 miles away from it in balmoral.

do me a favour

I don't agree that because something is a certain way that is in itself enough of a reason for it to always be that way. I don't think that a royal family is important enough to be protected for all time because that implies they are so important, so above us, that we must forever worship them or something and, well, I don't agree.

Someone who has a lot because they have earned it is someone to be respected, imo. Someone who is deemed to be somehow better than you, deserving of your respect and who must be bowed down before because of an accident of birth does in no way deserve my respect. They 'own' the country because their ancestor killed someone to get it and the ancestors of the people round them, the lords etc, plotted, schemed and stabbed people in the back in order to be awarded their slice.

Not really worth curtseying before, in my view.

This is my view, which I am entitled to, it is not in itself a criticism of any opposing view, which I respect an individual's right to hold, even if I disagree with it, and, most importantly, I'm not going to change it no matter what

Flatbread,you are just plain jealous.Realistically,your kids have the same chances of being a top footballer as mrrying royalty,ie virtually none.Same as astanaut,the new equivalent of splitting the atom, or new wequivalent of facebook inventor etc,supermodel,winning X factor.
We have to accept life has limitations,even by the time we are born,and that is a good lesson to teach children.

Amillionyears, if that is your attitude, I am not surprised your children will never do anything special.

Obama did not come from a privileged background and yet he is the head of the USA. What were the odds of that? He is sending the most powerful message that children can achieve anything, if they work hard and believe in themselves.

It is amongst our pool of children that the next lot of talented footballers will emerge, the path-breaking scientists, mind-blowing artists and writers. But not head of state. Our children are not good enough for that, they might be the talented and able leaders, but they will never be head of our country because they do not have the 'right' bloodline.

I am not jealous, at all. I am angry. I cannot understand how people can think others are better than them and should have the highest public office 'reserved' by virtue of birth. Goes deeply against my democratic beliefs.

Why not just enjoy it for what it is?

She seems like a good woman, she has worked her backside off for 60 years (whether or not you agree with the aims), most of us don't have that much to celebrate now and this is a good time to get together with our own families and celebrate whatever we want.

You don't have to be a die hard Christian to celebrate Christmas, so why on earth do you have to be a die hard royalist to enjoy the jubilee??

I will spend this weekend draped in bunting and waving flags. Not because I adore the royals particularly (I'm catholic so they wouldnt have me ) but because it's an occasion my children will enjoy and remember. I still remember the jubilee in 1977. Not because of the queen, but for the amazing party my street threw. It was fab and the kids all became firmer friends as a result.

Do you think, in America, it's not easier to be in a position of power if you are related to a Kennedy or a Clinton? Getting rid of the royal family would change nothing, though I suspect several of them would welcome it because if they could make money from their connections (which the americans would adore) they would be even richer and more powerful..

Now, back to the flag waving!!

It's Mam as in jam not Ma'am as in arm.

Here it's more a chance for the community to get together . Sometimes you need a reason to do it .

Our close is planning a BBQ most of us know each other already and kids in and out but it is exacuse for a party and to get know everyone

I don,t know anyone who gives a toss! Overpaid privileged and now they want a load of bloody parties when the uk has the worst economic probs in years.

Who says my children dont do anything special.
But yes,I am realistic to believe they will never make prime minister or astronaut.You do need to be realistic.Doenst mean they cant aim for something,just be realistic with them.

You are very angry because you are very jealous.That is not good behaviour to give to your children.It probably spills into other aeras of your life as well, this anger and jealousy.