I'm fucking sick of Harry and Meghan already

[ssd]

I don't care if they got engaged or hey went to the moon, I'm sick of the constant media nonsense about them already

the gov will be delighted, finally something to take attention away from the fuck up that is brexit

That’s interesting. This morning (womens hour) someone was hoping meghan would continue to speak, advocate etc, using her position after marriage as a platform.

Am not OK with taxpayers money funding the royals whatever they do: politicised stuff like Diana, dull duties like Kate, military “jobs” like William and Harry that they’d never have got without their royal status, or just go on numerous holidays like they all do.

Plenty of politicians are a PITA. But at least they’re elected. Slebs and unelected activists are not taxpayer funded.

I’m not British so it’s no skin off my nose, but if I was, I’d very much agree with Dozer.

Is there a freeze on the sovereign grant too?

the question for me is always whether the alternative to the royals would cost taxpayers more, and nothing I've seen convinces me it wouldn't. The royals do use their family wealth to support the state stipend - I doubt an elected replacement would.

I was a staunch republican when I was younger, but now I look at the likely elected replacements (someone has to do the boring ceremonial stuff) and think nah. I don't want Boris or Blair or Corbyn for a replacement in their dotage...

The Royal Family should be zero sum - one in one out. Hence when Megan joins another royal should be summarily executed, preferably on national TV. Some sort of public vote should choose who it should be.

Can we not just stop doing the boring ceremonial stuff? This is actually a genuine question as I've not particularly thought about it before.

Surely we could just start Parliament without all the ho hah, or find someone else to hand out medals and whatnots. I'm not that into the honours system anyway, so would be ok with seeing it go in its current form. What else does the royal family actually do?

Is it all the visiting foriegn countries and recieving visitors? Surely we could find someone to do it. I'd do it for 50k a year, no multiple houses or palaces required.

Latest polling;

yougov.co.uk/news/2017/11/29/5-charts-british-reaction-prince-harrys-engagement/

Indifference to the news is the popular choice.

'I was a staunch republican when I was younger, but now I look at the likely elected replacements (someone has to do the boring ceremonial stuff) and think nah. I don't want Boris or Blair or Corbyn for a replacement in their dotage...'

Plenty of governments the world over manage to get such stuff done perfectly well without a monarchy.

yes expat, the question though is what the replacement costs - and specifically what it would cost Britain, given that we still have ours.

What do they bring in, in tourist revenue, what are they paying for out of their family money that the state would have to pay for.

The VP in the US does the ceremonial bs, so yes, i expect we would have to replace it with someone or something.

If you could convince me that doing away with them was genuinely cost saving, I'd be all for it.

'I was a staunch republican when I was younger, but now I look at the likely elected replacements (someone has to do the boring ceremonial stuff) and think nah. I don't want Boris or Blair or Corbyn for a replacement in their dotage...'

Come now

Have you tried visualising GINORMOUS scales with a president in one side and the entire royal family in the other?

I think the problem is the bloody media, the big wide smiles when they do an item at the end of the news about Harry, are they told to do this? Its like they are utterly delighted Harry's engaged, over the moon delighted. Even Mary Nightingales face was split open with her smile the day it was announced.

southeastdweller

I can’t find anything about the £20 million for security. Maybe you could provide me with a link?

I'm sorry that you haven't been able to find internet articles. If I googled some basic terms, the page was full of it. As I said, it's been on the media (tv, radio and online) since yesterday evening. No, I shall not be doing your research for you to give you a link to a piece of information you clearly don't want to believe in the first place.

I mentioned the security cost of the last Royal wedding to compare with the estimated cost of this one, just seven years later.
Right..but what did that have to do with my post then? I wasn't making any comparisons, I hadn't mentioned the last Royal wedding.

And likewise, I think it’s a fair assumption to make that Prince Charles will again pay for the rest of the costs, as he did with his eldest son.
You go ahead and assume. I'm staying with what we know already - that the estimates for the security alone are £20m according to media reports and that currently we will have foot the bill.

'If you could convince me that doing away with them was genuinely cost saving, I'd be all for it.'

Do your own research. Last time I went to France, I paid top whack to visit Versailles and there hasn't been a monarch there in over 200 years.

southeastdweller
Yes I realise that. But what does moaning about something you can do nothing about whatsoever achieve?

Well, what are you achieving by moaning about the "moaners"?

Bollocks does a “serving” royal family boost tourismz

I don’t want the queen / prince charles as head of state either.

I don't care if it makes millions per year.

I do not believe that someone by luck of birth is better than me and "one below god". It's nonsense.

According to Republic, which you may or may not find unreasonably biased, Queenie and co cost 100 times more than the Irish pres, around £300m annually.

They also say Chester Zoo is more of a tourist attraction than Windsor Castle.

And here's a newsflash: you pay to get into these castles and palaces whether there is a monarch in residence or not, or a monarch at all.

I don't buy the argument that they bring in more money than they cost.

Nice ginny, nice

Vive le sisterhood, eh?

Well no need to get your knickers in a twist, y’all, it won’t last

I think the point of this thread has passed you by somewhat.

Nobody has objected to the marriage. I wish them all happiness. It is the excessive media coverage that we object to.

Ah, I see that one went pretty quickly...

'It is the excessive media coverage that we object to.'

I object to paying a penny for it, whilst being forced to choke down continued austerity, a £50bn+ bill for Brexit, economic downturn and 3%+ inflation because someone was born 'royal' and who has continually whinged about the effect of that on his life well into adulthood but who, with his vast resources, could easily have turned his back on the entire thing.

So sick of people talking about them....so you start ANOTHER thread about them