AIBU to think Harry and Meghan are taking the piss?

[ohymygodbethenny]

How are people not more outraged? And no, tourists do not visit the UK specifically because of the royal family.

"This year, 320,000 people were recorded as homeless in Britain"

Well said @kmc1111

These reno’s would not have been done if it was any other family, as evidenced by the fact no one bothered for all the other people who’ve lived there. No one gave a crap about this building until it was given to the Sussexes. It’s been used for estate workers and broken up into crappy little units...it’s not an important building.

If the Sussexes weren’t there it would just be maintained in a condition that keeps it upright and liveable. These reno’s go well beyond that, and would not have been done if, as in the past, it was just some royal employee or employees living there.

And before anyone has the usual uninformed melt down about 'our money/our taxes' the Queen puts ALL her income into the pot and get s 15% back in the form of the Soverign Grant. Yup, she pays 85% tax.

Nothing to applaud her for there. She’s paying tax from money WE give her. All in all the royals cost us a staggering £365 million a year. If we didn’t have them all the income from the duchy would revert back to us. They are an unnecessary burden, a presidency run like Ireland’s would be two and a half times cheaper.

We shouldn’t have an unelected head of state, it’s wrong on every level.

I don't give this marriage 5 years.

AIBU?

You are proving our point. All the things you’ve listed are essentials and what I want taxpayer money spent on.

That is the point, though - plenty of people on this thread don’t care that some of their taxation funds the royals. Some do. Just as some people don’t care / positively like that their taxation is spent on welfare and others might not agree with it.

I personally don’t have a problem with inherited wealth and status. Nor, I suspect, do most people on this thread who benefitted from being born into a middle class family / expect to inherit from their parents / have DC who benefit from being born MC / expect to leave their DC something to inherit.

So you never attended school? And your children don't either? You didn't give birth in a hospital or make use of midwife appointments? Your children didn't get free vaccinations from their GP? You never had a health visitor? You've never visited the dentist? I also presume you don't live on a public road (or walk or drive on them)? You don't use services like public libraries? And you don't expect to get a state pension when you retire either, I assume?

Yeah but any renovations to our houses we need to pay for ourselves comparing services and educations to an umpteen bedroom "cottage" is ridiculous

Those who are complaining about paying £1.24 a year to fund the monarchy are being a bit mean, I think - you’ve had more than £1.24’s worth of entertaining raging away on this thread. That £1.24 buys you a series of parades with carriages, some castles and palaces to visit and regular opportunities to waste your day shouting at people on the internet. It’s all part of it.

I think it’s a bargain, all in.

@adaline Tue 25-Jun-19 14:14:20
Sorry but what does all this have to do with ANYTHING? You’re comparing these things to a £2.4 MILLION pound home renovation?!

No - I'm responding to your post in which you said you only receive child benefit - when that's blatantly untrue. That might be all you receive directly but you will get a lot more out of the system over your lifetime than you ever pay into it.
no that's my post...

but, sure, give me the £1.24 a year from everyone and i'll calculate how much I have had and give that bit back?

Why is it ok for us to give £1.24 each to ONE FAMILY? Who are independently wealthy??

I'm amazed that people believe Harry and Meghan had a baby. It's so glaringly obvious she never gave birth. People are so easily fooled.

@dreamyspires . Exactly. We shouldnt have an unelected head of state.

I agree they need to dial it down. £300,000 on a baby shower was an obscene amount of money, plus the stupidly expensive clothes. Meghan seems to want the trappings of the royal family plus the excesses and demands of a film star and she really can’t have both and be liked by the public. I think the younger royals all need to look at Princess Anne as a role model. Camilla also seems to work hard without expecting fawning adoration. I think it is great the royal family have a black member, but there is a huge cultural gulf between the UK and the US and Meghan doesn’t seem to get it.
They could have allowed the press one lovely picture of the baby, or even taken one privately and released it. They seem to want the status of royalty but not the duty. Both of them seem spoiled and out of touch. I really like the Queen, Princess Anne, and Camilla, but Harry and Meghan far less so. Harry supports blooming Mermaids doesn’t he ? Not the most intelligent choice .

Plenty of people in the UK are born into privilege. They're the ones who will probably more into the system than they take out of it due to their status as high earners. The Crown Estate pays £350m in taxes each year, for example, and funds more for this country than you fund when you fund for them with your £1.24.

No - I'm responding to your post in which you said you only receive child benefit - when that's blatantly untrue. That might be all you receive directly but you will get a lot more out of the system over your lifetime than you ever pay into it

You are talking about another poster. I don’t have kids so I don’t get child benefit. I was defending the poster you responded to.

You’re not understanding my point.

They don’t actually own the house. It’s part of the Crown Estate. I don’t think Harry and Megan should have to stump up millions to refurbish a home they won’t even own. They can obviously live somewhere else, but the house would still need bringing up to date or it would end up worthless anyway.

Why is it ok for us to give £1.24 each to ONE FAMILY? Who are independently wealthy??

IT DOESN'T GO TO ONE FAMILY.

It goes to fund the palaces, which are owned by the Crown (aka the state). The Windsors own Balmoral and Sandringham - the rest are not their owned property. As a result, we pay for the upkeep and refurbishment of those palaces through our taxes - at a cost of approximately £1.24 per year - less than I spend per week on milk!

You’re not understanding my point.

What point? You're paying £1.24 in tax per year which goes towards the upkeep of state property. The house Harry and Meghan live in doesn't belong to them!

@adaline those palaces are for the use of ONE family only

First of all tax payers should pay for it the house is government owned. If you rented a house would you expect to do building work on it?

For those saying "it's our money" read up on how the Royal Family is funded.

@ScreamingLadySutch no just spiteful

@savethecake are you always this mean to women who have given birth to baby's that are a few months old?

those palaces are for the use of ONE family only

Not really - plenty of people visit Buckingham Palace. Either as tourists, or as visiting foreign dignitaries, or as guests of the Queen (garden parties etc.). Millions more will visit just to take pictures and to say they've been there. They also have access to plenty of other Royal parks and places of residence.

Think about where the money has gone before you rage about it. It will have paid the wages of the people doing the work, the wages of the people who supplied and made the materials used, the wages of the people who designed, planned, approved the work, etc etc
It's not like they just threw it in a lake.

I don't think that there is any racism towards Meghan. I personally do not feel any racism towards her when I think of her. I feel a little bit more ire towards her than the other Royals because she is American and has just turned up and done nothing, and now we are expected to pay millions for an already wealthy American actress. Why? But I am also annoyed at the rest of the Royal family

Can I just check - did the UK tax payer pay any more money to the Royal family to do this work, or did they take it out of the money that we would have given the Queen anyway? (which is just her getting a bit of her money back)

Because for all I'm seeing about the tax payer funding it, it doesn't seem to show there was an increase in funding to the Royal family for them, just came out of Queenie's hat budget.

If it's cost us no more to get this work done, and it's just how they've decided to budget their total funds, then I can't see what there's to get upset about.

Because for all I'm seeing about the tax payer funding it, it doesn't seem to show there was an increase in funding to the Royal family for them, just came out of Queenie's hat budget.

There wasn't an increase in funding, people just like to froth!