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"

Stupid waste of money

That marriage will last 5 years tops. She isn't made to fit into the royal family and be told what to do. She's an outspoken feminist and will get bored and feel restricted as a part of the royal family.

The crown estates maintain the whole of the coastline around the UK...
The footpaths and beaches, all free to us to use....
Many of the trees that grown to heart heights are in their properties.
Parliament is rented free to the govenment and govenment buildings, many of them would cost millions a year to rent...

@adaline "the crown receives a certain amount of money a year from taxpayers to maintain buildings" seems to be your argument. That this can then be spent any jolly way they like. My argument for this:

1. why dont taxpayers have a say in how much of taxpayers money is allocated to updating these buildings.
2. Why dont we have a say on how it is spent? Knocking five houses into one house for three people, just seems so ridiculous and frivolous. When Harry and Meghan already had a place to stay,

They were not "maintaining buildings", they knocked five houses into one

What dollyandshirl said.

The money comes from Crown Estates. It's not from taxes. The Queen pays a swinging tax on her income.

IT HASN'T COME FROM TAXES. IT'S NOT "TAXPAYERS' MONEY NO MATTER WHAT IS BEING REPORTED.

IF THE QUEEN HADN'T SPENT IT ON RENOVATING PART OF HER ROYAL ESTATE SHE COULD HAVE BOUGHT A NEW FUCKING CROWN WITH IT, IT WOULD NOT HAVE COME TO US ANYWAY.

"I'm glad I don't pay tax"
so we're all paying for you too are we?

Kate does not always wear designer, is always recycling clothes, she wore the same outfit to Charlottes Christening as she did to Harry’s wedding. Can you imagine Meghan doing that?

Given she was pregnant within a month or two of getting married how could she have reworn her pre-pregnancy clothes? I saw her in the same coats several times, perhaps those were the only items that fitted!

"Vegan Paint" ?????

Has Meg clocked those dead bears on the Guardsmen's heads?

The King of a long time ago put all his property Into the crown estates trust. . It is still owned by the Queen...
She donates 85% of her money to fund her govenment....

I can’t bear this idea that Kate “recycles” her clothes. What do the rest of us do?

Someone just wrote on a news site

"Paying for the Royal family should be entirely voluntary".

I agree

Kate does not always wear designer, is always recycling clothes

You mean she wears the same outfit twice...the same as everyone else does then?

No matter how often someone explains about the Sovereign Grant, that these palaces belong to the State etc etc SOMEONE will always keep repeating "our taxes/could be spent on the poor and homeless".

Look at our elected representatives. Do we really want an elected President? How much do you think Trump costs?

Recycling clothes is that what rich people call wearing more than once

The Crown Estates are not the personal property of Betty Battenburg. They are the corporate property of the Crown.

Neither does she pay any tax because she can't. Rather she makes a 'donation' to HMRC equivalent to some of what she would pay if she did which she doesn't.

It is all smoke and mirrors, quite literally when Windsor Castle burnt down and all became clear: When it's up, it's hers. When it's down, it's ours.

Hats off to the likes of Peter Phillips and David Armstrong-Jones who went out and got jobs.

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

Genuinely curious - What great things do you think the rest of the royals have done? At least MM had a career and earned her own money.

Ultimately they are all just as pointless as each other

Yabu, I don't mind the royals! They use their position to help raise money for charity, people from other countries are interested in them so it creates tourism for us. I think I'd rather have the royals than just have a prime minister in charge... I know they basically are but if they were ever complete ridiculous the Queen could stop them

MN has a massively disproportionate number of republicans. In the real world, 70% of the population supports a monarchy.

yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2018/05/18/who-are-monarchists

I am quite disappointed in Meg and Harry. I thought she would bring a breath of fresh air into the royal family but instead they are both acting like Hollywood celebrities.

I don’t have a real problem with the money spent on Frogmore as it was due a refub but I do shake my head when £350k is spent on a baby shower and good knows how many carbon emissions, an up grade of an engagement ring less than two years on her finger and designed by the desotted fool who married her, the £600k jewellery collection in a year of marriage and the every increasing designer wardrobe.

And now we have Harry teaming up with Oprah to do a series on mental health. Great cause but why does he need to give it the Hollywood treatment when there are plenty of mental health charities in the uk that he could work with.

The problem with the whole “it’s the property of the state, therefore the state should pay for its upkeep” argument is that “the state” will never have use of the property. That privilege will only be afforded to members of an obscenely wealthy, privileged family who already had a perfectly suitable “cottage” on the grounds of another palace.

I don't mind royalty i like the Queen and have no issues with her having lavish homes I do however mind a pair of flakes just spending money because they feel entitled and want to refurbish with vegan paint and harp on about privacy it is bloody irritating when they had a perfectly nice house in a palace!

It is still owned by the Queen...She donates 85% of her money to fund her government.

This is total bollocks.

The crown estates are not the personal property of the Windsor family.

So the 15% the Queen retains from the crown estate income has to be spent on upkeep or could be spent on anything? If it has to be spent on upkeep of the estate (as some are suggesting), what does she live off?

I'll care about the Queen paying 85% 'tax' when her estate has to pay inheritance tax. Too much property in this country is concentrated in the hands of too few.

Why is there no public outrage at what local councils are spending with public money?

There is, all the time, but IME it's perfectly possible to care about more than one issue

Clearly this latest discussion's been sparked by the cost of H&M's new place, but yes, the whole family's at it - and some are a bit over-keen on lecturing the rest of us about how to live, while keeping their own noses firmly in the trough

For me it isn't even about the money per se, since a president could easily cost just as much. Rather, it's about having choice in our head of state and being stuck with the ones we have whether we like it or not (which doubtless feeds the way too many of them behave)

Its costing £340m to do restoration work on Buckingham Palace, the Queen isn't paying for that, now that's a hell of a lot of money, i say demolish it and let them do there so called work at Windsor Castle

Slowly going of them both