This an interesting thread with some thought provoking posts.
I don't see most of what the Royals do as 'swanning about' - I think in the main they work hard and do a lot of good in promoting charities and supporting their work. I think in general most of the Royals try hard within their remit to do what they can to do good, and are probably very aware of their extreme privilege in terms of houses and perks. It is probably true that most of them would much prefer by miles and miles to be ordinary citizens, able to hold normal jobs with the lack of scrutiny and freedom that would entail. It is probably seen as a burden and a heavy chain to many of them that they really have no option but to live in a goldfish bowl with everything they do and say scrutinised under a microscope and twisted by the Press. The role of the Press has become completely toxic in this country, and for anyone in the public eye their lives are a living nightmare. They haven't chosen to be Royal , they are born into it. HM genuinely sees her position as one of heavy responsibility and imposed by God. She continues to carry out engagements in old age because she feels this is an obligation. Can any of us imagine our grandmothers doing what she does in their nineties? I'm sure she would much rather be sitting in a chair next to Philip looking at the garden, or visiting her horses all day. Retirement is a luxury she will never know. Contrary to what a previous poster said , I thought Philip lives at Windsor with her and they go together to Sandringham when they visit, but i may be wrong. It is obvious that she totally adores him, and has said publicly that he has been her mainstay, without him she couldn't have done the 'job'.
Yes, the RF do have lots of staff and perks, lovely holidays and huge houses. However, they are servants to the public in the sense that they cannot work in any other capacity really, and they cannot escape from public scrutiny.
I think the problem is that the role of the monarch and their family has become very blurred in modern times. The RF can only survive and be tolerated by us, the public, if they appear to genuinely warrant the sort of status that their wealth and privilege suggest. They aren't celebrities and they haven't earned their money, not really. Once the line starts to blur between celebrity and royalty things will come unstuck. The reason for the backlash against Meghan is not racism. It is an unease about the feeling that she doesn't understand the rules of the game. If you're going to spend inordinate amounts of money, be seen to earn it first, or keep under the radar. Don't promote yourself as a person, promote the cause you are working for. In fact if you have any sense, behave like Sophie or Princess Anne and quietly go about your business without ostentation. Unfortunately Meghan has been trained in a different direction and is from a very different culture.
Princess Anne, Edward and Sophie and to some extent Charles and Camilla understand this and work hard to justify their expenditure and status. I also think that William and Kate understand this very well. However, I don't think Meghan gets it. Not surprisingly, because she hasn't been brought up in the UK and comes from a completely different world. Her world is the world of celebrity . She's used to her own life, her own money and doing what she likes. I think she has tried very hard to 'fit in' but it isn't her natural environment and I don't think she really sees the necessity to please the public, not just her husband's relatives.
What makes many of us uneasy is the feeling that the RF are really just people like us. We don't feel the deference that previous generations did because of the media, and the fact that Royals are now marrying commoners. The forelock tugging has died out, and when the Queen goes, the whole structure will be seriously rocked. Why should the PM curtsey for example , to Meghan? It has become ludicrous.
I think if the RF do survive into the next century some of the old fashioned deference will have to go , some of the Palaces and private jets etc. Instead, they will be figureheads who work hard for worthy causes but live more modest lives, with the junior members working . in other capacities. Perhaps that will happen under Charles, but as others have said, as the older members die out , the younger ones have to step up to the plate to continue their work. So it will depend what that 'work' constitutes. Opening things, attending the races, etc could perhaps be discontinued in favour of more hands on events.
I really feel that the Commonwealth visits are a nonsense. The British Empire is over, and jetting off to Australia or Canada for no real purpose other than to patronise makes no sense in a modern world. It's bad for the environment apart from anything else.
It's sad to see the rift between William and Harry because now more than ever, those two need to work together to carry the monarchy forward in a way the younger generation can relate to. There is a lot of good will towards them because of the Diana years, so they need to keep that going and live up to public expectations. It seems like their PR has gone off track and the rumour mongering has gone into overdrive. It''s a shame the Fab Four wasn't a reality for more than a brief time before collapsing in a shambles.
In any case, I think the next twenty or thirty years will be crucial in whether the RF survive at all.