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"

When you think about it, actresses and actors are probably the best choice for consorts

Yeah I agree with this

Blood is no indicator of worth really.

Well of course it isn’t.

I get how in feudal times this kind of thinking fostered stability and that was valuable, but I cant fathom why anyone nowadays buys into it.

And yet they clearly do

Her sole qualification for the job is being born

She wasn't even born to it. She was born to a life as a minor cousin until her uncle decided to marry a divorcee.

She was born to a life as a minor cousin until her uncle decided to marry a divorcee.

Good point

Anyone had a good look at Frogmore house. It really is odd a hotchpotch of a long building. One side so close to the hedge with small windows it must be dark. Is it close to a road so the hedge has to be that high? I hope the views are better from the front of the house. You can throw as much money at a house like that as you like but it really looks a bit squashed in imo.

Agree with your comment Bigballofoil

Laurie Marlow not everyone does, many of us want it phased out

I’m baffled as to why anyone would think popping out of a royal/aristo vagina helps bring an ‘air of justification’ to it.

I'm not making myself understood very well. What I mean is that the Monarchy exists on the premise of right through birth that is, actually that 'my mother's vagina' somehow conveys more importance than yours. Hence the bloodlines and 'right to succession' etc. A totally ridiculous notion in the 21st century I agree.

Yet it remains that is the premise we are expected and do accept. Hence their continued existence.

With that in mind it becomes increasingly preposterous to accept that someone who hiterto was just an ordinary working person can suddenly demand bowing and scraping. It destroys the mystique and makes the lie (we're special because of who we are) more obvious. At least if they marry those already having similar connections and 'credentials' it does in a way put them back in a special world of their own.

Effectively it's become too ordinary. Royalty has lost its mystique and therefore people just think WTF? These people are no better than me, whereas the same is true regardless of what background they are from but the perception is different. Class still matters unfortunately.

I know I'm not explaining this well at all.

I like the royal family. I'll happily pay my £1.24 per year towards their upkeep! A lot more of my heard earned money goes towards keeping people that contribute a lot less to society!

Actually, I think you explained it very well, Catherine; I especially agree about the possible unfairness in proposing to "a beautiful, feisty, opinionated, self made woman ... knowing how compromising and difficult it would be for her to just play the Good Wife to the Nation"

Of course she could have said no, but in all the haste she hardly had time to realise what her future would be like - and for me this is the crux of a lot of it. She's made mistakes as we all do, but rather than being her "fault", a great deal is perhaps just the inevitable result of two people coming together so quickly, into such a situation and with such backgrounds

catherineofaragon all your arguments are arguments for the abolition of the institution. The alternative is to compel the aristocracy into arranged marriages to which ever Royal takes a fancy to them, arranging marriages between the diminishing European Royals families, with the ensuing issues with inbreeding which almost saw off the European Royal Houses in the first place and then reinstate the Divine Right of Kings, because the only way a human could be thought of as better than another human presumably, is if the vagina they came out of was specially consecrated by the Lord Almighty!

@Puzzledandpissedoff

She's made mistakes as we all do

What mistakes has Meghan made?

I am happy to pay the £1.24, I cough up a £1 whenever I see a charity collector, more if it is close to my heart. I like our pomp it brings a lot of pleasure to us Brits and tourists alike. They do not do any harm politically either.

I'm willing to suspend judgement on Meghan til she's been a royal a bit longer but people seem very keen to condemn anything and everything she does, for some reason @Becles

Expensive clothes aside, as far as I can see she's got a decent work ethic (by royal standards) and started taking on royal duties the day after her engagement was announced. Her first big project, the Together cookbook, was a resounding success, as was the trip she and Harry took to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. So it'll be interesting to see what she does when she's back from maternity leave. It took Kate a few years to get into her stride so it'll probably be the same for Meghan.

Why can't they find it themselves??

Imagine headline
.

Megan and Harry could have rightly or wrongly claimed 3.5 million of tax payers money but they chose.. To fund the project from their private funds...

They are funding the majority from their private funds. 2million won't go far on the scale of the job they are doing.

Oh and Kate and William have been through this too

"A similar refurbishment for Apartment 1A of Kensington Palace in 2013-4 for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children ended up costing around £4.5 million across two financial years"

Effectively it's become too ordinary. Royalty has lost its mystique and therefore people just think WTF? These people are no better than me, whereas the same is true regardless of what background they are from but the perception is different. Class still matters unfortunately

This is where we don’t agree.

Yes the whole thing has lost its mystique but I think that’s more generally to do with the royal families behaviour/limitations and people becoming more discerning about the whole charade.

I don’t think a few chinless wonder aristos will do anything to maintain the fiasco any more than Meghan Markle will. We’ve become less deferent as a nation. The idea of ‘Blood’ meaning anything is ludicrous.

I’m surprised at how many people are still monarchists, but I think most of that is motivated by admiration of the Queen (who, on a personal level has done a great job in her role).

I think we’ll see support for the monarchy plummet when Charles takes the reigns. And I don’t think a few Countesses or whatever would have made any difference.

They do not do any harm politically either.

I beg to differ. Their very existence perpetuates an unhealthy obsession with class and Charles in particular is a dangerous meddler.

Becles I'd suggest perhaps a little tone deafness in some of her presentation, but nothing I wouldn't expect from someone who's moved very quickly from one world into a completely different one with little time to prepare

As said, I've wondered if some of the expectations heaped upon Meghan are entirely fair given the timescales, but no doubt she'll pick it all up as she goes along

The nonsense on this type of thread is unbearable. All that will happen if we get rid of the royal family is we’ll get another politician head of state with their nose in the trough who lives in buck palace and costs a fortune instead. All the crown estate will still belong to the government it’ll just become the purview of whatever we pick to replace the royals, president / chancellor whatever.

Yes. A politician maybe, who we can choose on the basis of their skills and experience and get rid of based on their performance. Other than Donald Trump who have his entire family on the gravy train, I don't think republics have to house the Presidents cousins/aunties/grandchildren/grown up children etc.

I doubt the U.K. would ever go for the American style of presidency. It would be more akin to the setup in Ireland.

I don't want an elected head of state. I like having a constitutional monarchy.