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"

and as for palaces beloning to the nation piece of crap we're not allowed to go in them unless we pay AGAIN

Yes, I've always found the 'it belongs to the nation' thing highly ironic. Especially when there are homelss people sleeping on the streets in the dead of winter. Can't just walk in can they?

And you're right, fully expected to pay again. Rich people have a laugh framing laws to benefit themselves. 'Belongs to the nation' what a joke.

I'm not bothered at all. I really like them both and i think they bring a lot of interest to the royal family. I really looking forward to seeing their little family grow and I truely hope they can make their marriage a success.

It would be a drop in the ocean in regards to public spending. And unfortunately solving issues like homelessness is a lot more complex so I don't think it's possible to compare.

so, you all ok to give me £1.24 a year? yeah? no? why not?

If you receive tax credits, child benefit, free childcare hours (or indeed any state service) then we already do, surely, through our taxation. Whether or not we want to or agree with it.

The security costs are estimated at £300m per year, but these are never included in the costs. The £1.24 per head is for every man, woman, and child in the country.
Also the Crown estates are not the personal property of the queen. If the monarchy was disbanded then ownership would revert to the country / government.
It was Labour who made the unusual decision to exempt the Royals from the FOI Act, which has certainly avoided more stringent scrutiny of their finances.

Just some random thoughts from my republican mind!

If we disband the royal family we get to have a president, umm... so will it be Boris or Jeremy this time. And that is going so well for the Americans.

It’s even harder to swallow their excess when they lecture everyone else about the environment etc.

I think two heirs to the throne (William and whatever their first born is called) is more worthy than someone who'll never be king with a sleb wife

I think the exact opposite really. I don't think any person is 'more worthy' than another just because of the order/family they were born into or the job they choose to do.

For that price they could have pulled it down and rebuilt it. Possibly get Persimmon in using a help to buy package as they like building massive exec homes at taxpayers expense rather than smaller starter homes for new young couples like H&M

FFS Harry and Meghan will be divorced within ten years.

What a waste of money.

It comes out of the Queens allocated money tho, as did the £ for renovating William & Kate's KP apartment & their Norfolk place. £2.5m seems about right to knock 5 rather old & run down places into one & also it's location is ideal re security & nearness to the main Royals base. And the fixtures & fittings were paid for by Harry (his mother left around £9m to each of her sons). The Daily Mail just love bashing Meghan, its getting boring.

IT ISN'T OUR MONEY, AND NEVER WAS.

It's dosh that comes from the Queen. Read MyOpinionisValid's post about where the money comes from ^

Who wants to pay 85% tax like the Queen does? No one I bet.

FFS Harry and Meghan will be divorced within ten years
That's not nice

Happy to keep the royal family, but let's scale it right back. Queen/Phil, Charlie/Camilla, Wills/Kate and the Cambridge kids.

Sack the rest off. All of them.

Bandara - yes, but they reinstated the monarchy in Spain because of public opinion!

If we disband the royal family we get to have a president, umm... so will it be Boris or Jeremy this time. And that is going so well for the Americans.

Sigh. Boris and Jeremy are vying for the role of Prime Minister, the most significant political job in the country. Trump is a president in a completely different political system in which the presidency is the single most powerful state role, being chief executive of the federal government and commander in chief of the armed forces.

If the UK ended the monarchy and decided to have an elected head of state as some form of more democratic equivalent to the queen, it would be a largely ceremonial role with no political or judicial power at all, therefore of zero interest to professional politicians like Hunt, Johnson or Trump, who, frankly, have bigger ambitions than cutting ribbons at community centres.

@AryaStarkWolf The Royal Family have one of the largest property portfolios in the UK. They own the freehold for lots of land which pays them rent from the leaseholders who own houses or farm on that land. The Queen gets her earnings from that land rent and then gives it all to the Treasury and then she gets 15% back which she has to spend on maintaining several Royal properties that really belong to the state. Prince Charles earns money from the Duchy of Cornwall Estate (a farm where he collects rent and under which brand he grows/produces sells organic products).

The monarchy are too expensive, so let’s overhaul the whole system.
I can see that being really cheap to do, and a super way of saving money.....
Ffs lol

We won’t have to overhaul anything? We already have a democratic Government in place? The Royal Family just do meet and greets.

so, you all ok to give me £1.24 a year? yeah? no? why not?

You get plenty of money from other taxpayers already. Schools, roads, the NHS, pension payments - very very few people pay more into the system than they take out!

If we disband the royal family we get to have a president, umm... so will it be Boris or Jeremy this time. And that is going so well for the Americans*

It’s going well for France.

Why Harry and Meghan specifically? They're all taking the piss. The very existence of these people in the ridiculous positions they hold is an insult to democracy, meritocracy, social equality and outright plain decency. 'HRH' [scoffs]. 'Higher' than what, exactly?

The financial part of the argument is pretty much incidental, albeit expecting the taxpayer to support the grace and favour homes, not only of the unelected Head of State but her bloated extensive family too - is a piece of cheeky-fuckery too far.

It's not as though they're philanthropic (other than for PR reasons), or even particularly intelligent. What on earth do sequestered people like this know about real diplomacy?

You get plenty of money from other taxpayers already. Schools, roads, the NHS, pension payments - very very few people pay more into the system than they take out!

Well she doesn’t get tens of millions!!

@MilkTrayLimeBarrel that is right. I was more using the example of Spain as "one person in a Royal family is not above scrutiny and can be gotten rid of of they are too excessive"

I'm not pro-monarchy but I think it is naive and petty to begrudge them 2 million pounds spent on restoring a historic property. There are several council and housing association owned houses on my west London street with social tenants living in them that could be sold for around 2 million pounds if they were on the market - so is 2 million really that much money when one is talking about property?

FFS Harry and Meghan will be divorced within ten years

His brother's pretty likely to be, if reports circulating on the uncensored and less stridently-regulated continental and US press are to be believed. His father's already once-divorced and allegedly living apart from his second wife, entailing the expense and resources - which could be more usefully employed elsewhere - of two security details.

I'm undecided as to whether they are the greater joke, or the British public for tolerating it.

I agree @MarieIVanArkleStinks it is the basic concept of one family telling us that they are better than everyone else so that they can keep more for themselves, that is corruption from the start. Everyone is a human being