Monarchy Abolished?

[malibuloving]

Other threads have inspired me

Do you think we’ll ever live to see the Royals gone or perhaps our children will?

I can see public support for it to be abolished once the Queens gone. I feel like they’ve had too many chances at this point. The cover up of Andrews vile friendship with the sexual predator Epstein and the awful things Andrew probably did plus the pictures with teenagers has been an outrage. I also really like Harry and Meghan but their hypocrisy is quite embarrassing how they’re banging on about climate change and then jetting off across the globe on private jets. And more and more for all royals.

AIBU to think their time is up soon

“I really think Harry and Megs are doing incalculable harm“

Yeah yeah- all their fault. Everything was all hunky dory before Meghan and her bare legs and dark nail varnish arrived. Not a single member of the Royal Family used a private jet or did up a house or bought a frock or moved a tennis court or went on holiday.....

Thanks @BelleSausage. That doesn’t exactly sound like her maj is rushed off her feet.

And Williams affair.

Surely he hasn't had an affair?!

I think we should get rid of them all in the morning.

However it is interesting that while cadging lifts on private jets is totally normal for the royals, no one batted an eyelid until Meghan started doing it.

Charles has been lecturing us on the environment and commissioning private jets/helicopters for years

The ongoing Brexit debacle has shown just how useless the monarchy is at being the unifying force its supporters claim. And I know they are not supposed to get involved in politics and all but -this goes beyond politics. Don't you think the Queen should have SOMETHING to say about the fact that there is a risk of the UK breaking over this?

In terms of the "President Johnson" argument, we don't need to change our political system to be like the US if we abolish the monarchy. I'd prefer to see something like the Irish model in place.

And, come to think of it, if besides opening stuff she doesn’t have any function except back door diplomacy, why isn’t she being put to good use on cases such as Nazanin Zagari-Ratcliffe?

I agree with StoneofDestiny's points.

The allegations that this Royal has done this, and that Royal has done that, are really a red herring when talking about abolition.

While we have this elevated and ridiculously lavishly funded institution, we are always going to be paying for the foibles, crimes and offensive behaviour of an extended family who are set up as our superiors but who are in fact no better than the average family on the street - often 'worse' behaviourally, simply because their riches enable a life of idleness, recklessness and hedonism.

They all need to go - by which I mean, be stripped of their titles and public funding, so they have to 'scrape by' on their personal wealth only.

I make no exception for the present Queen.

@malibuloving
To be clear, I was stating that the pageantry associated with Royalty (i.e. Royal Tattoo) without the royal family would be a pastiche. I was not calling Scottish culture a pastiche🙄, please read my post.

In fact (IMO) Versailles is a sad crumbling relic and memorial to a bygone age, and of a family butchered. The works of art and treasures looted and dispersed. Versailles is a museum, whereas our Royal palaces are relevant - they are homes and offices and still regular hosts to state functions and diplomatic visitors. They also act as custodians of the unparalleled Royal collection.

Surely he hasn't had an affair?!

Strongly rumoured to have been doing do for years - in fact throughout his entire relationship with Kate. Pap photos repeatedly caught him behaving in a manner inconsistent with a partnered man.

Moat recently, its rumoured that he had an affair with Rose Hanbury, their neighbour and Kate's own friend.

She's been very thin for a while, so it seemed likely all was not well. Talk is that William's appalling treatment of his wife is behind the rift with Harry, who respects Kate and considers her his own family.

If true, it doesn't look like William's going to be the lovely saviour to follow Charles' dilettante.

We're waiting patiently for a damp squib.

Versailles is a sad crumbling relic

If reports of the appalling structural repair of the royal palaces are to be believed, it's likely that the de-royaled palaces of Europe are in better nick than our own.

The British museum seems to do alright at displaying artefacts. I'm sure reclaimed royal houses would do similarly.

@malibuloving
Are these the same source as William’s affair? Rumours and gossip based on such incontrovertible facts as...Kate’s weight?? 😂😂😂

Yeah, I've heard the tourism nonsense too.

Tourism is a huge angle and the fact that Windsor and Bucks house has living royals in it makes it substantially more appealing than boring stinky old castles with information boards in. And the Royals are massive net contributors to the public purse, they don’t cost a penny as they contribute all the rental income of the crown lands that they privately own to HMRC in exchange for a tiny fraction back as an allowance. Without the royals we’d have a hole in our budget and decline in tourism too so it would be pointless. Finally we need the queen as head of the armed forces to chase Corbyn off with her sword if he somehow comes to power and tries to subvert the Democratic processes that he has no regard for.

@AlexandPea and @Shortstuff99
I'm sure this must have been said up thread, but France consistently attracts more tourists than any other European country.
So your "boring stinky old castles" are clearly what the tourists are wanting.
And not adulation of a privileged and hypocritical few.

Let's hope so.

no one batted an eyelid

Not true. I've been slagging off the royal family for years

the fact that Windsor and Bucks house has living royals in it makes it substantially more appealing than boring stinky old castles with information boards in

Sheer nonsense.

Sheer nonsense.

Pure garbage!

Wow what a compelling debater you are!

the fact that Windsor and Bucks house has living royals in it makes it substantially more appealing than boring stinky old castles with information boards in

I’ve never heard such bollocks in my life.

Why would having Prince Philip holed up in a whole wing of the castle you can’t access make it a better experience?

Have you ever been to Versailles?

Honestly at my previous job I had to fill in a form if I received a gift worth more than £50. Never did sadly....

What on earth are the Royals doing accepting private jet flights as gifts from celebrities. Surely the whole thing is corrupt and unethical.

Anyway for sure there has been unfair criticism of Megan for irrelevant sexist stuff about clothes but none of the Royal Family should be behaving in this way.

The thing with Andrew and Epstein and gifts to Fergie is extremely bad.

And the Royals are massive net contributors to the public purse

No they aren’t

they contribute all the rental income of the crown lands that they privately own to HMRC in exchange for a tiny fraction back as an allowance

The Windsor absolutely, categorically do not privately own the Crown Estates.

The Estates are owned by a legal entity called ‘The Crown’ which, if the Windsor’s were removed, they would no longer inhabit and they’d have no personal claim to the Estates whatsoever.

France consistently attracts more tourists than any other European country

You’re not wrong, however visitor numbers for Windsor castle, Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London are significant in that they are leagues ahead of any European equivalent. Yes I know Tower of London doesn’t have royals in but it’s lumped in due to historic ties with a family that is still living

Yes the Eiffel Tower has more numbers again, but there are no castles / royal houses in Europe that get close

So clearly a live monarchy adds significant interest in these buildings as that’s the differentiating factor.

With that gone, if our previously royal residences fell to European levels of interest we’d significantly miss out on tourist numbers.

The Estates are owned by a legal entity called ‘The Crown’ which, if the Windsor’s were removed, they would no longer inhabit and they’d have no personal claim to the Estates whatsoever.

What tripe! I for one don’t favour confiscation of privately owned assets by the state.

Maybe you do, you must be quivering at the ever increasing threat of Comrade Corbyn’s greasy attempts to subvert our long established democracy in this country.

Harry and Meghan's PR are shit.

Yeah, having one family elevated to great riches and power by virtue of birth is the very definition of democracy.