To think Britain should have got rid of the monarchy rather than their EU membership

[Mookins14]

Inspired by the dress up party that was the Queen's Speech last week. These are grown ups acting in a pantomine in very expensive dress up clothes that is costing a fortune and is very hard to take seriously.

Actually also inspired by the Downton Abbey movie which was a cring-inducing fest of cap doffing, and acknowledging that everyone is inferior to the King and Queen .

I am not British so maybe the fact that I haven't been brain washed from birth to believe that these are superior beings who deserve to be fed and clothed and feted for doing very little makes a difference.

I appreciate the tourism argument (that they are good for it) but I maintain that the palaces being open to the public with costumes on display will be just as good if not better for tourism and the economy. I lived in central London for a decade and never saw the changing of the guard or visited Buckingham Palace. I worked near High street Kensington so was aware of Princess Diana and Princess Margaret but that was about the extent of the effect the monarchy had on my life.

I see the monarchy as belonging (very much so) in the past and a strong relationship with European neighbours being the future and so I think you have gone in the wrong direction lately.

This is England and Ireland Scotland?

I love the queen and I like William and Kate. I think Harry and Meghan have had bad PR which has affected a lot of people’s opinions on the royal family in general. Which is a shame as that’s ultimately what everyone will focus on and what could cause a situation like brexit.

I think it would be very sad to get rid of the monarchy. It’s what makes Britain unique.

I don't share my personal opinions of others countries traditions and customs, so please refrain from exposing us to yours ! CF !

I dunno. Must be my Irish heritage.

Fuck off

How dare you. You are talking absolute rubbish. Don't talk about things that you can't understand. Most of us love the Monarchy.

Denmark has a monarchy, so does Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden. All of whom are in the EU.

We should keep both.

Downton Abbey is a tv series/film with an awful script, ironically written by a Conservative peer. Nothing like reality.

YANBU OP

Totally agree - I'm British born and bred !

Cheers for that, OP

Most of us love the Monarchy
I don’t think that’s true these days especially amongst younger people.

do you think the cost of maintaining castles for tourists to visit would be less if they didn't have royalty living in them?

as the castles would be fully opened for the tourists and wouldn't have to be maintain as monument, not as living quarter (so no need for spending a few million in new kitchen, tennis courts and so on), yes, it would less and would make a lot of economical sense.

How dare you. You are talking absolute rubbish. Don't talk about things that you can't understand. Most of us love the Monarchy
You explain it then. Enlighten us as to how it is just to have a hereditary system to decide our head of state. Do you believe in a divine right or is their some other reason that the Windsors are innately more worthy than the rest of us?

Clearly people can't grasp the enormous added value that the Monarchy has.
You know the price of everything but the value of nothing.
The revenue is enormous.

Just one royal (couple), being the Monarch, is enough. No need to fund anyone else.

I don't believe the revenue is enormous. Or rather, I think it would continue to be enormous regardless of whether we actually still have a royal family. The history of it is what draws tourists, and the history will still be there. Versailles still seems pretty popular without Ftench royalty living in it!

@Mookins14 - YABU because getting rid of the Monarchy would not have done anything to mollify the people who felt that the EU was a threat to UK sovereignty and wanted to regain control of our laws and immigration (that's not my view, btw - but that is why a lot of people voted for Brexit).

I fail to see how anyone can see getting rid of the Monarchy as a valid alternative to Brexit.

The revenue is enormous

There's no evidence for that.

However the sovereign grant costs the nation £76 million or thereabouts. That's not including the money they get direct from the exchequer in the form of security and so on.

Versailles still seems pretty popular without Ftench royalty living in it!
That's because it's part of lots of package holidays to Paris or day trips that tourists are flogged.

That's because it's part of lots of package holidays to Paris or day trips that tourists are flogged.

So? Struggling to see your point here.

Anyone who thinks the monarchy costs money is deluded. So too anyone who thinks an aircraft carrier, a hospital, a war or a rail line costs money is similarly deluded.

You see what happens here is A pays B some money. B takes that money and needs something doing so gives some money to C and some money to D. C takes that money and gives some to E and some to F. Somewhere in there is you, I, HMRC, your neighbour, your nurse.

Live and let live.

You see what happens here is A pays B some money. B takes that money and needs something doing so gives some money to C and some money to D. C takes that money and gives some to E and some to F. Somewhere in there is you, I, HMRC, your neighbour, your nurse

If that's intended as an explanation, it has failed utterly. What point are you making?

FreshwaterBay what does your post even mean? I have no idea what your take home message is supposed to be..

Well go on then - you tell me.

What does the monarchy cost?

Go on.

This is going to be a long drawn out thread as we learn what money really is.