to think the Queen should refuse this gift?

[WitchesSpelleas]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-54915124

"A committee of MPs and peers has been set up to choose a gift "fit" for the Queen to mark the 70th anniversary of her accession, in 2022.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said it would be a "token of our respect". For her Diamond Jubilee in 2012, the Queen had a stained-glass window created for her in Westminster Hall."

The Queen has everything she could possibly need, and the money to buy anything she could want.

This gift will be funded by donations from MPs - of course, it's up to them how they want to spend their money - but at a time when so many of her subjects are struggling financially due to the impact of Covid19, I think it would be appropriate for the Queen to ask the MPs to make a donation to a UK charity instead of spending the money on a Platinum Jubilee gift.

I get that you think historical and artistic treasures are of no value, but others disagree.

I don't think that at all. I think they have great value if people can actually see them. The Queen has an enormous number of historical and artistic treasures that are kept in a vault - so not even being enjoyed by the Royals, let alone members of the public. Her properties are sitting empty most of the years, so again, being enjoyed by absolutely no one. How is there value in treasures that are locked away from anyone's view?

@WitchesSpelleas

Most crown properties are country estates. What use would they be as accommodation for the homeless? How many homeless shelters are there in the middle of the countryside?

They're large enough to be turned into more than just accommodation - for example, accommodation could be combined with vocational training facilities (including things that kept the centre running, such as catering, cleaning etc.) or basic life-skills training for vulnerable people who lacked this. The Queen has more than enough wealth to fund such a venture.

So much could be done, and yet these estates lie empty most of the year - not even offering the limited value of being open to visitors.

You should seek therepy to get to the bottom of why your are so irrationally angry and obsessed with the royals.

You anger is clouding even basic common sense and the things you are spouting are litrally turning into the raving of an insane person.

Yes the royals have a wealth of estate they control but that estate is tied heavily to the countries wealth and standing so it benefits all of us... they are just the gaurdian, I dont know how you struggle so much with this.

Turning it into an impractical history destroying doss houses is not better for anyone - the history brings in far more wealth and benefit than an of the quite frankly stupid suggestion you keep throwing out.

Honestly imagine hating a little nonogenarian this much, you must have a easy life to waste this much time stewing, ranting and plotting against old ladies lol.

Honestly imagine hating a little nonogenarian this much, you must have a easy life to waste this much time stewing, ranting and plotting against old ladies lol.

I don't hate the Queen. I hate the institution of monarchy.

I do, however, think the Queen should be ashamed to have taken from us all for nearly 70 years and given nothing back. She is head of the Church of England and, every year, pops up at Christmas to talk about Christian values - yet she is the archetype of the camel trying to fit through the needle's eye. It's rank hypocrisy, and I say this as an agnostic!

@WitchesSpelleas

I get that you think historical and artistic treasures are of no value, but others disagree.

I don't think that at all. I think they have great value if people can actually see them. The Queen has an enormous number of historical and artistic treasures that are kept in a vault - so not even being enjoyed by the Royals, let alone members of the public. Her properties are sitting empty most of the years, so again, being enjoyed by absolutely no one. How is there value in treasures that are locked away from anyone's view?

The crown jewels are worth millions. Of course they're going to be in a vault. That doesn't mean they're not part of the nation's patrimony.

And if they were displayed in a museum - as of course some are - then you'd be whining again about why 'only people in London' can see them.

I agree with the above poster. Your anger at the royals - and I'm someone who on principle is against the idea of a monarchy - is irrational and lacking in common sense. Turning stately homes into soup kitchens? FFS.

I know I said I am out but I couldn't resist this😂

"#buckinghampalaceHMO
Spacious bedrooms all with an ensuit in a prominent part of London. Good transport links. Landlords predominantly residing in the UK. High ceilings, great character building. Call in today as they are going fast!
Also available, bedrooms in a middle of nowhere suitable for basically no one, but in lovely character buildings."

Do you think it would be in one of the remake the house shows?
"On today's episode we will see The Queen getting down with some plastering so the rooms can be rented out asap. Meanwhile Phillip is trying to charm a local council to give them an HMO licence, but runs out into issues because they installed only 1200 fire alarms instead of 1324. The council isn't pleased.
Will they successfully manage the Kensington palace renovations into an HMO and rent the rooms out? Join us at 8PM to see"

I'm going to sound harsh now. My aunt died in her 90s. We didn't plan things more than three months ahead. God willing the Queen will be alive then but to plans gifts for an event that may not happen so far I'd advance seems ludicrous to me. Like buying the wedding present when people have just got engaged.

The Queen has an enormous number of historical and artistic treasures that are kept in a vault

EVERY state has that you lunatic. Do you think all the art you see in galleries are the real pieces? Some are way too valuable to be risked, other afe fragile.
The trusts have a duty to invest into good valuable things which grow in value. Art does that.

Have you changed your user name from Wolfgirrl, OP? Your writing style and views on the monarchy are startlingly similar.

And if they were displayed in a museum - as of course some are - then you'd be whining again about why 'only people in London' can see them.

Well, you have assumed there that being 'displayed in a museum' would mean being displayed in a London museum. It might astound you, but there are museums outside London, They could be displayed in museums beyond the capital, or toured around the country.

@VinylDetective

Have you changed your user name from Wolfgirrl, OP? Your writing style and views on the monarchy are startlingly similar.

No, I've never had the username 'Wolfgirrl'.

I think by 2022 we will all be so desperate for something to celebrate that the Platinum Jubilee will be WONDERFUL. I hope we are able to be in crowds lining the streets and having parties and all kinds of things.

@WitchesSpelleas

Honestly imagine hating a little nonogenarian this much, you must have a easy life to waste this much time stewing, ranting and plotting against old ladies lol.

I don't hate the Queen. I hate the institution of monarchy.

I do, however, think the Queen should be ashamed to have taken from us all for nearly 70 years and given nothing back. She is head of the Church of England and, every year, pops up at Christmas to talk about Christian values - yet she is the archetype of the camel trying to fit through the needle's eye. It's rank hypocrisy, and I say this as an agnostic!

I feel you have no clue as to what the queen's role is. She's not responsible for building homeless shelters or soup kitchens. She is ceremonial head of state. She did not choose that role. She was born into it. She'd probably have been much happier as an army wife or upper class lady mucking about in the stables, but her future was already decided for her.

Whether one agrees with the institution of hereditary monarchy is another question. But I don't think any fair minded person would disagree that the queen has fulfilled her role with dignity and steadfastness over the decades.

She did not choose that role. She was born into it.

No one could have stopped her abdicating if she didn't want to fulfil the role. I'm not saying she should have abdicated - that's not a solution to the problem of the monarchy, as the next in line would take the role - but let's not pretend she was forced into becoming Queen.

What a miserable bastard of a thread.

You realise that 'only people who live in London' is roughly 13% of the United Kingdom right?

@WitchesSpelleas

She did not choose that role. She was born into it.

No one could have stopped her abdicating if she didn't want to fulfil the role. I'm not saying she should have abdicated - that's not a solution to the problem of the monarchy, as the next in line would take the role - but let's not pretend she was forced into becoming Queen.

Well, nobody put a gun to her head and forced her to sit on the throne, no.

But having lived though the abdication crisis as a child - the stress of which she and her mother believed contributed to the death of her father - she felt it was her moral obligation to accept the role whether she liked it or not. She would not have considered herself to have any choice in the matter.

For someone who professes to care about the welfare of others, you seem strangely lacking in compassion and understanding.

@Pukkatea

You realise that 'only people who live in London' is roughly 13% of the United Kingdom right?

I don't feel 13% is a 'trumps all' number. 87% of people not living in London hardly constitutes an insignificant minority.

For someone who professes to care about the welfare of others, you seem strangely lacking in compassion and understanding.

The Queen has no shortage of people to attend to her welfare. I feel my compassion and understanding are better spent on those who are genuinely struggling.

@stillsomewhatsheldonesque

What a miserable bastard of a thread.

Isn’t it just? I’m dreading June 2022, the place will be stacked full of threads like this.

Yes but your point seems to be that important historical architecture should go where the most people would benefit from it....sorry, but a lot more people are going to see something in London than in Stoke on Trent or South Shields.

I'm a stonemason and the idea of a window or similar to mark the jubilee fills me with joy. It would create valuable work for skilled craftspeople, and add to our cultural heritage.

Slight tangent, but I don't think people realise that traditional crafts are fast dying out. We need these types of high profile projects to raise awareness of what we do so that younger generations can be inspired to take up these professions, and those who hold the purse strings release appropriate funding to maintain our historic architecture. The lack of value attached to our work can be heartbreaking. I've worked on some of the most historically important and beautiful buildings in the country, many of which are literally crumbling in front of our eyes. I've witnessed visitors to these places 'ooh!' and 'aah!' with delight, then complain about the price of admission or the inconvenient presence of a scaffold. I realise one could argue that the money could be better spent elsewhere than on bits of stone, brick and glass, but surely paying the wage of a stonemason or pargetter or gilder is still valuable?

I fully appreciate the London argument, and I agree that the city does have more than its fair share of splendour. I don't have an answer though, unless the piece could be toured around the country, or the money could fund several pieces of work around the UK.

@WitchesSpelleas

For someone who professes to care about the welfare of others, you seem strangely lacking in compassion and understanding.

The Queen has no shortage of people to attend to her welfare. I feel my compassion and understanding are better spent on those who are genuinely struggling.

I'm not saying we need to fret over her well-being. I'm saying it wouldn't kill you to understand that the queen had no real choice into what kind of life she would have, and 70 years on, she is still fulfilling her role with dignity (shame the same cannot be said for all members of her family).

Why aren't you away helping out at your local soup kitchen instead of having digs at a nearly 100 year old woman?

@WitchesSpelleas

Yes, mark the anniversary by all means, but why with a gift? The Royal Family has many charities within its patronage - why not make a donation to, say, the Prince's Trust?

Because it's really for posterity for generations to come. It's a very rare milestone & should be marked in a way that will be there for generations to come.

The Queen was raised to know that would be her role and her duty to the country. When that is all you know and what you have been raised for, she would have felt it to be her duty.

We lived on the other side of the financial spectrum. We were brought up to believe family was everything, you cared for your elders and whilst money wasn’t everything, then love was.

My duty is to care for my loved ones. My life has been on hold since I was 37. I can’t see it changing any time soon as I have a duty and responsibility.

I daresay neither me or the Queen was forced into it. But it is what we were brought up to believe. Her duty is to the nation. Mine is to my parents and quite possibly my ill sibling.

There are plenty of us who have struggled and can feel compassion for those still struggling. Who is to say the Queen does not?

This thread just sounds bitter and nasty to me.

Compassion and understanding works both ways. Regardless of whether you have or have not.

@Pukkatea

Yes but your point seems to be that important historical architecture should go where the most people would benefit from it....sorry, but a lot more people are going to see something in London than in Stoke on Trent or South Shields.

I think all areas of the country should have their share of important architecture. Yes, London is populous and much visited by tourists - but there is no shortage of historical architecture in London already.

If we are ever to make progress in redressing the North/South divide in the UK, we need to stop focusing investment on areas that are already populous and (as a region) wealthy.