Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5 6

Original poster

The Royals

128 replies

Indecisive12 · 02/02/2021 19:45

I was bought Finding Freedom for Xmas and have just finished it.

It’s an utterly bizarre read highlighting to me the difference in British and American culture as it is written for the American audience.

Anyway after reading it I just can’t see how sustainable the Royal Family are. The Queen won’t have long left to reign. There’s loads of hate against Camilla in the world,even though I quite like her, so I can’t see Charles as King being a success. Then William and Kate are losing popularity because of the fallout and that’s basically all there is.

I quite liked the royals but I’m feeling a bit meh about them and wonder if they’ve run their course. Their behaviour of fleeing to nicer palaces in lockdowns hasn’t bought them any favours in my book either.

YABU - they will carry on as they have
YANBU - Charles reign will see significant changes and their role diminished further

OP posts:

Pixxie7 · 03/02/2021 02:10

I think your right about this changing but I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing. If Charles takes after his parents he could well reign for 20 plus years. I think a lot of his ideas are good particularly shrinking the royal family
. Let’s face it although they were said to be senior royals, Harry is the second son the same as Andrew so it won’t be long before the become insignificant.

MusicalTrifleMonkey · 03/02/2021 04:07

@GreyDoggo they cost less that £500million year and some years bring in over £1.5 billion.

I have worked for a charity that had a royal visit, the financial boost afterwards was incredible. They are financially worth it and it’s the history, subterfuge and mystery that creates that. We have some tourists because of our royal family, traipsing around Buckingham would lose its appeal after a decade if there was no royal family living amongst its walls.

TibetanTerrier · 03/02/2021 05:12

@MusicalTrifleMonkey
....traipsing around Buckingham would lose its appeal after a decade if there was no royal family living amongst its walls.

No it wouldn't. The Tower of London brings in several million visitors a year, and the royal parasites haven't lived there for about 5 centuries.

MusicalTrifleMonkey · 03/02/2021 06:01

@TibetanTerrier for very different reasons. And thank god we had those ‘parasites’ otherwise you wouldn’t get the several million visitors.

Iamthewombat · 03/02/2021 07:38

And thank god we had those ‘parasites’ otherwise you wouldn’t get the several million visitors

Let’s bring back the feudal system, shall we? How about public beheadings? Murdering young princes? All reasons why tourists love the tower.

MusicalTrifleMonkey · 03/02/2021 07:49

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Iamthewombat · 03/02/2021 07:51

You must see that your assertion that we should keep the monarchy, because the antics of their ancestors made for some good stories about the Tower of London, is daft?

MusicalTrifleMonkey · 03/02/2021 07:53

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

derxa · 03/02/2021 07:55

@Cheesypea

Charles and camilla had to be told by nicola sturgeon that their not welcome in Scotland for Christmas. He went to Scotland in the first lockdown and developed covid symptoms! Not exactly covered himself in glory. It's been known that charles wants to slim down the Monarchy for years, the actions of andrew and harry are certainly helping his endeavour.

Nicola Sturgeon is not universally liked by everyone in Scotland. Charles has done a lot for employment in Ayrshire.

Iamthewombat · 03/02/2021 08:00

Stop trying to twist my words just to have a fight.

I haven’t needed to twist your words. You’ve put forward a nonsensical argument all by yourself.

It’s funny that anyone who loses an argument and is a bit ungracious about it dives in with “you’re twisting my words”, “you’re putting words in my mouth!” and the perennial favourite, “you’ve missed the point”.

lollipoprainbow · 03/02/2021 08:05

@SerenityFlowers me too! I remember watching the royal wedding on a glorious sunny day and behind excited that they had become duke and duchess of sussex as I am a sussex girl and hoped they might visit nearby but it wasn't to be sadly.

iVampire · 03/02/2021 08:05

Monarchy is a widespread arrangement for head of state, including such backward places as Scandinavia, Australia (republic defeated in referendum) Canada (list could go on)

It’s not incompatible with democracy and is incredibly popular in Britain - even the ‘unpopular’ Charles is a well known character on the public stage and accepted warts and all

lollipoprainbow · 03/02/2021 08:07

@CSIblonde spot on !

StartupRepair · 03/02/2021 08:12

Has anyone had a zoom call from William and Kate and found not helpful? What else could they do to connect with people during lockdown.

StartupRepair · 03/02/2021 08:12

Found it helpful?

Brefugee · 03/02/2021 08:32

As a PP has said, unpicking the monarchy from the constitution would be a costly and time-consuming task.

I don't see why. The argument monarchists always give me for keeping the RF is that they are the citizens of the UKs (and other commonwealth countries where Her Maj is head of state) last line of defence against a corrupt or otherwise harmful government. But as we saw, when push comes to shove (prorogation of parliament springs to mind) actually they do absolutely zilch. Nothing. Which leads me to believe that either they don't care enough to rock their diamond encrusted boat, or they really have no power. If the former, we're better off without them. If the latter it really can't be difficult to switch from monarchy to republic and possibly a German-style presidency (similar functions).

Laughable to suggest that people would be bored with visiting Buck house without the Queen in residence. Tell that to Versailles or countless other castles around the world.

My sympathy for Margaret is always tempered by the fact that in reality nothing except her desire to remain part of the RF and called Princess stopped her marrying "the love of her life".

It galls me that people like Paris Hilton live off the wealth of their parents but that's just how it is. But Andrew wants them to have all the trappings of Royalty because... he's the same kind of snob as his aunt and granny. He wants doors opened for them, and since their wealth isn't as vast as, say Hilton, he wants them to be able to trade in on their name.

When i found out that people like Katherine & Meghan would have to curtsey to princesses (by birth) because they are lesser mortals is so galling as to be laughable. No wonder Meghan wanted out.

If there must be a RF in the UK i would prefer monarch, direct in line follower, and their direct in line follower etc and all the rest to not have titles, not receive any kind of public money or whatever, and to grow up and get jobs like the rest of us. (but in reality i'd prefer a German-style president and i want Betty Boothroyd to be the first one)

FelicityPike · 03/02/2021 08:36

@JamesMiddletonsMarshmallows

I also don't think Camilla is that unpopular anymore. I think she's fantastic...then again I don't think Diana was the saint she was right wing media made her out to be

Absolutely agree!

Fieldofyellowflowers · 03/02/2021 08:37

My friends in US tell me that actually a lot of people over there are pissed off at Meghan over how she acted. The Americans love our royal family and they were very excited for an American to marry into it. In their opinion, she blew it.

When she and Harry went to live in Canada, the Canadians were very vocal about not wanting that cost.

Polls have shown that a lot of English people took William and Kate's side.

Fieldofyellowflowers · 03/02/2021 08:46

And in terms of Finding Freedom, that is heavily biased towards Meghan, a lot of evidence to suggest she was involved in writing it. Several times, sections of it have been torn apart and blasted as being untrue, even by people not even close to the royal family.

I did like Meghan when she first marry Harry. But then, when she tried to outshine the queen and Kate, and tried to demand English people's love and support instead of earning it like Kate had to and then through a toys out of the pram when she didn't get her own way, I lost all respect for her.

Maldives2006 · 03/02/2021 09:13

@SerenityFlowers

A man so selfish he served his country in Afghanistan knowing full well if he had been captured the chances are he would have had a horrible public death. Set up the invictus games and has done a huge amount of work for the

SignsofSpring · 03/02/2021 09:18

It comes to something when the 'best' of them is Kate, she's just a random person! Shows why hereditary is not best.

HmmSureJan · 03/02/2021 09:21

A man so selfish he served his country in Afghanistan knowing full well if he had been captured the chances are he would have had a horrible public death.

He was constantly accompanied by a full security detail which caused much disruption and interfered with the smooth running of the unit he was attached to, they were glad when he went.

wink1970 · 03/02/2021 09:22

This. She could have learned a lot from Camilla, who many people like and now respect; she has put in the hours, gets quietly on with her charities, and is supportive of the overall structure. In return she gets an amazing lifestyle.

Original poster

Indecisive12 · 03/02/2021 09:34

It was obvious in so many parts that Meghan had been involved in its writing. But also obvious that some of her friends had been given to OK to speak to the authors. I did think how well Kate seems to keep her friends and staff on side and quiet and so it mustn’t be that difficult. Meghans makeup artist is quoted throughout for example, surely he’d have been asked to sign a NDA?

OP posts:

Samcro · 03/02/2021 09:47

I also note that Megan and Harry left weeks after her name was removed from her child's birth certificate - something about which she was apparently quite upset (referring to it as making her "nameless" on her own child's birth cert). Why was her name removed? On whose orders?
is that true?

Flip

1 2 3 4 5 6