Abolishing the Monarcy.

[Helendee]

Good or bad idea and reasons for your opinion?
I don’t feel strongly either way but I am curious about what aspects of becoming a Republic are more beneficial than the UK’s stable current system.

@AngelicaElizaAndPeggy

I refer you all back to my 'plank' argument of 2020. Basically, pension off all the royal family but keep the concept of constitutional monarchy. Furnish a plank of wood in all the vestments and move it about with the same pomp. It can open Parliament, stamp itself on new laws and be carried aloft into new shopping centres, yet doesn't need all the cash that human royalty does. It can't fall out with the press or other family members, because it's just timber. It can't become embroiled in politics or challenge other royal houses to war. It can't dress up as a Nazi or have an affair or be friends with Jeffrey Epstein. Honestly the more you think about it, the more it becomes clearly the best solution to all this.

It could, however become PM.

@AngelicaElizaAndPeggy

It cannot be accused of becoming political - it's literally on a different plane.

Reported.

Absurd that an accident of birth has delivered us these pampered individuals.
They are low caliber people and demonstrate entitlement, greed and arrogance.
Hereditary monarchy could have delivered us Prince Andrew, though the prospect of adulterer Charles and his mistress is bad enough.

For me the game was up during the prorogation debacle
The primary, most important duty of the modern monarch is to act as the ultimate protection for the people against the overreach of power. Arguably, that is the only real duty of the monarch. During the prorogation debacle, the Queen utterly failed in that duty, that one reason for being for the monarchy, and when it came to the crunch - nothing

An insightful post, Flumpaphone; I totally agree with the gist, though the outcome of this was no surprise to me
In fairness, and in theory, there's a certain amount that the Queen could have done, but when inaction inevitably follows because of "precedent", we get the spinners who insist that even this is a positive because the Queen "doesn't interfere"

Again to be fair there are a few other "roles" such as head of the Commonwealth, Head of the Church and being an example to us all. However the first seems only to exist because she quite fancied an Empire like her parents had, the second is a joke when so few are members of the CofE or even have any time for it, and the third is perhaps best unmentioned

@Sloth66

Absurd that an accident of birth has delivered us these pampered individuals. They are low caliber people and demonstrate entitlement, greed and arrogance. Hereditary monarchy could have delivered us Prince Andrew, though the prospect of adulterer Charles and his mistress is bad enough.

inews.co.uk/opinion/columnists/story-dirty-bertie-britains-horniest-king-99879

Why don’t we ask them? They didn’t get to be top of their field by being work-shy, so I don’t think working on a cold day would be insurmountable for them.

Ask away, but possibly most would feel they have made a significant contribution to humanity through their work (hence Nobel Prize) without then being expected to trek round the country cutting ribbons.

What I am saying is it is fatuous to expect a body of people to be queuing up to do the mundane bread and butter work of the Royals, especially without pay.

@derxa

Anyway, I remember very well when Hunter from Gladiators came to open something in my small market town in the 1990s, it was pandemonium If he turned up today what would happen? He's a body builder now and looks completely different.

But surely that doesn't matter does it? When my dc were small they would have been much more likely to want to visit a museum that somebody from tv had promoted than a Royal.

I think also, with a very few exceptions, charities etc benefit far more when a celebrity is associated with them if that celebrity has a personal interest in that charity and really romites and advocates for it rather than a Royal who has 200 charities that they are associated with.

Its irrelevant anyway - the bottom line is that it's an archaic and undemocratic system. Other modern countries manage just fine without a monarchy, there's no reason why we can't either.

@DGRossetti it could, were it of the requisite thickness. This would have to considered, during the advent of the plank.

mondediplo.com/2021/01/11uk-monarchy
Interesting comment piece

Oh my WORD what would we do without Princess Michael of Kent to cut the ribbon at a new recycling centre once a month? 😩🙄

@KeflavikAirport

Oh my WORD what would we do without Princess Michael of Kent to cut the ribbon at a new recycling centre once a month? 😩🙄

Put our rotten vegetables into the compost instead of chucking them at her.

They are low caliber people (calibre) I think this is the key to it all on here. People on MN are generally obsessed with academic achievement. The pinnacle is an Oxbridge degree/post grad qualification. So they see deference given to people on a lower intellectual plane to them and feel rage. Princess Diana was a prime example. Love of country is also a hated concept. Only the nasty Brexiteers and right wingers value that. See the response from the left to Keir Starmer's attempt to align the Labour Party to patriotism. You'd think he'd clubbed a puppy to death.

Anything to change the surge of the national anthem😬

But they are not above politics especially when it comes to either lobbying for their own causes (as pp said see Black Spider memos) or interfering in legislation which promotes their own interests (see the recently revealed extensive meddling under Queen and Prince's consent arrangements)

Again I agree, but the key is the PP's remark about what they're seen to be ... so we come back to the difference between what's real and what appears to be real to the gullible

As with some other things, the more that's learned about the RF the less palatable they become, which doubtless explains why they're so hot on keeping the unwashed masses at a suitable distance and their finances extremely opaque

In fact derxa, my issue was more in relation to what I see as poor moral standards, perhaps relating to adultery, misguided friendships with individuals associated with criminal behaviour?
Charles and Edward both have Oxbridge degrees.

@DGRossetti

So they can go to a country, promote the UK and Commonwealth

The ever-shrinking Commonwealth ...

What are you talking about? Only two countries have ever left the Commonwealth and one of those is applying to rejoin. South Africa, Pakistan and The Gambia have previously left but then rejoined. Three other nations have also applied to join, not to mention Rwanda which joined in 2009 despite never having been a British colony.

The Commonwealth isn't shrinking at all, it has grown steadily.

Dirge not surge!

Wait politely untill current queen has died and post state funeral. Then yes we need to get rid of them.
Absolutely ridiculous system and putting a 70+ year old man on the thrown???? Why why why?

Yeah Charles and Edward totes got I to Oxbridge on merit.

@KeflavikAirport

Yeah Charles and Edward totes got I to Oxbridge on merit.

DH was at Jesus College when Edward was there. It's fairly safe to say that Edward wasn't of the same academic mindset as other students.

@Sloth66

In fact derxa, my issue was more in relation to what I see as poor moral standards, perhaps relating to adultery, misguided friendships with individuals associated with criminal behaviour? Charles and Edward both have Oxbridge degrees.

Yes but they didn't get high enough grades to get in according to many. I don't care if they're scoundrels or saints. Obviously criminal behaviour is not acceptable.

@KeflavikAirport

Yeah Charles and Edward totes got I to Oxbridge on merit.

I rest my case.

@derxa

They are low caliber people (calibre) I think this is the key to it all on here. People on MN are generally obsessed with academic achievement. The pinnacle is an Oxbridge degree/post grad qualification. So they see deference given to people on a lower intellectual plane to them and feel rage. Princess Diana was a prime example. Love of country is also a hated concept. Only the nasty Brexiteers and right wingers value that. See the response from the left to Keir Starmer's attempt to align the Labour Party to patriotism. You'd think he'd clubbed a puppy to death.

hmmm..yah, achievements are overrated. Let’s value people based on birth. That way we don’t need to aspire and we can look up to people simply based on which family they were born into

hmmm..yah, achievements are overrated. Let’s value people based on birth. That way we don’t need to aspire and we can look up to people simply based on which family they were born into A great deal of the people I admire where I am have few academic qualifications. It's a hard concept for a lot of people on here to grasp

It's definitely time for the Royal Family to be streamlined even further. I can't see them being completely abolished at this moment in time, but I think it is something that will definitely happen in some form in the very near future.