I don't want to be 'reigned over' anymore

[Yubgftr]

While I totally respect the Queen and how she served the country, I think it's now a good time to end the monarchy as I think modern society has outgrown it.

Just the idea that someone inherits the job of head of state through birthright and reigns over us peasants is crazy in this modern age. Then all the ceremonies, titles, line of succession are remnants of a completely different era and tbh remind me of episodes of The Tudors or Game of Thrones, it's just so archaic and out of place.

I think having to bow and curtsey to people just because they were born or married into a special family also seems ridiculous. Why should I have to curtsey to any of them? Not saying I'd be rude or disrespectful but having to bend my knee to a set of people as if they were deities, it's just insane! I think I'd actually feel humiliated.

I also don't get the fawning and crying outside the palace - by all means be respectful and recognise her contribution but crying about someone you've never met? To me it's OTT

Back in medieval times when there was little education and religion was used to manipulate the masses, I can understand why all the peasants went mad for their sovereign and saw them as annointed by God etc etc but we're much more enlightened now (most of us!) so we need to make way for a new way of doing things.

Even a new national anthem - why is it all about the king or queen and god saving them? Why not about the people, the nation as a whole?

That said, I also hate the idea of someone like Boris Johnson being head of state and I bet that's a role he'd go for if we were a Republic. Swings and Roundabouts!

YABU - God save the king, monarchy forever
YANBU - time to end the monarchy

People need to be careful what they wish for. An elected head of state is divisive. Our system of elected mp’s to represent the people with a party / PM in overall charge is a good system generally. Not perfect but nothing is.
can you imagine a head of state anywhere else in the world that has had the worldwide reaction the Queen has?

What a very odd reply.

Your prerogative to write it of course, but it's very odd.

This is a public discussion forum.

That poster shared their opinion.

Newsflash: People sharing their opinion is kind of crucial in a public discussion forum...

Apart from state your very valid views on here, what have you actually done about it though?

Joined a political movement, started writing letters/emails, lobbying, got out onto the streets handing out leaflets? etc, etc, etc.

Be the change you want to see OP instead of comfortably posting on MN.

To start this thread when she's not even buried yet is In poor taste

I think people have a rose-tinted view that the wealth will somehow filter down to regular folk whether that's more money for the NHS or schools, or whatever. I think some have very short memories about the millions of pounds which Boris and co handed out to their mates in sham contracts etc. The same would happen with anything else.

Or they are just feeling the bite of inequity when they're struggling to heat their homes but the queen has a ton of huge houses to pick from.

I think more instability and constitutional change would rock the economy even more. It would be horrific timing - this country can't cope with much more right now. Stripping away the royal family would hit the UK so much harder than people realise, and the work needed to do all the reforms would take time and effort away from things which are absolutely essential.

Even if I didn't support the royal family - which I do - scrapping them would be a terrible idea right now.

What's with all these threads? Of course you are entitled to your opinion, but you not wanting to be 'reigned over' makes not one bit of difference to what is going to happen, and there have been numerous threads in a similar vein. Just look at the crowds turning out to pay their tributes at the moment - I think you will find there are many more who are happy with the monarchy than those who aren't.

Totally agree. It's an incredibly narrow minded view.

Can you imagine, "the way this govt is handling the energy crisis is dreadful, bills are unsustainably high and it will put an end to my business / mean I have to choose between eating and heating"

"Well if you don't like it, move country! Off you pop"

It doesn’t matter if you accept the monarchy or not. It doesn’t matter whether or not you want to be “reigned over”.

We have a monarchy. That isn’t changing.

So you either put up with it, or you leave.

It won't happen, at least not for a long time, so there's not much point discussing it on yet another thread. And it's not like getting rid of the monarchy would change your everyday life in any way, all their money and palaces aren't suddenly going to be handed out to the public. People won't benefit from it at all. Your life will be exactly the same, if not worse off, given the charities they have set up.

just look at the landslide the Tories won at the last election, could you imagine the smugness of president Johnson? We know he’s been after the PM role for decades

This is just silly, you actually get to vote for a person directly, not just vote for a party which then decides the leadership. Totally different.

I'd rather have King Charles as head of state than some slimy, self serving politician. He seems to me to be a far more decent and dignified person than any of the politicians who were standing infront of him when he was sworn in as king. It's very plain that his sense of duty is to the country, not himself - unlike Boris et al.

Largely agree.

I’m Irish (in Northern Ireland), and one of the main reasons I’d vote to remain in the UK is its superior system of governance.

It is more effective, more harmonious, and as democratic as any system on the planet.

Bit of history: In the 1770s, Ignatius Sancho became the first known black person to vote in a UK general election (all men of property could vote). In the US, only white men of property could vote (blacks (who couldn’t be US citizens either) could not vote in the US until the 1860s). France became the first to have universal male suffrage (1840s) with no property requirements.

In terms of world standing I am embarrassed that a country famous for its democracy now has people with dead birds on their heads proclaiming a liege Lord in every town in the country! It’s a farce.

The thing about democracy is you don’t always win your argument and you do get people in charge you don’t agree with - but then there is always another election on the way. Who elected Charles III?

William and Kate haven’t put a foot wrong in terms of their role and yet it infuriates me. They have the best of everything - new home whenever they want, expensive school. It’s held up as an example to us but it’s an example we can never live up to.

A lot of the monarchy’s role has been about keeping people under control. At least their own lives are such a shambles they’ve had to get rid of rules such as banning divorcees at court or Royal Ascot.

As for public service, how have they served us? Other than serving themselves up a large amount of money?

This is about the institution, but the queen herself.

Choosing a head of state by the oldest child of one particular family is nuts. No way any new country would decide to use that system now. Yes, it’s traditional. It was also traditional for all sorts of things we’re not proud of to happen. It’s time to move on.

Try and change anything in the UK OP and the result will always be the same. We are very heavily conditioned early on here not to question anything. The media is very manipulative, l don' t buy into it.
All l know is that homeless people sleep rough literally a few minutes away from Buckingham palace, that tells you everything you need to know about this country, no one gives a shit once they take their last dying breath.

I’ve just been saying what you said, nesrly word for word, to my partner yesterday

I’m a remainer
A Labour Party voter
A Catholic
A former Republican

Researched the options and concluded that Charles is the best man for the job.

I see what democracy has done for this country. Its delivered us Brexit and Boris Johnson. A democratically elected Head of state is just as likely to be entrenched in the existing power structure of this country and in the thrall to agendas that go against the interest of the ordinary people.

It will be just as expensive, if not more so as to "divorce" the RF will be messy and then we have to maintain a cohort of presidents.

The biggest problem will be lack of continuity. Without one monarch we won't have a uniting force over many years. The country already lacks cohesion and our messaging internationally has been destroyed by brexit. A hereditary monarch has more international appeal than just another stoodge the British people have voted in. Like it or not that gives the monarch a voice that our HoS would not otherwise have. Personally I don't need to hear from the monarch at times of crisis but some people really appreciate a bit of leadership.

In changing our constitution we risk messing with something that has worked well for centuries. Constitutional monarchy has protected us from the dictatorships that have wrecked other countries in the past. I say we leave as is rather than risk something important. They do a job. Leave it.

Also America came close to civil war very recently when their HoS went rogue and tried to hang on to power. You'd be a fool to think the same thing couldn't happen here.

Researched the options and concluded that Charles is the best man for the job.

I’d love to know how you came up with a list of all the other potential candidates.

This. I like having a monarchy. It isn't going to change anytime soon. If you really don't want to live where there is a monarchy, then the option is there to move somewhere else.

Then please move abroad

I always find this view weirdly fascistic. Imagine if everyone who objected to an aspect of their country had done this throughout history.

Don’t like not having the vote as a woman? Leave then.
Don’t like slavery? Leave then.
Want an abortion? Leave then.
Want proportional representation? Leave then.
Want to ban smoking? Leave then.
Want a higher minimum wage? Leave then.

Shockingly, these islands and their inhabitants predate the Windsors by quite some years would you believe.

The "Off you pop brigade" are making the biggest argument ever to get rid of the royals.

We live in a democracy and can express whatever opinion we like, if you don't like that, then you know what to do!

Being reigned over is a weird concept but in reality I have never felt reigned over. I mean they don't actually have any power do they? Everything's decided by parliament.

Being a ‘subject’ doesn’t affect my day to day life. I’m neither a royalist nor a hater of the monarchy. We could definitely spend less on the hanger on-ers but I think they have already done some trimming of the family tree.
mid say carry in with your life and don’t worry about the King, you’ll never meet him so won’t have to worry about curtsies and such.