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

I don't have strong feelings either way but, in what way would my life be different if we didn't have a royal family?
apart from there being a greater variety of programmes on the BBC this week?

The way Charles gestured to his lackeys to move the ink pots reminded me of a spoilt churlish child used to getting his own way. But the way his minions rushed nervously to do his bidding showed that this is normal behaviour.

He must be a nightmare to work for.

We've got a spoilt petulant child as Head of State.....how embarrassing. Yet royalists think this is fine because he qualifies.....by being born. Brilliant.

100% nothing....tourism is not close to be being the main income stream generated by the RF.

The RF is the backbone to Britain’s soft power status. That is unquantifiable. You won’t find the number on a balance sheet.

I'd be happier if they modernised too. A 96 gun salute for goodness sake. Gold carriage. Umpteen palaces.

I think the queen did a fantastic job in her role as a traditional queen, but as heads of state the RF should lead by example with a more environmentally friendly lifestyle: electric cars, stop flying around Britain, solar panels, heat pumps windmills etc at their homes. Sustainable clothes etc. They can afford it after all.

Just about to write the same thing! If you disagree with having a monarch you then you are told to leave your birth country! Honestly what planet do some people live on!

What is this "soft power" then? Or is this just another baseless theory being trotted out with no evidence, just like the tourism suggestion?

Johnny Rotten has even said that he has great respect for the Queen but not the monarchy.

I'll accept an interim compromise.

1. No sovereign grant - they pay all the costs
2. Inheritance taxes should be paid in full
3. No offshoring stuff and trying to hide the dosh not if you are the ultimate patriot.
4. New national anthem celebrating the UK with a new tune - this one is a total dirge.
5. Andrew flies over to the US to help the FBI with their enquires

In the 18th century, there was another verse (there are a few !)

Lord, grant that Marshal Wade,
May by thy mighty aid,
Victory bring.
May he sedition hush,
and like a torrent rush,
Rebellious Scots to crush,
God save the King.

I don't think I've ever felt reigned over. I mean I knew the royals were there but I can't say they are a big deal in my life. I see the headlines like everyone does.

His mother has just died, I can't imagine the pressure he has been under for the past few days. As a fellow human being, cut him some slack.

BTW his staff and ex staff speak extremely highly of him, and have done for decades. He is a very affable, gentle soul and very caring in real life.

You could have “sleepy Joe” Biden...mocked by one half of the populous, with the other half embarrassed.

Or how about Trumpster? ....he could lead his followers (among them white nationalist groups) to storm buildings.

What "Soft Power" the one that got Saudi to send up more gas or the one that got the USA to sign off a FTA or maybe you are thinking of the Withdrawal agreement that really socked it to those pesky european republicans?

The UK has declined in every aspect under the Queens rule.

That of course isn't down to her but this idea the UK punches above its weight due to its RF is wrong.

That is a good idea! Charles is big on the environment and green issues. Time to put his hoarded, ill-gotten wealth where his mouth is.

there's the swathes of other charities they support and bring recognition to

Evidence-based research demonstrates that royal charity patronage is largely pointless. The choice of charities is also hugely biased towards certain sectors. It would be far, far more efficient and do far more good to fund those causes out of central taxation.

givingevidence.files.wordpress.com/2020/07/giving-evidence-royal-charity-patronages-july-2020.pdf

I loathe and despise Liz Truss and don't want her as Prime Minister. But I accept her because so many of my fellow citizens don't agree with me ... and, crucially, because we will have a chance to change the situation at an election, fairly soon. Of course I may be disappointed once again; in which case I will suck it up again and accept the majority decision.

I also loathe and despise Charles Windsor and don't want him as Head of State. I would accept him if a majority of my fellow citizens were to show their disagreement with me ... and, crucially, if there were any chance of changing the situation in an election. But, well, ...

What's wrong with dictators and kings? It's simple. What's wrong in the first place (there may be other wrongs too!) is that there is no established and peaceful method of changing them. In this way, King Charles is a Stalin, a Franco, a Pol Pot. a Mao, a Putin ...

You want this man as Head of State? OK, organise an election to justify that outcome; allow for the possibility of change if a majority think it necessary. Lacking that, royalists have no legitimacy at all. (Hence the idea of 'Divine Right', once offered as justification by totalitarian gangsters kings and queens, and now rightly seen as incredible.)

But of course, as ever, gullibility stupidity and deference will win the day. Ho hum.

I think most of us have a hell of a lot to do when their mother dies, probably a lot more than a man with over a hundred servants, and I'm sure Charles's speech had been written well in advance (and probably by someone else) But whatever he had to do how does it excuse his behaviour. That is the way he is. He's quick to anger and easily irritated. A cantankerous petulant king is what we now have. Marvelous.

Agreed.

www.nytimes.com/2022/09/11/opinion/queen-hari-kunzru-imperial-delusions.html

My hope is that as the screen of Elizabeth falls away, Britons may find it easier to recognize the unhealthiness of a dependency on imperial nostalgia for self-esteem. Despite his pledge to continue his mother’s legacy, the new King Charles III will struggle to be such a blank screen for the projections of his people.

He is widely disliked because of his treatment of his wife Diana. Unlike his mother, he is known to be a man of opinions. His “black spider” memos, handwritten letters and notes given to government ministers on topics from agriculture to architecture, have led to concerns that, as a ruler, he will be tempted to overstep the strict constitutional bounds of the monarchy and dabble in politics. He ascends the throne in an age of unprecedented media scrutiny, and his private life has been fodder for decades of public gossip. And he, unlike his mother, does not represent unbroken continuity with Empire.

Some of the comments on here suggesting if someone doesn't like something about this country they can leave are ridiculous! Are you truly saying in a democratic society that's their only option? Bizarre.
I think after this period of mourning there needs to be some discussion around whether it continues, and if so in what way and whether a referendum is appropriate.
I'm not a massive royalist but I would be much more at peace with it if there continued existence was confirmed by a vote.

Come on @GaffNest, explain how the royal family is "the backbone to Britains soft power". We're all waiting. You're not just trotting out random theories with no proof, are you?

But similarly lots of people don't mind, and nobody's wants really trump other peoples do they. The royal family is a very divisive subject in the UK, and I think its just one whereby we all have to respect each others opinions are different and move on really.

"Whilst being watched on TV by millions CEO of major firm indicates he needs assistance with regard to staff work/office logistics" shocker.......

I think some people here have never worked in the real world.....

I would push the pot aside. Or if I couldn't, I would ask someone to please move it. Not hard is it?

twitter.com/tttmediaxr/status/1568541994573602818?s=21&t=x-j2tM0rDhmvaTY6AffvRQ

There is always a head of state though. I'd rather it wasn't one as prone to corruption as political appointments are. Look at recent presidents in Germany, scandal after scandal. There are plenty of royal scandals, but they aren't about money.

The NY Times? the paper that hates Britain and never loses a chance to stick the boot in? you might need a more objective source than that one. And what is the mention of Empire about? we haven't had a British Empire since the end of WW2.

www.spectator.co.uk/article/why-is-the-new-york-times-so-obsessed-with-loathing-britain-

Yep, abolish them instead.

That won’t cost a penny, will it?

Hint: It will. It’ll make the £2bn for a bank holiday look like a drop in the ocean.