To think the British royal family has had its day?

[Ladybugpolkadot]

I had a lot of respect for the Queen, may she rest in peace… But now she has passed away I just feel like the UK Royal family/ establishment should just be abolished.

The younger generations are not the same standard as Queen Elizabeth was. There’s so many rumours and so much scandal in recent times. And what have these people really done in order to justify leeching of UK tax payer money to fund their privileged lifestyles?…

Am I the only one who thinks the members of the Royal family should give up their royal roles and get real jobs and earn their own living like anyone else in the country?

We'll never get anyone like the queen again

It's definitely had it's day in its current form. All the curtsying and bowing is a relic of the past that should stay there. All Royals except the monarch should be seen to do some sort of actual work. William should go back to working for the air ambulance. Kate should work as a TA in a school, for example. None of the line of succession should be spending their lives cutting ribbons and waving.

There would be far more respect for them if they made an effort to be more like the rest of us. George should train for a proper career. After all, he's probably got most of his life to lead before taking the throne.

They shouldn't be flitting between vast homes either. One main residence and one holiday home should be more than enough.

The Duke of Gloucester is an example. He trained and worked as an architect. Unfortunately his older brother died and he was forced to give up to carry out royal duties. He used to travel on the tube in London unrecognised. That's how it should be. Sad he had to give up his career to cut ribbons cc

@thecatsthecats “Well my point is that opting out of those other points renders any opinion trite”

Not really, I think we can all agree that there is a hole in the proverbial bucket without necessarily reaching a conclusion on which material is to be used to patch it.

Elizabeth garnered the kind of respect that only comes with longevity. It's the same kind of respect often given to the likes of Paul McCartney, despite the fact that he hasn't sung a note on-key for three decades. There won't be another Elizabeth, because there won't be another monarch around for anything approaching that length of time.

Anyone would be hard-pushed to name one noteworthy difference she has made, one profound statement she's uttered, or one thing she's done for the betterment of this country.

She 'achieved' a long life: a statement made by none other than herself.

I’ve just read the Duke of Gloucester’s wiki entry. My goodness, what a lot he’s accomplished in his life, far more than if he’d spent his life as an architect. He could easily still travel on the tube unrecognised.

Hopefully.

I'm a republican.

I used to tolerate the RF as I believed the propaganda that they paid for themselves through tourism.

But the French had the right idea and still have tourists!

The level of scandal and gossip attached to the Royal Family is nothing new. My gran can remember the press coverage in the 1950s, saying that the Queen and Prince Philip's marriage was over, he was doing nothing to diminish those rumours by running around with glamorous types including Stephen Ward's set etc etc. The difference now is that we're far less deferential and as PPs have said, SM and a world which is 'smaller' means we hear far more of the salacious detail.

This has been done 100000 times already

Ah, but I would also opine that pointing out the hole in the bucket is trite. Unless you're deprived of your senses, it's obvious. (and a lot of people are senseless, in this metaphorical sense)

That should tell you something.

What should it tell us?

Agree 100%; personally I’d like to see Britain become a republic with an elected head of state.

I'm genuinely confused by people who do not consider the duties of working royals as not being "work" but don't seem to extend that belief to other roles.
Is kicking a ball "work"? Is singing songs "work"? Is moving money around stocks and shares "work".
There's a world of inequality out there. Some is publicly funded and some results from market forces. We live in a society that values professional footballers above every public service role. Bankers get rewarded millions above their contracted salary even when they cause chaos and catastrophe for the whole economy.
Why stop at the Royal Family? If people are so angered by privilege then surely they should be advocating communism?
It's like people who believed the pledge on the Brexit bus that we'd be saving billions which would fund the NHS ....
As was pointed out up thread by @Trainbear it's possible to have both a royal family and a more democratic society like Denmark Sweden Norway etc.
I wish people would engage with broader political debate not just emotive issues like Brexit or the monarchy which they mistakenly view as stand-alone issues.

Sorry I used a double negative in my first statement which I didn't mean.
I don't understand why the duties of working Royals are not considered to be work.

He has the Lord Rothemere talking on his behalf.

We need long overdue constitutional reform. And as a part of that, replacing the monarchy with an elected Head of State.

The monarchy is bad for us all as it entrenches privilege and demands deference. I know that there will always be inequality; but the monarchy underpins and celebrates unearned privilege. It should go because it is inherently wrong.

I think it is also bad for the RF members themselves, and is the reason why so many of them are unable to behave appropriately. They are so used to people deferring and grovelling to them that they know no other way. Just look at the absurd spectacle of people like Theresa May (whatever you think of her she is someone with achievements in her life) having to curtsey to the late Queen or Prince William. Why are they not embarrassed to have people grovelling in front of them? BTW curtseying is particularly undignified and demeaning - the woman's version of displaying deference is much worse than bowing.

I believe this is also the reason for Charles's frequent public displays of petulance - over pens & inkwells and most recently, against his wife for taking too much time on a walkabout. Yes he may be grieving over his mother - but let's face it he has one job he has trained all his life for. It must be the deep sense of entitlement that makes him think this is acceptable - most people in jobs though would be disciplined if we carried on like that.

I am inclined to agree, but if it went to a vote Would vote to keep them unless we had a very clear and acceptable plan for an alternative Head of State.

I'm genuinely confused by people who do not consider the duties of working royals as not being "work" but don't seem to extend that belief to other roles.
Is kicking a ball "work"? Is singing songs "work"? Is moving money around stocks and shares "work".

Kicking a ball around takes years of training and a decent amount of natural skill. Singing is a talent, but needs work/practice. Stocks and shares management requires skills and training.
Being born into the RF is nothing more than luck.

Did I say he wasn't (although he was married to someone else at the time so it's a bit meh) my point was most people were pretty shocked when it happened but in the passing of time it's become irrelevant.

100% agree with this.

They would absolutely be completely fine without the king/queen/whoever from
the UK as head of state. They will manage fine without someone to come over once every 5 years to cut a ribbon in front of a hospital, or a school, or whatever, and nothing else

Being born into the royal family is indeed random.

But the duties they perform require time ,training and dedication. I get that you don't value that @FTY765 but my point was that to suggest that what they do isn't work is not logical.

The problem the Royal Family have is that in recent years they've tried to present themselves as a 'normal' family, and a more relateable family.

So, take William and Catherine. They push the normal family, and their kids having a normal upbringing thing, but by doing that they just look like any other rich family. What is so special about them? Absolutely nothing.

When I look at Catherine I just see a woman whose parents did well, who met a man at uni and married him and has had kids.

This Prince and Princess of Wales stuff seems ridiculous now. And it's the same with the King and Queen. Camilla just seems to be a rich woman with kids and stepkids. Charles has lived his life and had his interests. But there's nothing special about any of them.

Someone mentioned Charles' petulance with the inkwell.

I don't think that Charles even wants to do this. He just feels he has to. And that's going to come out in actions like that.

Who the heck in their right mind would want, at 73, to start this malarkey?

The Queen was obviously suited to it personality wise, which was sheer luck, but it should be how it is. Not people forced to be King because it's the way of things.

Perfectly said! 👏👏