Well, I hated the coronation…

[TheColourofspring]

I can see I am in the minority on here but I found yesterday to be distasteful on a gigantic scale. To watch the most privileged people travel in gold coaches & be decorated with diamonds and gold that is priceless in the face of millions of people struggling to eat/heat their homes just feels so wrong.

Our primary school has just opened a food bank. There are kids & families in crisis- children coming into school hungry & smelly as families can’t afford to wash clothes (I am not joking) - living in Dickensian conditions. Some of the teaching staff use the foodbank.

Yesterday was a display of obscene wealth. The royals didn’t even pay for it- we did. How can we find money for that absolute nonsense yet we can’t find money for large swathes of the population to feed themselves.

While Charles was sitting there in his gold costume holding these priceless items, plenty of families weren’t eating. It made me really angry.

I am tired of all the arguments for a royal family- how somehow these displays are quaint. Yesterday was an obscene display of wealth, inherited privilege and everything that’s wrong with this country. Seems a conversation about the royals is long overdue.

I think you are shortsighted the coronation cost between £100 & £250 million which is suspected to bring back 1 billion into the economy- surely that is good business unlike Edenred school vouchers which a report has confirmed cost 425 million in 2021 with no come back.... and yes I have received those vouchers because I'm on a low income. I do not begrudge the coronation, I thought it was beautiful and I'm fascinated in the making of history.

There is also this. People are benefiting and it is contributing to the economy as well as creating a sense of national pride. A lot of ‘poorer’ people quite enjoy it. It does all seem very odd well you look at it objectively, but this is Britain and apparently the majority of the population still like having a King.

One of my friends from childhood was part of the military procession, coming from where we do we were all bursting with pride for him. The military really gave him an escape and some amazing opportunities. He isn't overly fond of the royals but said career wise it was an honour (albeit harder work than it looks).

Wonderful historical day.

I loved it!

This is what people should resent most.

@WithLaughter

EU food bank groups

And to all those kicking off for the ‘royal bashing’ - so what? It’s good to question things, its good to debate, its good to think critically. Our government doesn’t want us too but some if us do question the society we live in!

Just imagine a King Andrew.. and that should be a enough to persuade you that an elected head of state is better - as you can get rid of them.

FFS the Coronation was a state function as in the government paid the upfront costs and got all the profits. Profits in excess of £800m. Yes the Coronation was a net GAIN for “us” in terms of money to the U.K. Treasury- where benefits are paid from.

But it suits the Tories to have people think that the Coronation was a net loss and it suits the Tories to have us think the royal family is one reason why we are a poorer country when it has really been down to their mismanagement and corruption.

You know what actually costs us money? The £45m per year that MPs claim as “expenses” as tax free income on top of their salary.

How on earth does Ireland, France, Italy, Greece, Germany, Portugal and other countries cope. Must be awful in those countries.

Please stop resenting other's wealth. Even if those individuals have less doesn't automatically mean you will have more . You need to make that happen yourself

"Resenting" other people's wealth doesn't necessarily mean that the person doing the resenting wants more for themselves.

I have enough, thanks, although I will have to downsize for my retirement. But I work with clients far worse off than I am, and I am appalled by what they have to go through, and how little they have to live on, every goddamn day.

When you speak to mothers who cannot breastfeed, and have to go short of food themselves in order to buy formula for their babies, or older people who spend their days in the library when it's open because they can't afford to heat their homes, families where children have never had an item of school uniform that's new because it's unaffordable, people who can't afford to replace or repair a washing machine and live 10 miles and 2 busses from the nearest launderette, you soon realise that is there is a horrifying amount of poverty in the UK, even here in a very affluent SE county.

It was history in the making and I was proud to watch it.

People need to take personal responsibility for their own situation in life and stop blaming the Government (and Royal Family it appears) for it.

The concept of a monarchy is a bit of an anachronism these days, but I am not really an abolitionist. The idea of having an elected president may be worse, thinking of Blair, Johnson, etc.
There is a sort of continuity in the RF whose predecessors have been monarchs for hundreds of years.
However, I'm not sure a grand coronation is necessary, but if you are having one, then obviously you should use all those artefacts such as the orb, sword, crown etc.
The coronation is a religious service. The bits I saw I found a bit cringy, but then I am not religious.
So, i was out most of the day, and caught up later (fast forward over the most embarrassing bits).
The bits I liked.. some of the music and singing.
I really like to see what everyone is wearing, but the BBC always rush that.
The attires that stand out...
I liked Mrs Sunak's deceptively simple blue dress with black (or dark blue) hat, shoes, etc.
I also liked Theresa May's dress with its splash of orange.
Plus others. I am hoping vogue or similar will do a fashion spread, etc.
But ultimately, I can't get up any strong feelings about it, for or against.

Why can't we do both?

I do. On many different threads and elsewhere.

No one actually knows the cost as of yet but most sources are estimating between 50 and 100 million.

Thank you. I appreciate the info.

The figure I used was one I heard on a commentary yesterday, and it was the highest estimate I'd come across so I erred on the side of caution and over-estimated.

And absolutely agree with you that a republic would be no less expensive and we would lose the continuity of the monarchy which stabilises the state.

A politically neutral Head of State like the monarch is also massively beneficial to any nation. It enables discussions and negotiations to be conducted without personal feelings interfering with anything on either side.

I'll bet that every member of the RF has had to quash their own inner repugnance at least once in their lives when entertaining a visiting Head of State - but they do it for the good of the country. Whether we like it or not we have to have good relations with countries whose policies don't coincide with our own as we have British nationals living and working there, among other things.

They’re in the EU so their economies are doing much better. They don’t have a royal family they can wheel out, put on display and get £800m profit in return.

Fascist Edward VIII was removed efficiently when it became clear he was a national threat. (Hitler planned to use him as puppet king following invasion).
The Wallace Simpson thing was a smokescreen.

I'm so happy to hear that should you inherit from any of your family/friends you are planning to donate every penny to charity. You are an inspiration to us all.

People need to take personal responsibility for their own situation in life and stop blaming the Government (and Royal Family it appears) for it

@Bluebells1970 yet another tone deaf post 🤦‍♀️

I watched it as a big historical event

then started to feel disgusted about the obscene display of wealth (and power! Inherited non democratic power) in these times when so many struggle

but apparently it is what the people want….

Yes, this is what I was going to say, or similar.

We only left 5 years ago, I don't think that the argument you think it is....

I have been saying the same for far longer than that.

Please provide figures of this profit. I could provide figures that discounts it.

There was a thread on here where the op wanted to tax all inheritance, then it transpired they too expected a fair whack and yes they’d just pass it on to their dc.

What a politician’s answer!

I take it you avoided the question because you are quite happy to inherit wealth yourself and pass your wealth on to your children, and you don’t care about the contribution to ongoing inequality that causes. It’s other people’s you want to bash, not yours.

I watched with my two teens.
One is nearly 19, one is 16. Both have Autism.
One was very interested in the history.
Both were very interested in the military / security aspects of it.
We ALL agreed that we would prefer the RF to have 'ended with QEII'.
I'm in Scotland. There is little appetite for it here.
I remember seeing QEII go past in a landau after a garden party at Holyrood in 1990. Was standing right there & the landau slowed for a corner going across the North Bridge. People barely noticed her. Less automatic cap doffing up here.