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.

Why are you on a discussion board then?! 🙄

@Dibblydoodahdah yes I agree. But they also don’t put up with shit either. That’s why France is on fire at the moment. This country is in SUCH a state and it’s not those with inherited wealth that are suffering. It’s the poor that are paying.

Yes I saw no joy at all. Empty and souless.

Then why come on a forum where people give opinions? You are in the wrong place.

@TheColourofspring

A lot of their 'wealth' doesn't actually belong to them anymore. It belongs to the country. Or the government. Barring a couple, none of the houses/palaces belong to them. Most of the artwork, jewels, historical artifacts don't belong to them. That gold carriage won't belong to them.

Most of what happened yesterday wasn't for them. They were like circus animals putting on a spectacle for the public.

@RudsyFarmer hilarious. This is a discussion board. This isn’t your place I don’t think 🤔

I'm with you OP, I have no problem with people being richer than me, however the royal family to me is symbolic of unearned and ill-gotten wealth, empire, colonialism and racism. That's the history I associate with it. It is part of a larger network of banking that keeps poor people poor.

Their shady financial affairs don't convince me that they are not actually a drain on the taxpayer but more than anything, it's the moral aspect I find wrong - giving us a soap opera and opportunity to observe pomp and pageantry and show off to the world does not legitimise the existence of the institution.

And really, having lived through this government, who can say they are a benign or tempering force on our politicians?

Aside from that, it does seem very antithetical to the teachings of Jesus to have the head of a church be so rich whilst there is such poverty in his country.

Most young people don't care or hate them now - we want affordable secure housing, pensions, secure employment, a decent NHS and a peaceful world that tackles climate change. The Royal Family foisting this excrescence on us whilst we are hurting is the last straw. And all these so-called monarchists who say they love the country look at what a terrible mess they left behind. They couldn't even be bothered to learn their lines either.

https://twitter.com/chrisshipitv/status/1654931424787480577

Aside from that, it does seem very antithetical to the teachings of Jesus to have the head of a church be so rich whilst there is such poverty in his country

@Malvasylvestris yea, that was particularly jarring too i thought

Because their washing machine breaks down and they can't afford to fix it. Because they've run out of credit on their pre pay meter. Because they don't have washing powder in their food bank bag. Because it's raining and they have no way of drying school uniform in time for school tomorrow. It doesn't take much imagination to figure it out.

It's doable, but you need to be a thief and a bully on an international scale for a couple of centuries.

Charles’ personal wealth ( that he doesn’t pay the same tax on as you would have to) is 1.8 Billion.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2023/may/04/cost-of-the-crown-part-4-calculating-king-charles-wealth-podcast?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

@dottiedodah

The crowns don't technically belong to the royal family anymore. It would be the government's decision if a crown could be sold.

And that oven glove. They should have brought back witch ducking for the day to add to the festivities.

As a point of info this supposed “chaos” in France isn’t anything like as widespread or as frequent as some sources in the UK MSM would have you believe…

@ArseMenagerie yes and William didn’t pay a penny of inheritance tax when he inherited the billion plus pound Duchy of Cornwall either

I think you’re right. I’m thoroughly bored of these subjects so I need to hide some areas.

@Believeitornot

“Imagine you’re playing monopoly and part way through one player stacks up loads of cash then decides game over, stop there? That’s how I see the Royal family.”

Nonsense. We always play the British version of monopoly.

You start by rolling the dice to calculate your inheritance (highest gets Mayfair plus a certain amount of cash, second highest Bond etc). Lowest two rollers get nothing. They have another roll, lowest starts with -£500 debt and a poor credit rating. The game is then normal, except every-time the first player to start passes go, there is a lottery. Anyone can enter and roll (you need to roll three 6s in a row to win the grand prize) but normally only poorest, most desperate partake. If they don’t win, their entry fee is split between the players that didn’t enter.

The game ends as normal. It’s a much faster game to start with, but then takes ages. Occasionally the richest player starts an AI company which after several turns results in nuclear destruction, but this is quite rare.

I voted yabu because you didn’t have to watch it.

I had little interest so didn’t watch it. We went to the beach as we usually do (lovely and quiet, thanks Charlie).
I’m not anti or pro royals, I just don’t really care either way.

One set of school uniform. Not having/being able to afford to turn the tumble dryer on and living in damp conditions where clothes don't have time to properly dry.

Interesting the vote on the thread is 50/50 at the moment! We should have a referendum…..😂

Aside from that, it does seem very antithetical to the teachings of Jesus to have the head of a church be so rich whilst there is such poverty in his country

Yes the ceremony used the bible and the teachings of Jesus in an over the top way to justify this ceremony. It was very repetitive and felt wrong.

This is a ridiculous statement.

How on earth could the OP ‘make it happen’?? The royal family are born into wealth and privilege 😂

They bring more money into the country than they bring out (it it estimated that the coronation cost about £250mill, but has brought in £8 BILLION in trade), and to have a head of state who isn't politically aligned is best for any country - not just ours. They have no axe to grind. Personally they do a lot for charity etc that doesn't hit the headlines.

Yes - they are enormously privileged, but I wouldn't like their life in the goldfish bowl.

What would you prefer? A republic with (say) that wonderful man of the people Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson living in Buckingham Palace (because that is what would happen to all of their residences - they are already properties of the state, but would would become the homes of whichever "elected" leader we had at the time).

Would you like a Johnson or a Blair, or a Rees-Mogg or whoever lording it in there? The Royal family have at least been brought up with a sense of service and largely know how to conduct themselves so that they don't embarrass either themselves or our country on the world stage (The "Dumb Prince of Canada" and his uncle are exceptions that prove the rule). Johnson can't even comb his hair properly and acts like an idiot more than half the time. At the coronation yesterday he looked as though he'd slept in his clothes.

What about the enormous wealth and privilege of most of our members of Parliament? And the corruption and public flaunting of their contempt for the electorate? Is that preferable? The Royal Family benefit this country not only in the trade they bring in but the charitable institutions they support (charities fight to get patronage/ visits etc, because they know they raise the profile enormously), but because of the example of service that they give. You will get bad apple in every barrel, but I'd rather have the King than some grifting shyster of a politician as our public profile head of state.

If the country became a republic the RF would take their personal wealth and property (which is indeed enormous) and we, the nation would still be left with the upkeep of all of the residences, but with none of the benefits the RF brings.

Is the RF perfect? No, of course not - they are people like the rest of us, flawed and human - but it is by far the best of the available alternatives.

@ArseMenagerie

And the royal family brings nearly £2 billion into the economy each year.

If you want to see an even more unfair power imbalance, look no further than the British government.