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AIBU?

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Original poster

Well, I hated the coronation…

1000 replies

TheColourofspring · 07/05/2023 06:02

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.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
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Original poster
TheColourofspring · 07/05/2023 07:34

@Isthisit22 yup. Am sure if, like William, I had inherited a billion pound duchy and paid zero inheritance tax on it, I could make it happen!

OP posts:
clpsmum · 07/05/2023 07:34

I agree with you op

Catlover100 · 07/05/2023 07:35

Saying "you didn't have to watch it" is entirely missing the point of the discussion op is trying to have. It's not about watching it/not watching it and it's not about "jealousy" either, it's about discussing the way our society is structured and the inequalities inherent in it.

sleeplessinsouthhampton · 07/05/2023 07:36

Believeitornot · 07/05/2023 06:57

Yanbu.

This is the best illustration of inequality if I ever had one and is exactly what the Conservatives are about. Keeping the wealth within wealthy families and putting structures in place to lock it in. We have limited resources within the world so when it is hoarded so greedily, inequality gets worse.

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.

The history of the occasion is fascinating. The rituals, some of which date back thousands of years. The fact that kings and queens are coronated to put themselves closer to god. The insecurity underpinning the ceremony. I love history.

But ultimately these are just people who were lucky enough to be born into a rich family and we are supposed to play along? A family sitting on lands and wealth amassed by plunder and violence? And there’s no way to challenge or change it?

It is absurd.

agree with all of this - and the wealth continues to be amassed because the royals have influenced the government to put in tax exemptions

the duchy of cornwall has some obscene practices as well

then we have andrew all puffed up in those ridiculous robes, the silly pledging allegiance crap, kate and williams display of colonialism in the caribbean .......

and people then bang on about oooh President Johnson - well we bloody voted for him (i didn't ) but he's been removed from office so that's democracy in action - this is what i want - a choice - a conversation

not watching a pair of geriatrics being given some sort of 'divine right' to wealth and power by the church of england (another outdated institution)

TheaBrandt · 07/05/2023 07:36

If the 18-24 group were voting that would be the end. And I can’t see their views changing over time either. I honestly think their days are numbered.

treneton · 07/05/2023 07:36

Inkanta · 07/05/2023 07:32

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.

But it stuck it to the Catholics as does bonfire night ! At least Charles was following in the steps of his predecessor Henry 8th of getting rid of a troublesome wife and sticking his mistress on the throne.

Prescottdanni123 · 07/05/2023 07:36

@Emotionalsupportviper

Exactly. Some people think that no monarchy is some fantastic alternative with greener grass than we have on this side. But we would end up with the next bumbling Boris John as head of state.

Original poster
TheColourofspring · 07/05/2023 07:37

@Emotionalsupportviper yes but the difference is that in a republic, we vote & get to remove them every few years if we don’t like them. In this case, it’s a structural issue that we have no control over. Bar a revolution like france had, we can’t get rid of them.

Yes I wouldn’t want Trump or Boris but the American people got to remove trump. We don’t have that option.

OP posts:
itispersonal · 07/05/2023 07:37

Yes imagine the RF is no more we have had a republic for a100 years - we are like America- do we still have the poor and food banks yes of course!

Being a republic wont make homelessness or food poverty end, they are government roles for which the RF have no say in.

I'm more pissed at Jeff Benzo ?? Amazon bloke obtaining billions, killing small businesses and paying his employees a pittance and his charity work is a space race. I'd rather my children look up to the RF and their dedication, charity and service than the Kardashians and other rubbish influencers!

NoMoreCoffeePlease · 07/05/2023 07:37

I agree with the OP. In times where so many are poor, a slimmed down ceremony would have been much better. I feel like some of the posters here are not currently struggling to pay for bills and food, and good for you, but many others are -- undeservedly. Redundancies are rife at the moment. Finding a new job is not as easy as it may sound in the media. People on minimum wage or disability benefits can't afford to eat properly, let alone heat the house or replace clothes/repair broken electricals/etc.

It would have been much more appreciated if some of the money that was spent yesterday, would have gone to supporting people in need instead, and I'd feel more respect for the current royals.

Wafflesandcrepes · 07/05/2023 07:38

notimagain · 07/05/2023 07:28

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…

Show quote history

Yes, it is widespread and happens all the time. And it is violent. And this violence is sometimes directed at politicians personally and physically

ArseMenagerie · 07/05/2023 07:38

Prescottdanni123 · 07/05/2023 07:34

@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.

Oh I agree. There is an argument here for the structural economic inequality that is the product of twelve years of Tory policy AND the injustice of a ceremony parading wealth and inherited ‘better ness’ in the middle of a tough time for most people in the country.

ThinkTheresBeenAGlitch · 07/05/2023 07:39

Hotfootgoose · 07/05/2023 06:19

I know lots of families are struggling, but how much does it cost to wash clothes? People used to do this in a river years ago, so I doubt s blob of soap is the problem here.

Yes, but we can't wash our clothes in the rivers anymore because the Tory government have pumped them all full of shit. While presiding over a widening gap of wealth inequality that renders some people obscenely rich and exempt from contributing (royals included in this category) while others live in ever-intensifying poverty.

ThankmelaterOkay · 07/05/2023 07:39

itispersonal · 07/05/2023 07:37

Yes imagine the RF is no more we have had a republic for a100 years - we are like America- do we still have the poor and food banks yes of course!

Being a republic wont make homelessness or food poverty end, they are government roles for which the RF have no say in.

I'm more pissed at Jeff Benzo ?? Amazon bloke obtaining billions, killing small businesses and paying his employees a pittance and his charity work is a space race. I'd rather my children look up to the RF and their dedication, charity and service than the Kardashians and other rubbish influencers!

Jeff Benzo earned that cash.

If you don’t like capitalism, then emigrate off this planet thank you very much.

HamptonCaught · 07/05/2023 07:40

I can’t get annoyed about the coronation expense while we’re spending £5.6M per day (£2 Billion) per year, on housing economic migrants in hotels.

Source

Afghan refugees face homelessness under UK plans, say rights groups

Ministers announce refugees in hotels will be offered move to a home on condition they accept first offer

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/mar/28/uk-to-evict-thousands-of-afghan-refugees-from-hotels

Original poster
TheColourofspring · 07/05/2023 07:40

@ArseMenagerie yes exactly. It’s all of it- it’s the tories too obviously. But a lot of tories come from the same place as the royals- inherited wealth & privileges & it’s in their interest to keep it going

OP posts:
Wouldlovetobeinthesun · 07/05/2023 07:40

chopc · 07/05/2023 06:17

Yesterday was a moment in British history. The royal family are a part of British culture. I loved the traditions.

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

I certainly don't resent other people's wealth, far from it. Why on earth do you assume people do? What I do resent though is having to contribute to an occasion that could have been funded a thousand times over by KC himself, let alone out of the royal coffers.

GoodChat · 07/05/2023 07:41

@notimagain still a lot more chaotic than having a RF Wink

User0311 · 07/05/2023 07:41

There are some horrible judgey comments on here, im completely with you OP! we're in a financial crisis and people can't afford to feed their kids!

Original poster
TheColourofspring · 07/05/2023 07:41

@Hotfootgoose also WHY should anyone have to wash their clothes in a fucking river in 2023? This is EXACTLY my point- we aren’t medieval peasants

OP posts:
GoodChat · 07/05/2023 07:42

TheColourofspring · 07/05/2023 07:32

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

The government would probably change the voting rules so under 5s can vote (because they like being princes and princesses) but 18-45 can't Grin

Wafflesandcrepes · 07/05/2023 07:42

I watched the ceremony and enjoyed it. But this is so wrong in so many ways. So Kate didn’t wear a tiara but got a head piece made of silver and crystals specially for the occasion. This is tone deaf.

Original poster
TheColourofspring · 07/05/2023 07:42

@GoodChat ha ha they really would!!!

OP posts:
Holly60 · 07/05/2023 07:43

TheyIndeed · 07/05/2023 06:19

I'm with you OP. It was unpleasant and made me long for us to have a republic for the first time.

I don't think there'll be a national "conversation" though, there's a lot of ingrained love for it all for some reason 🤷‍♀️

We had a republic under Oliver Cromwell. People didn't like it very much in the end...

TheaBrandt · 07/05/2023 07:43

Why on gods earth would you encourage your children to “look up to” the flipping royals?! I too would have a life of “charity and service” if I didn’t have to work and was sitting on over a billion in unearned wealth which I had changed laws so I didn’t pay tax on.

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