…to suggest that it’s time the Royal family stands on its own feet and stops taking money from the public purse?

[HappyGalentines]

The Royal family owns and has access to lots of money, land and property. So is it right that they should to take any more money away from us?

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/735302?fbclid=IwZnRzaAQGmFVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEecPAZY3a3FuqFeTNtWhpKYJdJ471Dy-EJRN7dosvlYx-Y4sZnrF7a0rzZOng_aem_phz6jc-4ZnCFElhdSDLHIw

This is worth looking at. What truly beautiful properties some of them are. And before anyone says, yes I know some are Crown Estate and some privately owned.
What is something else, is the amount of land/acres and the number of rooms, the vastness and extravagance of these properties, castles and estates.

https://www.veranda.com/luxury-lifestyle/g27044934/royal-family-homes/

Personally, I think we should give someone else a turn. Let's say every 5 years, we can all put our names in a hat for the job.

Would be no more random than the current lot.

Don't necessarily disagree OP but can we make sure we have a total overhaul of our electoral system first? The thought of some utter tool like Starmer being head of state makes me want to jump off a bridge.

Totally agree.

I've always said, every UK citizen over 25 without any criminal convictions should be pout in a ballot and then for 5 years they could be our Head of State.

At least there wouldn't be this replication of the very low-quality Windsor-Mountbatten genes. None of them is very bright.

I also don't buy this argument they are good role models, provide stability or this soft power argument.

William and Kate love to make out their commitment to childhood development, mental health and screen free childhood. Yet their own children are brought up in an environment that's almost certainly going to give them some mental health complexities and furthermore they are wheeled out for every occasion and paraded on social media at every opportunity.

And just last week we had William in Saudi Arabia photographed with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who a US intelligence report found sanctioned the murder of the journalist of Jamal Khashoggi not to mention the other human rights atrocities that go on there.

If that's the kind of soft power that people want to celebrate, then some people frankly need their head examined.

Oh God, it's like bloody Brexit all over again. Don't people ever learn. Brexit has been an unmitigated disaster for this country, now isn't the time to strip away the monarchy and commit suicide all over again. Utterly clueless!

Sovereign Grant 130 million a year
Illegal immigrant hotel 8 million per DAY

Ill get my coat 🤪

No idea on exact distance to Royal residences of each property ( there are ten ) although some Royal residences themselves can be rented aswell

People have access to the estate but no idea how close to the Royal residence
No you don’t need vetting you just book online

Other Royal estates offor the same
eg Sandringham, Duchy of Cornwall and others in Wales for example.

I also don't buy this argument they are good role models, provide stability or this soft power argument.

A very recent example of the Monarchy's soft power, was the recent show of strength when Mark Carney needed to square up to Trump about his threat to make Canada the 51st US state. Wheeled in his Majesty the King who reminded the POTUS that as Head of the Commonwealth, over his dead body would that happen. Cue some furious back-pedalling and slumping off with his tail between his legs. I expect Trump didn't even think about the fact that Canada is in the Commonwealth, and ummm.... who's the Head of the Commonwealth- ahh yes.....the penny drops - his geopolitical knowledge is woefully inadequate.

The Monarchy is like an insurance policy, nobody wants to pay the premium but when the shit hits the fan they sure are glad they did.

re William and Kate's children, they've had the most benign, protected childhood possible, particularly with the relative normality of Kate's side of the family. The idea that they will have MH complexities from their childhood so far is risible.

Im half inclined to believe some of those writing are non native English speakers if you look.at the responce time from the posts bits of this have been coordinated. Also theres 1 poster using 3 diffrent login from same ip. This has been fascinating to watch i cant imagine why this topic would be intresting to non nationals. But overall yes to heritage no to Andrew down with fergie bring back William sums up my view.

I would believe you're not a native English speaker from your spelling and grammar. What about posters response times makes you believe they're not native English speakers?

Also quite odd to be looking up people's IPs.

The same Mark Carney that said attacked King Charles silence over the issue and said Britain issuing a second state visit to Trump was undermining his own government agenda of projecting a united front on the issue? I can't see I've see any reports where King Charles's told Trump "over my dead body"

The Monarchy are apolitical and not even allowed to vote. The idea that King Charles had a go at Trump personally over the issue is laughable.

https://www.nbcnews.com/world/canada/canadas-carney-attacks-king-charles-silence-trumps-annexation-threats-rcna206693

There are many other ways they get money which is supposed or originated from public funds. And their voluntary tax arrangements mean they pay a lot less than most of us as a percentage. Because of their secrecy and lobbying to keep the extent of their finances secret, we do not have a full picture but even the little we do see does not look good.

hardly the same thing- other countries do perfectly well without a royal family.

Very odd pastime !

Honestly - The Princess of Wales is at the rugby today, acting like nothing has happened. Still no real public statement from any of them. It's shameful.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15567619/Epstein-web-influence-famous-figures-emails.html

I do understand many might not want to open a Daily Mail link but this is actually really interesting about how many mentions people had in the EF and how they link together.

I don’t expect individual statements. There’s nothing to say bar what the King has already said. Do you hold all female relatives of criminals responsible for the criminal’s actions?

I would like to see the monarchy scaled back considerably to a Scandi style. No more coronations or state opening of parliament and all that pallaver. Just a simple declaration before parliament on accession. No one needs all those palaces. They should be sold off and re-developed. Same with all the crown lands and estates.Only the head of state and drect heirs should get any money from the taxpayer. The rest can get up off their asses and find a job.

The monarchy has already been.slimmed down considerably. Only working royals get money from the state. The hangers-on get nothing

Whichever of them got married in Windsor a few years ago got police protection for her carriage ride, at vast expense to the public purse.

Edit: Eugenie, cost estimated at 2 million quid

Article from
Breaking Travel News
‘ .How much does the Royal Family contribute to UK tourism
19 September 2022

The royal hotspots are an enormous source of wealth for UK tourism and have only increased over the years (except during the pandemic, obviously).

In the fiscal year 2019-20, the income from ticket admission to the royal estate rose over the previous year, according to Statista.

The admission income sat at £49.9 million ($84.8 million) in 2019-20, increasing from £48.4 million ($82.3 million) in the 2018-19 fiscal year.

This is an enormous rise over the past decade, with the royal estate bringing in £23.3 million ($39.6 million) in the 2009-10 financial year, less than half the 2019-20 income.

But this is only part of the royal family’s contribution. In a year, sales made at the gift shops from the royal collection made £19.98 million ($33.95 million). These landmarks sell souvenirs, trinkets, hampers and other royal-related knick-knacks.

The House of Windsor is estimated to be worth £19 billion and earns hundreds of millions for the British economy every year, with Frogmore House and Windsor Castle selling approximately 426,000 tickets between April 2021 and March 2022. ‘

Brand Finance
is the world’s leading independent brand valuation and strategy consultancy, founded in 1996 and headquartered in London. It bridges the gap between marketing and finance by quantifying the financial value of brands and assessing brand strength. They produce over 100 annual reports

But it has nothing to do with the royal family anymore.

They're not needed for gifts shops and the rest. They are not relevant at all nowadays.

Exactly. Unless Charles and Camilla are personally giving tours of Buckingham Palace with William working the tills of the gift shop, then there's no need for them physically.

Plenty other countries have booming tourism industries for historic Royal sites.