Could this be the end of the Royal family?

[BeijingBikini]

I don't mean if they die of the virus...

But there's nothing like a lockdown to really highlight inequality. I saw an article yesterday about Kate + William "isolating" at Anmer Hall, having done a photoshoot where they pretend to be on the telephone and writing ("working").

I think if people are going to have to spend months at home, in small flats with kids, still going out to work or trying to WFH, queueing for supermarkets with empty shelves......that could definitely breed some discontent. Or if people catch it and have to be treated in makeshift hospitals, not getting an ambulance until they're struggling to breathe, while the RF can be whisked away to a private hospital for treatment. I've already seen a lot of comments along the lines of "why don't they offer up their many palaces to be used as hospitals, rather than doing newspaper articles".

Opinions?

with the very old fashioned looking phone

They all have corded phones. I assume that after the tampax phone scanning incident they are harder to hack.

The Queen has made a statement

A statement. Not a public address.

William has made a video address. Him and Catherine visited the emergency workers.Their kids are cute and I like seeing their home. I think they are lovely people and give a sense of stability in chaos.

The Queen has made a statement

that link is almost 2 weeks old...

anyone secretly wondering if the queen is still alive given the complete silence?

@PlanDeRaccordement

I will never understand the relative privation argument of royalists.

'Such and such are worse/richer, so it's not that bad.'

Surely you understand something else being worse doesnt justify what is at hand?

For example, I threw a crisp packet on the ground the other day but someone I knew fly tipped a washing machine, which is worse, so what i did was fine. (I did not do this btw, i hate litter bugs).

We are not talking about the Kardashians or footballers or millionaires in general. We are talking about our head of state. It is only right we expect more from our head of state than we do Wayne Rooney.

Most celebrities, especially Hollywood ones did not “earn” their places. Hollywood is just as incestuous with its own royal families and getting jobs/roles based on who’s child you are or who you know.

Just about every A list actor or actress is either a relative of a producer or a prior A list actor or actress or a rock star. They will change their surname to give the illusion of being self made when they really were sucessful due to nepotism. B list actors/actresses tend to come from the ranks of support functions. For example, Daniel Radcliffe was cast as Harry Potter because his mother was the casting agent for the movie. How hard did he work at ten years old to convince his own mother he was the best for the starring role? Come on!. C-D list actors are the hard working but not got the pedigree so will never be rich ranks.

@josette77

Is that wirth 60 million pounds a year that could otherwise employ 2700 newly qualified nurses?

They at least don’t tax dodge by hiding their money in off shore tax shelters unlike everyone listed in the Panama papers.

The Duchy of Lancaster was shown to be investing offshore in the Paradise Papers.

I don't mind the Royal Family per se (apart from the Duke of York, of course) but I think those photos were a bit ill-advised. Something in casual dress would have been far better.

Perhaps Catherine took them herself? She has all the lighting equipment etc.

Wolfgirl,
I was merely pointing out that their private wealth makes them rich in their own right. The only royals that get money from the public purse are the Queen and Prince Charles. Kate and William get nothing from it. They are living off money from Williams mothers family the Spencer’s and Kate’s family the Middletons.

I think you expect too much from them. All the crown estate money goes to the treasury except for reimbursement for official state duties. And really it’s like an expense account- transportation, security, catering for state dinners with visiting dignitaries, upkeep of palaces that they are tenants in (landlord is always responsible for property upkeep). They do not even draw a salary or get paid a wage for their time. You’d pay all the same expenses plus a salary if you had an elected head of state. It would cost you more.

Most celebrities, especially Hollywood ones did not “earn” their places. Hollywood is just as incestuous with its own royal families and getting jobs/roles based on who’s child you are or who you know.
Yes that's true, but they aren't a Head of State and studios are paying them. If they are stupid enough to pay mediocre actors because their mum was a casting agent for 20 years, that's their look out. People have a choice of going to the cinema or not. If we want to boycott Prince Andrew because hes mates with paedophiles he goes on tv to tell us a pack of lies we cant. If his mum wants to support him publicly and still be Head of State, we have to swallow it. If Prince George ends up as self serving and unsavoury as his uncle, he can still be head offstage and we'd have to lump it. That's the difference.

of state

It’s been said plenty on this thread ‘the Queen has made a statement’ maybe we should say ‘the 93 year old Queen has made a statement’. She’s in the high risk group due to her age and given she’d met with Prince Charles possibly at the beginning of his contagious stage, maybe she’s following the 14 day self isolation rule?? It’s been reported that she will address the nation at some point.

William and Kate were launching a £5m mental health service with those photos of them on the phone. To be fair both William and Harry have admitted they’ve suffered greatly with mental health over the years, since the horrific loss of their mother. No money or status can bring her back or fix what happened. They’ve both tried to raise the importance of mental health services.

Whether people like Kate’s M&S suit is irrelevant. She can’t win. If she’d worn Alexander McQueen or Dior, she’d have been slated for the cost. She wears M&S, she’s still slated. She often wears high street when she wants the focus to be on the cause rather than her. The previous engagement when she wore the same outfit was at an Emergency trust that William had been involved in establishing last year, which helps the country in times like this.

If they were out and about people would be slating them. They release photos of them doing things and they still get slated.

Cathy, actually the Panama papers showed the Duchy of Lancaster stopped all investing offshore in 2010. They had only put £5m of all their money out there. It’s all invested in Britain since then and now.

Have to agree have always been a royalist but all of them disappearing out of london was a total disgrace. Kate and wills should have stayed, it’s not like they don’t have acres of garden in KP for the kids. Shocking show of entitlement and lack of awareness and I don’t see how they recover from this

Their private wealth has been hugely bolstered by years of advantageous tax breaks and is further bolstered by relentless lobbying for tax payers to fund, well, anything they think they can offload however tenuous.

Kate and Wills are funded to the tune of approximately £2M a year by Charles whose own wealth derives from the Duchy of Cornwall which somehow (like the Duchy of Lancaster) escaped being absorbed into the Crown Estates at the time the civil list deal was originally reached.

PlanDe
Good post !

Noodlenose...yes you can choose to go to the cinema or not. Just like you can choose not to watch a royal wedding or a Queens address.

But what you cannot do is choose who is cast in movies as an actor or actress. Nor can you influence how much they are paid. Bad actors and actresses are still banking their millions. Take Angelina Jolie who has been terrible since day one. But because she’s Jon Voight’s daughter and he cast her in her first movie at age 11, she will constantly be offered plum, high paying roles despite her lack of acting talent and ability.

The royals don't bother me. I think on the whole they're good for the country. Their diplomacy and tact can make it break trade relations with lots of countries. The queen only had to invite people to the palace and she can convey far more in her actions than any toadying the politicians can do.
Like when she drove the prince from Dubai around knowing full well women weren't allowed to drive in his country.

I'd rather them be there for the good of the country than have the wealthy billionaires acting only for their own self interest.
Impound a few virgin jets and turn them into makeshift isolation hospitals. Turn Ramsey's restaurants into batch cooking facilities to feed the poor. Throw Sports Direct twat into the river... For no other reason than it'd cheer everyone up...

William is funded by the Sovereign Grant, the Duchy of Cornwall, his mother’s estate and the estate of the Queen Mother. At least get funding details correct on this thread.

They have not shown any leadership or much interest in anyone. Charles, after one week, is now out of isolation whilst Camilla continues to complete 2 weeks. Running away whilst ill was not acceptable.

We are building isolation hospitals. Who wants to spend it on an aircraft?

They had only put £5m of all their money out there

£10M (why anything?) and an investment in Brighthouse.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41878305

So all the mental health stuff they’ve been posting isn’t work... ok

anyone secretly wondering if the queen is still alive given the complete silence?

Batshit conspiracies aside, the thought had crossed my mind.

This is the point really she needs to say something, reassure her 'subjects'. Actually lead the country.

@PlanDeRaccordement

You just dont seem to understand the difference between a slightly undeserving A list celebrity and the taxpayer funded head of state.

I dont know how much clearer I can spell it out for you. Whether we approve of celebrities or not is irrelevant as they do not live out of our national purse. Nepotism in the film industry is not comparable to a hereditary Monarchy that receives 60 million a year (minimum) from the taxpayer and is expected to do virtually nothing for it in return.

*actually the Panama papers showed the Duchy of Lancaster stopped all investing offshore in 2010. They had only put £5m of all their money out there. It’s all invested in Britain since then and now.?

So they offshored, got found out and havent done it again since. Are we supposed to be grateful?

You’d pay all the same expenses plus a salary if you had an elected head of state. It would cost you more.

Irelands President is far cheaper, even per head (which is how only the Royals are accounted for apparently) even though Ireland only has 5 million people.