Harry said, "my father and my brother can't escape" - but what if...

[didofido]

..after the Queen dies, and a suitable period of mourning has been observed, Charles and William issued a statement. " we have decided the monarchy is out-dated in the 21st century, and so are retiring and intend to become private citizens. Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace belong to the nation, as does the royal art collection; the jewellery given to our grandmothers and great-grandmothers belongs to the family, so we will be taking that"
Etc, etc. what would you reaction be?

Sad but there life there choice

Harry said, "my father and my brother can't escape" - but what if...

... they don't want to??

Fine by me. The monarchy is an anachronism in any case.

Not sure about the jewellery, though. Some of it, like the crown jewels, surely belong to the state, not the family. Wherever possible, the jewels that we stole from former colonies should be returned to their countries of origin.

I can imagine Princess Anne’s reaction would be similar to a bomb hitting a fireworks factory.

That would be great. I genuinely think the monarchy should end with the queen.
I doubt that the monarchy will end during my lifetime, but I can hope.

@paralysedbyinertia

Fine by me. The monarchy is an anachronism in any case.

Not sure about the jewellery, though. Some of it, like the crown jewels, surely belong to the state, not the family. Wherever possible, the jewels that we stole from former colonies should be returned to their countries of origin.

That sounds like a perfectly reasonable response to me. Though I imagine the legal wrangles over the appropriate return of jewels would turn into Jarndyce and Jarndyce.

It would probably produce a bit of a constitutional crisis, though. I mean, if Charles and his kids/grandkids all decided that they weren't up for the job, would that leave Andrew with a claim for the throne? God forbid...

@paralysedbyinertia

It would probably produce a bit of a constitutional crisis, though. I mean, if Charles and his kids/grandkids all decided that they weren't up for the job, would that leave Andrew with a claim for the throne? God forbid...

Dust down the guillotine in case?

I suspect that it would be held in trust until George is old enough to make a decision.

Then Charlotte, then Louis etc.

Although it would be interesting to see if harry would take the crown.

They can both individually abdicate, but they cannot end the monarchy.

Prince Harry, as next adult in line to the throne, would become Regent until King George VII was old enough to reign independently.

If Prince Harry declined the role, the next would be Prince Andrew, then Princess Beatrice etc

Suitable replacements would be sourced. Simple as that.

I don't see how they can just end the monarchy. It would be up to the people, wouldn't it?

Maybe there'd be some sort of vote?

It would just keep going down the line - there would need to be an act of Parliament or some such I expect to become a republic.

@EdithWeston

They can both individually abdicate, but they cannot end the monarchy.

Prince Harry, as next adult in line to the throne, would become Regent until King George VII was old enough to reign independently.

If Prince Harry declined the role, the next would be Prince Andrew, then Princess Beatrice etc

But I think, if they did both abdicate, there’d be much more public support then to formally end the monarchy (I’m not sure what that actually entails, politically) and that would be the end result even if they can’t end it themselves.

It's not just a case of the nation gets the houses and the royals keep the jewellery. It would be a big, expensive constitutional divorce.

I would be very sad.

Be careful what you wish for. Some layers of security would go with the monarchy.

In that scenario, Harry would become king. Charles can abdicate, and William can abdicate on behalf of himself & his children but they can’t abolish the monarchy. Only Parliament can do that.

Obviously, Harry wouldn’t want to be king (Meghan might have other ideas, though...) so if he (was allowed to) abdicate, we would be left with....

King Andrew The First

Some things are bigger than personal desires. Harry is correct they do not have a choice

Why do you certain parties are eager for them to go?

Then the crown goes to the next in line. We keep plenty of spares for exactly that purpose.

The retirees would leave with only their personal property.
The new monarch gets the use of the Crown jewels and property.

I'd rather have the Queen/Charles/William than Johnson as head of state. They aren't perfect, but who is?

Andrew would step forward and say they had abdicated and he was taking the role.

Corruption would follow.

Why do you think they don’t want to be kings?

Personally, I think they can’t fucking wait

It's not their decision to make. They can abdicate if they want. But can't decided not to have a monarchy. Nor does any of the loot actually belong to them personally.

I'd think it was 1st April. No way will they give up.