Is anyone else thinking the optics are off: royals in a golden coach whilst the UK is in a cost of living crisis?

[MsPinkMarshmallow]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11456933/Prince-Princess-Wales-greet-South-African-president.html

People are struggling to heat their homes, feed their kids and pay their mortgages but the royals are in the Mall in a golden carriage and giving state banquets.

Can't we just get rid of the lot of them?

MA was massively extravagant that’s undeniable. She may not have said it but her actions did! Literally lived in golden palaces whilst the peasants starved…

This.

Apparently the coaches are bloody uncomfortable to ride in so if they had a choice I bet the Royals would all prefer to be in a car.

Upshot is the pageantry is part of "brand Britain" and as such the optics are less for us than the rest of the world.

Frankly, post Brexit we need some trade deals and if a carriage and state dinner is what greases the wheels of trade, I'd say it's a good investment.

The optics are for the diplomatic guests - the UK government wants to secure a load of lucrative development contracts in South Africa.

The BRF and the pomp and ceremony are the carrot dangled in front of foreign politicians to help move things along in the UKs favour.

The Royal family can’t even say no if it’s someone dodgy or unpalatable like Trump or Putin.

People are struggling to heat their homes, feed their kids and pay their mortgages but the royals are in the Mall in a golden carriage and giving state banquets.

But all countries give state banquets for visiting heads of states. That's just how diplomacy works. South Africa laid out the carpet for Harry and Meghan, even if it wasn't appreciated.

Gold is useful melted down for all kinds of everyday purposes that aren’t being stored to be brought out in state occasions.

i agree with the first poster. People have been saying this across the world for a long time. Probably as long as their been monarchy since their very purpose is to hoard wealth and power for themselves and their offspring.

If we look at history of the fall of the various monarchies in Europe we can see plenty examples of the royal family running into exile for fear of their lives, being stripped of assets or notably in once case eaten.

I don’t wish any of them personally any ill, but I do think we need to outgrow this ridiculous custom as a society and create a system of government that isn’t a shameless running joke

Gold is useful melted down for all kinds of everyday purposes that aren’t being stored to be brought out in state occasions

😂😂😂😂

You do realise the coach isn't actually made of gold....it's simply a wooden frame that's covered in gold leaf.

Frankly my family probably has more gold in jewellery than covers that coach.

But let's tear apart/destroy a beautiful piece of craftsmanship to cover the wiring of some expensive speakers or computer components.

If the current RF were commissioning such opulent items that would be a different matter.

Preserving them and using them to support state functions (and retain them for their historical importance) is hardly irresponsible.

Are you going to suggest next that we whip round every royal building in the U.K. and start scraping the gilt of every picture frame?

Melting down the antique silverware?

Whilst we are at it, let's take all those royal tiaras to the nearest pawnbrokers and get them broken up and the proceeds sent to the Treasury whom I'm sure will use the money wisely to help those in need

There have always been people starving to death, dying of hypothermia, ill due to malnutrition, at the end of their tether & suicidal with the horrible life they don't know how to change, while golden carriages swan by with people who have decided to forgo foie gras while still being legally allowed to eat swans (which other people are not) if they fancy.

The only difference is you are noticing it a bit more at the moment.

Gold leaf is still gold.

As for If the current RF were commissioning such opulent items that would be a different matter. the carriage used wasn't the one used for coronations, it was one that was built in Australia and completed in 2010.

That's only 12 years ago.

Does the carriage cost more because it's golden? It's not exactly a new commission. We all know they have it, what difference does it make if they use it or hide it away?

I'm hardly a Royalist, don't care for them one way or another, but I understand why it was used this occasion. It's King Charles' first state dinner. It makes sense that it would be a more flashy affair.

It's 12 years old.

I imagine yes it does cost more because of the gold. And that gold will wear off so it will need re gilding.

The point of a State visit is to forge closer ties with other countries. In this case South Africa. They are a key political and economic power in their region and an important part of the commonwealth. They were also a close ally in the defence of this country in two world wars.

If you point is money spent then perhaps we should focus on the £8bn in benefit fraud. If it’s just your personal hatred for the monarchy then you’re in the minority. But I guess everybody is entitled to their opinion, I suppose.

It's not like they can take the golden coach down to cash converters. Might as well use it and get our moneys worth as have it lying around. Same for pretty much all the royal pomp props, they're also cultural/historical artifacts and the generate more tourists being used then sat in a museum.

I agree now would be a terrible time to buy new stuff, I'm sure they would (rightly) be torn to shreds if they were wasting money on a new carriage etc.

Oh do grow up OP.

Even if the royal family were abolished and the gold carriage was sold you still wouldn't be able to heat your home. The royals aren't the cause of the COL crisis.

Yes some might argue it's in bad taste given the situation, but you could say that about anyone with more money than you such as celebrities and multimillionaires (some whom are richer than the king).
There are bigger things to be angry at in the world right now than the royal family. E.g. the war in Ukraine, the corruption and human rights in Qatar for the world cup.

I'm no royalist but let's imagine they sell the gold coach and distribute the funds. It's worth £3m and was commissioned in 1780.

Everyone in the country would get 4p. And we'd lose a precious state heirloom.

Or it's 0.3% of the annual cost of the NHS.

Compare that to the £8.7billion the government wrote off on unusable PPE during covid due to their incompetence and nepotism.

The gold coach sounds like a bargain frankly or maybe you have plans for your 4p?

Also what is the difference between an 'inane' smile and one of warmth and welcome?

Exactly this.

You sound very angry OP. As another poster said - the world is not equal. Not everyone has the same income. The RF are loved by so many, look at the outpouring of grief when the Queen died.

Do you get annoyed watching the TV and seeing programmes like Strictly - how dare they wear such expensive sparkly dresses? HOW annoying that ‘celebrities’ are paid crazy money to go in the jungle for us peasants to sit at home in our cold houses and watch them EAT ???? 🤣

There are other, much more worthy cause to froth about OP.

I read an article this morning about football stadiums being airconditioned for three months so that grass can grow 🙄🙄 never mind all the water used to get it growing in a desert - climate emergency anyone????? Really can’t get worked up about getting the ‘family silver’ (you are also in that ‘family’ btw) out for a state occasion.

You know what would look more authentic? Her opening up about her own experiences more genuinely. All you ever hear from her scripted and impersonal, rarely anything more than a nod to her own feelings, yet happy to capitalise on the challenges of others.

Right, and the minute she started to talk about her own experiences (privileged compared to the majority) everyone would be slagging her off for being self-obsessed and not engaging or being interested in "the challenges of others".

I've already said this twice.

THE COACH THEY USED IS 12 YEARS OLD.

The actual gold one will probably be used for the coronation. That is the one that was commissioned in 1780.

Do you really think they needed a new carriage? They already had at least a hundred.

@SomePosters .. and who do you think would do their jobs instead. Who would you prefer to represent our country & where would you like them to host visiting dignitaries??

& how much international interest do you think there would be?

Tourism would massively drop.

🙄

The royal family should continue to open hospital wards and support local charities.

Leave politics to the politicians. A nice little dinner at Downing Street and a drive around London in a nice Mercedes S class would have been more in keeping with the times.

State dinners with all the opulence and over consumption do not belong in 2022 Britain!! I hope the tide now turns on the ridiculousness and inappropriateness of hereditary monarchy.

Also, South Africa…country of rolling blackouts, rampant crime and corrupt government 🙄

And yes I do know our own government is full of arseholes, crime isn’t anything to crow about and we may have blackouts.

But South Africa is on another scale.

How much do you think it would cost to use Tony and Cherie Blair instead, because there would be someone, it wouldn't be you, and it wouldn't be cheap.

It's all part of international relations