I was an ardent Royal fan, but Andrew back today, WTH

[DistingusedSocialCommentator]

I still admire HRH Prince of Wales & his immediate family.

I was a fan of our King, that is until today. Why on earth was
Andrew allowed back on the scene?

I do not like being treated like a fool, nor do millions of others in the UK.

The time has come to have a referendum if the Monarchy is to remain.

Where in earth do you get that figure?? You’re just making stuff up now 😄

Agreed - don’t really get political songs anymore 🙁. Build was another excellent song of theirs and Five Get Overexcited!

I believe public executions used to bring crowds of 10s of thousands and street sellers made a killing (poor choice of words). I can imagine mumsnet 1850 would have people saying ‘do you not realise how much money a good hanging brings in?’.

The ‘economic benefit’ argument, even if true (the most visited palace in the world I believe is Versailles and my understanding is the French - as far as I am aware - don’t have a monarchy) is very mucky. You are basically saying ‘I am prepared to sacrifice having better government for a few quid from American tourists’. Maybe we should just go whole hog and turn the whole country into a big royal theme park?

‘We’re not deep’ is my favourite. So joyously nihilistic and depressing.

Oh good shout - loved that song! Wore my cassette out playing it on repeat 😄

It has made my day to know there is another housemartins fan out there. On the whole better than the beautiful south I think (although some of their songs will be played at my funeral and it makes me happy that my now 16 year old daughter says that 'Good as Gold' is the first song she remembers knowing the words too and it makes her always think of me.

Ah bless you - right back atcha! Was just listening to Flag Day, another cracking tune! Agree Housemartins were definitely the best - I loved Beautiful South too but they never quite matched the original ❤️

“try shaking your box in front of the queen
cos her purse is fat and bursting at the seams”

nails it

No, the the "whole country" because then it would be something most places have, just like the London Eye in London, or whatever its called now

You will have to agree that the Royal family, the top few command massive respect almost all over the world.

When Willam/Kate/King/Queen go abroad, they IMO represent England in most people's eyes abroad. The Royal family does indeed fly the flg and i a very good way. This is unlike some of our football lot that go abroad and for that matter, a lot of torutis from Englannd have a bad press in several countries.

I recall being in USA/Florida several years ago and our flight got canclled due to plane malfunction. We were taken to a hotel. We were on a hol where it was not a package tour as we dont do them but the flight was a charter flight. We ended in in a nice hotel. one of the family who is not indigenous to Englad was in the lift coming back up to their room. An American in the lift said, "I'm glad we had dinner before the Brits arrived." He meant some were quite noisy and lacking etitcate. And guess what, I/we agreed with what the American said

IMO, the lead Royals do do a great job. They fly the flag for us in a good way, They help put England on the Map. I'm sure they are loved by millions all over the world and send out a message to the world that our country is a great nation built up on the backs of nice, decent people that are caring and loving

As I said before, no one likes everyone. but as far as families go that are in the public eye. William and his immediate family along with his daddy and stepmother are indeed an asset that almost any country in the world would love.

But you recognise all the stuff you said about ACTUAL assets and money brought into this country by the royals was totally made up?

The royals historically were certainly not nice decent people and I don’t recognise your description of Will and his daddy. Charles is a petulant child and Will is a very average man celebrated due to an accident of birth 🤷‍♀️. They are all distinctly average.

I’m completely baffled about the interaction in the lift with the Americans about etiquette - what on earth has that got to do with the royals?? 😄

Argh please can people refer to the country as 'the UK' or 'Britain' rather than just England.

I am from Scotland and it's so annoying to be lumped in and referred to as England. If we have to all be represented by this crowd of drama lama royals, at least get the name of the country right!!

Sorry to rant, will leave alone now.

Fwiw, I agree with you @DistingusedSocialCommentator - Andrew looked far too self satisfied for the occasion. However, I don't think it's fair to judge Charles for it - the man's off having his cancer treatment and may have had no idea! Get well soon Charles 💐

I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I agree they are helpful in organising arms deals with Saudi Arabia (although by all accounts Andrew screwed up that deal so maybe not). And you know you are right. I have heard talk of these other little unimportant countries - Germany is it, not sure, think I have heard of that one and India is it? - that don't have monarchs and you know they just have no clout in the world and it must be because they have an elected head of state. There is just no way that the countless brilliant people in this country that over the last 200 years have shaped the world (for better or worse) completely disproportionally to the size of the country could possibly be responsible for people's opinion of the UK - it is solely down to those clever, erudite royals with only the finest of morals.

I think we can probably both agree they have a good PR department.

I think it vanishingly unlikely that Charlie didn’t know what was happening!

Yes the royals PR team really should win every award going - they really have not only polished the turd, but rolled it in glitter and stuck it on a pedestal. It’s an impressive piece of work 😄

Thank you

About "England" I was just being honest as I've read what many in Scotland/Wales and NI think about our Royals and they are really based in England. I bet you if I were to say, UK, some would say, not where we live. However, I have noted your point.

I totally agree with what you said re our King Charles. The press got the better of me as I read the few links, there was tha Andrew leading from the front by a big margin and that grin did it for me.

I have already said in one of my posts I got it wrong re our King and therefore again in full support of King and Queen

The Royal family is not for everyone, no one is.

Thank you for your nice post and I hope you can see where I was coming from when I stated "england." TBH, no offence to others that dont live in London, but I see london as the heart of England, or for that matter, the UK. This is why we have the Royal family here, thePM, the biggest airports, the massive underground tube sytems and where people from all over the globe come for their hoilidays

Look what they have to work with. They have my sympathy and admiration. I thought they did a particularly sterling job with the Queen mum, who I was convinced died about 10 years before they announced it, embalmed her and stuck in some animatronics so they could wheel her out and still get her to claim off the civil list.

They must also have all got great bonuses for salvaging Diana’s reputation to the point of sainthood, as everyone has forgotten how she was being evicerated in the press for cavorting with (shock horror) a Muslim and died whilst not wearing a seatbelt partying in Paris with her boyfriend whilst her kids were shipped away to boarding school. I mean it is what I do during term time I guess.

Oh Lordy. I don’t know if you are serious but thanks for the proper laugh. ‘I (who live in London) see London as the heart of England because we have the tube’. I think MN just jumped the shark.

Although to be fair yesterday we had ‘Most people would need to win at least £4 million on the lottery to make a difference to their lives because the majority of people live in London and property is expensive there’. You couldn’t make it up.

Cat that got the cream

To be fair it wasn’t the royal PR they did the work on Diana’s reputation - her elevation to near sainthood near toppled them, and certainly made Charles deeply unpopular for many years.

They’d have much the pasting she was getting before her death hadn’t been forgotten as going up against a sainted ghost made their lives much harder.

There may be some truth in that. I am firmly of the belief if she had stayed alive though it would have ended the monarchy. It was deeply unpopular before her death and you are right it was even more so in the immediate aftermath. But the Queen steadied the ship by, well, doing nothing. She really understood the role. Just do nothing and be old. Everyone will think we are marvellous then.

I dont think it would have ended the monarchy. I think her staying alive and being portrayed in the press as irresponsible and frolicking around on endless holidays with unsuitable men would have made Charles look better.
Him not changing would have made him look like a stable, dependable person. It would certainly have made Camilla’s introduction as his partner less difficult (although marriage would have been more difficult).

“Do nothing and be old” 😂

She didn’t have to do much for the fawning to go nuclear though - she’d make some cutting rude remark to everyone and they’d all be howling “oh you are soooo funny ma’am!”

Nauseating 🙄😩