REUTERS: Only a minority of Britons under 50 support the monarchy

[TallerSally]

The chart below, along with the unprecedented level of social media (and even royalty!) mocking around Katespiracy and Katephotogate, could send a chill down the RF's spine.

Whilst 70% of those aged 65+ and 50% of the 50-64 (the demographic on MN?) support the monarchy, this drops to 30% among the 25-49 and ONLY 19% among the 18-24s - YouGov Jan 24 data.

Some will say "that's nowt new!" But with TikTok, X and other SM having unprecedented reach (far more than mainstream media) and cultivating literally thousands of GenZ and Millennial mini-influencers, and with the RF in its current state of turmoil (some of it illness-related, some not, incl. Prince William being largely MIA, the RF's reluctance to deal with Prince Andrew and his grifting ex-wife, Rose Hanbury and extra child (!!) rumours, the casting-out and continued vilification of M&H, the embarrassment that is uncle Gary, etc etc), are comparisons to a decade ago going to be helpful in predicting what this means for the RF in the future? I doubt it.

We all know the billionaire RF continue to sustain their taxpayer and IHT exemption-funded luxury lives thanks to the public's goodwill, hence they employ loads of professional PR people to do their comms. But if there's anything recent events have shown, KP in particular suck at it, with the KP comms team the subject of derision and ridicule around the globe.

It's easy to say "they've weathered worse", but the past isn't a guarantor of the future. I'm sure Boris Johnson also thought he could lie to the public forever... until one day, the tide turned. Not saying this is an identical situation, but the recent lies emanating from KP (I'm sorry, issuing a fake 'proof of life' photo is equivalent to telling a lie) are part of a culture of secrecy and public manipulation.

And consider this: last August, the above numbers were:
80% of those aged 65+ and 67% of the 50-64s support the monarchy, versus 56% among the 25-49s and 37% among the 18-24s. So a drop of 26pp (percentage points) for the 25-49s, and 18pp for the 18-24s.

And who's to say what the numbers will be post-Katephotogate?

https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/uk-monarchy-suffers-an-impairment-its-goodwill-2024-03-13/

The fact that a lot of elected systems have issues doesn’t in any way whatsoever justify the bullshit of a system of hereditary monarchy. Annointed by god 🙄. It’s such an utter batshit system for 2024 that it blows my mind EVERY time, how many people defend it. No one, no one, deserves power bestowed on them because who their mum is 😩🤬.

Can we drop the snippiness please? Surely the fact that you can’t vote out the monarchy is a massive problem that can’t simply be ignored?

Of course the problems listed are human failings and as such we always need to have a mechanism that facilitates expulsion based on a democratic vote.

As for countries; It seems to work fairly well for Iceland, Ireland and Germany.

Brilliant post, thanks!

Reflecting on the seemingly phoney “head of state” setup, on the one hand it seems to be more about tradition and protocol than effective governance, but on the other you wonder whether it’s a cynical way for the RF to justify it’s continued existence.

As in, we are needed to open parliament and sign these laws and make speeches etc, so pay us loads and turn a blind eye to our extraordinary wealth.

Its a combination of ineffective from a governance point of view, hypocritical in terms of the wealth and conduct of RF members, and overall incredibly poor value for money for the general public.

The intriguing thing is, many in the 18-24yr demographic may not necessarily be very aware of the outrage-inducing facts you refer to, yet their support for the monarchy is low and declining.

Imagine what it would be if they knew more?

Please do return tomorrow, @Roussette , I hugely value your posts!

I have already had to ask one poster to stop using the sort of language about my posts used to put women of colour in their place. Snippy now. Do you generally talk to other women like this, or are you reserving it for me?

I’m 25 and I like the royal family. I wouldn’t die for them but I wouldn’t want it abolished.

What? I was referring to the unnecessarily abrasive way that you phrased your comment.

I have no idea what colour or race you are and nor would I EVER make a comment about that if I did.

Are you deliberately trying to deflect from the argument about monarchy and derail the thread?

If you are seriously accusing me of racism then please go and report my post but I am deeply offended by that suggestion.

Extra child..can someone explain...have I been under a rock and who is rose...I know I don't follow anything celebrity or royal. Girlfriend of Andrew or something...

You can be deeply offended all you like. I am a regular poster on this forum and I have been very open about my race, and I addressed it with another poster above. And funny how you are allowed to be offended by my alleged abrasiveness (or could that be my assertiveness in pointing out to you that I had already made the point you think you were trying to make to me), while you can use belittling words like "snippy" and I am meant to not be offended by them. And when I am offended and point it out, I get DARVO. Go and educate yourself. I won't be engaging with you again.

Must admit that one passed me by too! 🤔

Must be one of the more wacky Internet rumours maybe?

This is honestly getting ridiculous and I believe is a deliberate ploy to yet again derail the thread and the Republican argument. It happens time and time again on here.

It’s completely unacceptable to go around accusing people of racism when there is absolutely no basis for that assertion.

I am reporting your post myself.

People are against the royal family but they actually bring in a huge amount of tourist £££. If we lose the royal family, we'll lost a lot of tourism interest and our economy will be even further down the shitter

I'm not the biggest fan, but they're a very marketable commodity.

French tourism is suffering terribly after the Revolution.

This is indeed a frequently heard justification which to my knowledge no-one has been able to conclusively prove, particularly in return in investment (and IHT opportunity cost) terms.

Would the tourists stop visiting the UK if the monarch was no longer head of state and we stopped funding the billionaire RF?

People visit Versailles and Neuschwanstein by the millions every year, despite there being no royals in France and Germany…

People visit Versailles and Neuschwanstein by the millions every year, despite there being no royals in France and Germany…

You’re working on the assumption that the royal properties and the land they are on remain in the ownership of the country and for the country’s benefit. That is not a given.

https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/14/revealed-the-huge-british-property-empire-of-sheikh-mohammed

Yes, unfortunately we have a track record of selling things off in this country. I'm not convinced a few palms wouldn't end up being greased and a lot of these properties wouldn't end up benefitting the country as a whole at all.

I think it’s reasonable to suggest that no land owners, whether they live in the UK or not, whether royal or not, should be permitted to hide their assets and avoid tax by registering their companies in off shore havens like Guernsey and Jersey, as described in that article. It’s completely immoral.

<Double negative edited out>

But that's been going on for years, unfortunately.

This is absolute total and utter bollocks - Visit England themselves have admitted there is not a shred of evidence that tourism would be affected if we abolished the monarchy. Go and look at the top 10 most visited attractions - the top is Legoland!

Royal PR have always been brilliant at trotting out the tourism line but it’s simply bollocks.

https://www.republic.org.uk/tourism

Yes it has unfortunately but it doesn’t make it right.

I thought this was interesting:

https://amp.theguardian.com/business/2023/apr/30/king-charles-urged-to-push-for-break-up-of-uks-network-of-satellite-tax-havens

Okay let's look at the alternatives USA France and Russia 😳

Why only look at alternatives that don’t work? Such a lazy and tired argument. Why not look at countries like Ireland - no one is suggesting we go for a US presidential system 🙄.

I'd be weary of what would replace them, but a key argument against the royals is the class system in the UK holds the place the back. I'd get rid of the honours system first.

The Honours, the Lords, the monarchy - it all needs to go!