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As a subject I have some strong views on, I thought I’d try to stir up some debate. If you could, what would you do with the Royal Family in the UK?
a) Have them go the way of Charles I. Behead the lot of them!
b) Sell off all their property and make them get real jobs.
c) Let them keep most of what they have, but stop funding them through taxes and take away what ceremonial power they have.
d) Leave things as they are.
e) Give them more money to continue their good work and uphold the good name of Britons around the World!
Personally, I think Royalty, as a concept, is a totally unjust way of ruling over a people. It’s essentially a dictatorship; only the next dictator is born into the job. In practice, the Royal family in this country has very little actual power nowadays anyway, so what’s my problem?
Well, therein lies part of my problem. People insist the Royals have a hard job, but what do they actually do? The Queen, in theory, has the power to make someone a minister or dismiss them (even the Prime Minister I believe), to pass or refuse to pass a bill into law, and to declare war and make peace. Does she do any of these? No. Many insist the Monarch is all that stands between us and having President Blair. But what would be the difference between President and Prime Minister Blair? Not much. The occasional trip to the Palace to ask for something that will inevitably be granted anyway. An unnecessary formality.
Yet more people tell me they represent us abroad. Jetting off to foreign countries to meet smiling diplomats and exchanging pleasantries with them. Sounds like an easy job to me really. Does this list of responsibilities really warrant the vast sums spent on them? And do you really feel proud with Prince Charles ‘representing’ you and your country? Lets face it, his bumbling antics are far more Mr. Bean than James Bond
And it’s not only the money we still spend on them. It’s what they’ve got in our name. A fair old while back, probably a couple of years now, a program was on investigating just how much the Royals were worth. As well as the income they gain through public money, they have a whole stash of goodies locked up that, in theory at least, belong to ‘the Nation’ and are simply held by the Monarchy in trust. Are they doing the Nation any good? No. They’re locked away in Palaces, never to be seen by members of the public, let alone benefiting them. Amongst some of the most expensive items was a rare kind of gem. Not only was it rare, it was the largest of it’s kind in the world. Not just a bit bigger than average, but so much bigger that experts couldn’t even guess what it would fetch at auction as it was so ‘off the scale’ of what they normally came across.
That’s not the end of the story. Millions of pounds are pumped into the Royals (not literally) every year. Transport costs, keeping their numerous palaces in full working order, even the Ministry of Defence, charged with defending the Queens Realm, forking out to use land on Duchy’s owned by the Royals.
So, what have we covered? Their pointless jobs, their vast wages… Oh, the army boy as well. Prince Harry doing all this rigorous training at Sandhurst. What’s the point? Is he really ever going to be fighting in the front line? Doubtful, seeing as he has a panic button to call heavily armed guards to his aid even while training to ‘Be the Best’ as it were. If there are intruders he should be gunning them down Rambo-style now that he’s in the army, not cowering behind large men in sharp suits.
Sorry, I’ll stop my anti-Royal tirade there.
But what do I think should be done with them? Well, since I’m vaguely realistic, I think we should keep them as ‘Royals’. But we shouldn’t be giving them any money whatsoever. Frankly, they can afford to sustain themselves, and if not they can always make up some sex scandal to sell to the News of the World. They can keep a palace or two to live in, but the rest should be opened as tourist attractions. The Americans love the whole Royal thing apparently. We should be selling some of the huge collection of art, jewels and other items they’re storing, or at least putting them in public galleries to be enjoyed by all. Finally, the supposed powers the Queen has should really be revoked. At least with someone who’s been elected we can boot them out again. Even after a beheading, the Royal family still came back like a very expensive rash.
Well, enough of my ranting. What do you think?
a) Have them go the way of Charles I. Behead the lot of them!
b) Sell off all their property and make them get real jobs.
c) Let them keep most of what they have, but stop funding them through taxes and take away what ceremonial power they have.
d) Leave things as they are.
e) Give them more money to continue their good work and uphold the good name of Britons around the World!
Personally, I think Royalty, as a concept, is a totally unjust way of ruling over a people. It’s essentially a dictatorship; only the next dictator is born into the job. In practice, the Royal family in this country has very little actual power nowadays anyway, so what’s my problem?
Well, therein lies part of my problem. People insist the Royals have a hard job, but what do they actually do? The Queen, in theory, has the power to make someone a minister or dismiss them (even the Prime Minister I believe), to pass or refuse to pass a bill into law, and to declare war and make peace. Does she do any of these? No. Many insist the Monarch is all that stands between us and having President Blair. But what would be the difference between President and Prime Minister Blair? Not much. The occasional trip to the Palace to ask for something that will inevitably be granted anyway. An unnecessary formality.
Yet more people tell me they represent us abroad. Jetting off to foreign countries to meet smiling diplomats and exchanging pleasantries with them. Sounds like an easy job to me really. Does this list of responsibilities really warrant the vast sums spent on them? And do you really feel proud with Prince Charles ‘representing’ you and your country? Lets face it, his bumbling antics are far more Mr. Bean than James Bond
And it’s not only the money we still spend on them. It’s what they’ve got in our name. A fair old while back, probably a couple of years now, a program was on investigating just how much the Royals were worth. As well as the income they gain through public money, they have a whole stash of goodies locked up that, in theory at least, belong to ‘the Nation’ and are simply held by the Monarchy in trust. Are they doing the Nation any good? No. They’re locked away in Palaces, never to be seen by members of the public, let alone benefiting them. Amongst some of the most expensive items was a rare kind of gem. Not only was it rare, it was the largest of it’s kind in the world. Not just a bit bigger than average, but so much bigger that experts couldn’t even guess what it would fetch at auction as it was so ‘off the scale’ of what they normally came across.
That’s not the end of the story. Millions of pounds are pumped into the Royals (not literally) every year. Transport costs, keeping their numerous palaces in full working order, even the Ministry of Defence, charged with defending the Queens Realm, forking out to use land on Duchy’s owned by the Royals.
So, what have we covered? Their pointless jobs, their vast wages… Oh, the army boy as well. Prince Harry doing all this rigorous training at Sandhurst. What’s the point? Is he really ever going to be fighting in the front line? Doubtful, seeing as he has a panic button to call heavily armed guards to his aid even while training to ‘Be the Best’ as it were. If there are intruders he should be gunning them down Rambo-style now that he’s in the army, not cowering behind large men in sharp suits.
Sorry, I’ll stop my anti-Royal tirade there.
But what do I think should be done with them? Well, since I’m vaguely realistic, I think we should keep them as ‘Royals’. But we shouldn’t be giving them any money whatsoever. Frankly, they can afford to sustain themselves, and if not they can always make up some sex scandal to sell to the News of the World. They can keep a palace or two to live in, but the rest should be opened as tourist attractions. The Americans love the whole Royal thing apparently. We should be selling some of the huge collection of art, jewels and other items they’re storing, or at least putting them in public galleries to be enjoyed by all. Finally, the supposed powers the Queen has should really be revoked. At least with someone who’s been elected we can boot them out again. Even after a beheading, the Royal family still came back like a very expensive rash.
Well, enough of my ranting. What do you think?
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Ladybird wrote:
And then, the Royals,
> the lovely People's Princess Di (and her oh so tragic demise..
> It was a conspiracy, I just know it!), how handsome Prince
> William is and who the boy will marry??? Harry, Harry..mmm,
> like fine wine much sweeter as he matures. Oh yes, and the
> farce of Charles and whatshername who's just so forgettable..
See, this, to me, is another problem. I don't think the concept of Royalty is fair to the people they are meant to represent and rule over, but nowadays it's also not fair to the Royals themselves. I wonder how many times the Princes, William and Harry, have wished they weren't actually Royals, their every move being recorded by the media, every relationship scrutinised, every drunken night on the front page of tabloids. Sure other celebrities have this problem, but they aren't really born into the job... Become an actor, popstar, whatever else and you're pretty much signing up for media attention. You use it to your advantage to make money from films/music/TV/etc. so if you have a bad experience with it every now and then, well it comes with the territory. The Royals, however, are born into it, and it shows no signs of getting less intrusive or sensationalist. Probably the opposite in fact.
And then, the Royals,
> the lovely People's Princess Di (and her oh so tragic demise..
> It was a conspiracy, I just know it!), how handsome Prince
> William is and who the boy will marry??? Harry, Harry..mmm,
> like fine wine much sweeter as he matures. Oh yes, and the
> farce of Charles and whatshername who's just so forgettable..
See, this, to me, is another problem. I don't think the concept of Royalty is fair to the people they are meant to represent and rule over, but nowadays it's also not fair to the Royals themselves. I wonder how many times the Princes, William and Harry, have wished they weren't actually Royals, their every move being recorded by the media, every relationship scrutinised, every drunken night on the front page of tabloids. Sure other celebrities have this problem, but they aren't really born into the job... Become an actor, popstar, whatever else and you're pretty much signing up for media attention. You use it to your advantage to make money from films/music/TV/etc. so if you have a bad experience with it every now and then, well it comes with the territory. The Royals, however, are born into it, and it shows no signs of getting less intrusive or sensationalist. Probably the opposite in fact.
OrkEater, I kinda agree with your decision, but I think your reasoning is a bit iffy... Maybe I'm mistaken, but you seem to be hinting that the Royals are redundant as they no longer have any real power. I think the very idea of Royalty is a flawed one. Even if they did have power it would be illegitimate power as they are simply born into it, with no validation from the people they supposedly represent.
I don't think the fact that we, as a country, used to wage war, take over countries to add them to our empire is anything to really be proud of. Nowadays we talk of how evil and wrong dictatorships are, yet Royal rule is just as unfair in that the people of the country have no say in who is ruling over them. It seems especially unfair to have a ruler who is not even from your country and does not understand your culture (perhaps has not even been to your country), as happened when Britain took over other countries to add to its Empire.
The very concept of Royalty seems completely unjust to me, and even though I realise they have very little power these days, what they represent is quite distasteful to me. But, being realistic, I realise it'd be very hard to convince the nationalistic Britons to abolish the Monarchy althogether, so generally I will say I don't mind the Royals 'existing' as a Royal Family as long as they have those powers they still have revoked (even though they don't use them), and they stop getting funded (partially) through taxes. Oh, and they start legally having to pay taxes too. I know recently they've voluntarily paid some tax, but I doubt it even approaches what they should be paying.
I don't think the fact that we, as a country, used to wage war, take over countries to add them to our empire is anything to really be proud of. Nowadays we talk of how evil and wrong dictatorships are, yet Royal rule is just as unfair in that the people of the country have no say in who is ruling over them. It seems especially unfair to have a ruler who is not even from your country and does not understand your culture (perhaps has not even been to your country), as happened when Britain took over other countries to add to its Empire.
The very concept of Royalty seems completely unjust to me, and even though I realise they have very little power these days, what they represent is quite distasteful to me. But, being realistic, I realise it'd be very hard to convince the nationalistic Britons to abolish the Monarchy althogether, so generally I will say I don't mind the Royals 'existing' as a Royal Family as long as they have those powers they still have revoked (even though they don't use them), and they stop getting funded (partially) through taxes. Oh, and they start legally having to pay taxes too. I know recently they've voluntarily paid some tax, but I doubt it even approaches what they should be paying.
Sibs wrote:
> See, I'm not entirely convinced people come here because of the
> Royals themselves... More due to the palaces and suchlike. If
> we're taking the tourist angle, I'm sure a hell of a lot more
> money could be generated by actually opening more palaces (or
> sections of them) to the public for guided tours or whatnot.
>
> Oh, and giftshops with horrendously expensive souveniers,
> obviously...
Although the palaces and suchlike are lovely, my vote is to keep the Royals because they're the living history that gives the entire UK its aura of class. (looking from outside the box here) What do people from other countries think of when anything British comes about?? Tea! :) And then, the Royals, the lovely People's Princess Di (and her oh so tragic demise.. It was a conspiracy, I just know it!), how handsome Prince William is and who the boy will marry??? Harry, Harry..mmm, like fine wine much sweeter as he matures. Oh yes, and the farce of Charles and whatshername who's just so forgettable..
Again, the sites are fab, but the Royals and their novelty generate more (if not as much) revenue seducing tourists with their intriguing poshness, as say Stonehenge. There's just something in that. Enough to keep the Royal lot around for just kicks and giggles, I say
> See, I'm not entirely convinced people come here because of the
> Royals themselves... More due to the palaces and suchlike. If
> we're taking the tourist angle, I'm sure a hell of a lot more
> money could be generated by actually opening more palaces (or
> sections of them) to the public for guided tours or whatnot.
>
> Oh, and giftshops with horrendously expensive souveniers,
> obviously...
Although the palaces and suchlike are lovely, my vote is to keep the Royals because they're the living history that gives the entire UK its aura of class. (looking from outside the box here) What do people from other countries think of when anything British comes about?? Tea! :) And then, the Royals, the lovely People's Princess Di (and her oh so tragic demise.. It was a conspiracy, I just know it!), how handsome Prince William is and who the boy will marry??? Harry, Harry..mmm, like fine wine much sweeter as he matures. Oh yes, and the farce of Charles and whatshername who's just so forgettable..
Again, the sites are fab, but the Royals and their novelty generate more (if not as much) revenue seducing tourists with their intriguing poshness, as say Stonehenge. There's just something in that. Enough to keep the Royal lot around for just kicks and giggles, I say
Sibs wrote:
> But is ruling about half of the world necessarily a good thing?
> It depends how we ruled it and took it over. It seems we did
> neither fairly or democratically, and as such, surely these
> endevours should be frowned upon nowadays...?
There's an interesting argument here. By 'modern' standards, the empire improved the lives and economies of a lot of countries.
That probably couldn't have happened in a fully democratic society.
Of course, an argument that it is legitimate for one party to impose its rules and politics on another, simply because it believes they are the best or 'right' way of life is a pretty dangerous one to subscribe to.
> But is ruling about half of the world necessarily a good thing?
> It depends how we ruled it and took it over. It seems we did
> neither fairly or democratically, and as such, surely these
> endevours should be frowned upon nowadays...?
There's an interesting argument here. By 'modern' standards, the empire improved the lives and economies of a lot of countries.
That probably couldn't have happened in a fully democratic society.
Of course, an argument that it is legitimate for one party to impose its rules and politics on another, simply because it believes they are the best or 'right' way of life is a pretty dangerous one to subscribe to.
I choose... b!
Sell off the property they "own" and make them get real jobs. (maybe turn the palace/castle thing into a museum)
The idea of royalty nowadays is stupid.
Does America have a royal family? no. Have they ever, no! (then again, those that first moved to america were from britain and ireland, so i guess the british royal family is kinda theirs too)
Sure it was a good idea back when it was like the 1700's, but up untill like 1800's if you didnt have a king, then someone would come from another place and take total control over the country. Now, we have no use for them, they have no right to the status of royalty. Maybe the older ones, like charles, and the queen, they were born into alot of royalty, and havent done anything stupid. Where as the next generation of royals, prince harry and what not, are going around being stupid. Prince harry is a slacker, he slacked in the army, where he didnt need to do anything! He was in a special part of the army, and he like chickened out every other week, and for ages. Not to mention his run in with drugs, and also going to a party dressed up as a nazi, also hiring prostitutes (well, escorts, but they are kinda the same)...
As soon as the older ones in the royal family are gone, they should get rid of the royal family, we pay them to sit around and act posh, and stuff. Its a new era, technology, parliament has more power over what happens now a days than the royal family.. Just get rid of the royal family and make sure its for good.
In the olden days, of wars, kings would go to war with them, invading countries and claiming the country theirs. We are currently at war, well, not technically as we have "won" the iraq war, yet we are still there. I dont recall any of the royal family over in iraq killing anyone, even visiting the place.. Its a disgrace, what the royal family used to be, has been reduced to just a status, and not of power. They do not wage war, they do not have the power to make someone kill someone, they do not have the same power to have slaves, or a dungeon. (dungeons could soo rock, think about it ^^) All they have now, is their status, their reputation, and their palace, or where ever they live.
This overall, sums up, that they are not needed anymore, their jobs have been replaced with better working ones, they should just accept that, and move on. Get a job, and quit leaching off of everyone.
Thats why i chose b. :)
Sell off the property they "own" and make them get real jobs. (maybe turn the palace/castle thing into a museum)
The idea of royalty nowadays is stupid.
Does America have a royal family? no. Have they ever, no! (then again, those that first moved to america were from britain and ireland, so i guess the british royal family is kinda theirs too)
Sure it was a good idea back when it was like the 1700's, but up untill like 1800's if you didnt have a king, then someone would come from another place and take total control over the country. Now, we have no use for them, they have no right to the status of royalty. Maybe the older ones, like charles, and the queen, they were born into alot of royalty, and havent done anything stupid. Where as the next generation of royals, prince harry and what not, are going around being stupid. Prince harry is a slacker, he slacked in the army, where he didnt need to do anything! He was in a special part of the army, and he like chickened out every other week, and for ages. Not to mention his run in with drugs, and also going to a party dressed up as a nazi, also hiring prostitutes (well, escorts, but they are kinda the same)...
As soon as the older ones in the royal family are gone, they should get rid of the royal family, we pay them to sit around and act posh, and stuff. Its a new era, technology, parliament has more power over what happens now a days than the royal family.. Just get rid of the royal family and make sure its for good.
In the olden days, of wars, kings would go to war with them, invading countries and claiming the country theirs. We are currently at war, well, not technically as we have "won" the iraq war, yet we are still there. I dont recall any of the royal family over in iraq killing anyone, even visiting the place.. Its a disgrace, what the royal family used to be, has been reduced to just a status, and not of power. They do not wage war, they do not have the power to make someone kill someone, they do not have the same power to have slaves, or a dungeon. (dungeons could soo rock, think about it ^^) All they have now, is their status, their reputation, and their palace, or where ever they live.
This overall, sums up, that they are not needed anymore, their jobs have been replaced with better working ones, they should just accept that, and move on. Get a job, and quit leaching off of everyone.
Thats why i chose b. :)
But is ruling about half of the world necessarily a good thing? It depends how we ruled it and took it over. It seems we did neither fairly or democratically, and as such, surely these endevours should be frowned upon nowadays...?
I'm not really in favour of the Royal family, but it's nice to see where we have come from because Britain has a suprisingly good past e.g. we actually used to rule most of the world, and were a force to be reckoned with. Also things like the trooping of the colour etc is just as pointless as the royal family, but still most people enjoy it. So I guess I am about half and half for and against the royal family :s
I wonder if a mixed race child will ever be born into the royal family. Anyway, i've always hated the queen and most of the royal family. The only one which I don't hate is the ginger one, he is hot.
See, I'm not entirely convinced people come here because of the Royals themselves... More due to the palaces and suchlike. If we're taking the tourist angle, I'm sure a hell of a lot more money could be generated by actually opening more palaces (or sections of them) to the public for guided tours or whatnot.
Oh, and giftshops with horrendously expensive souveniers, obviously...
Oh, and giftshops with horrendously expensive souveniers, obviously...
I'm not convinced it'd ever be possible to get rid of the notion of celebrity. Though a massive cultural shift could maybe throw more deserving people, or beter role-models, into the spotlight.
Still, while we have the current climate - where joe public do love their celebrity gossip, anybody who conducts themself with some dignity has to be a worth something to offset the mongs.
I wonder how role models who you can never match - simply because you weren't born into the right family - stack against role models joe public maybe could match, but only for doing worthless things and being a bit unpleasant.
The tax thing? Yeah, I agree. But if they didn't get special treatment, it wouldn't be the royal family - they'd just be normal rich people. All the concessions are a part of what makes them 'royal'. So long as they continue to pay for themselves in tourism, I can handle the costs.
{Edit: Not an offer to pay for them myself :^) ]
Still, while we have the current climate - where joe public do love their celebrity gossip, anybody who conducts themself with some dignity has to be a worth something to offset the mongs.
I wonder how role models who you can never match - simply because you weren't born into the right family - stack against role models joe public maybe could match, but only for doing worthless things and being a bit unpleasant.
The tax thing? Yeah, I agree. But if they didn't get special treatment, it wouldn't be the royal family - they'd just be normal rich people. All the concessions are a part of what makes them 'royal'. So long as they continue to pay for themselves in tourism, I can handle the costs.
{Edit: Not an offer to pay for them myself :^) ]
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