Future of the Monarchy

They’re not free of transparency or scrutiny tho, as has just been proved.
We have existed here without a written constitution for a very long time, and we do have democracy thank you very much.

StoneofDestiny

The monarchy needs to go. It is a massive anachronism.

It's appalling to think that anybody, simply by being born into a particular family, can find themselves subsidised by the taxpayers in an extraordinary position of wealth and privilege for life, and can guarantee the same for their children.

The extraordinary battery of financial privileges they are given comes with an ability to hide their wealth from the taxpaying public. The Queen/King and their partners can pass on their wealth free of inheritance tax. They can keep their Wills private. No other member of the public can do that. As for the number of these independently wealthy multimillionaires paying peppercorn rents for mansions - outrageous, and all happening in front of us while we complain about the state of public finances, the decline of the NHS, the underfunding of schools, the in-repaired potholes etc.

The sheer arrogance of the royals saying 'never complain, never explain' is exactly why some of them have been able to get away with the offensive behaviour they have. They have nothing to complain about and everything to explain.
The problem is our media are so keen to get a picture of Kate in her latest dress they feel obliged to keep silent about certain things so as not to be expelled from the press pack at events.

We watched Philip turn up to every public event he looked pained to be at, only to insult the people less privileged than him or from a different culture or country. We were expected to tolerate his obnoxious behaviour with 'that's just Philip's way'. He was a national embarrassment.

We are now watching sheer royal corruption exposed by the Epstein Files. Look at the lavish lifestyle Andrew and Fergie enjoyed without a job between them. Look at how we had to pay excessive amounts in security to watch his daughters globe trotting at our expense.

Look at how little Kate and William actually do. Yet, as soon as his future lifestyle is threatened, he has become animated and 'concerned'. Why did he not speak up before? Why didn't Charles? Why didn't the Queen? No - she just came up with £12 million to silence the victim of her son. Shameless.

Where was 'all equal before the law', 'the law must take its course'? They are only saying it now because their positions are at risk, because the group 'Republic' made an official complaint to Thames Valley Police. The royals have enabled Andrew by their silence.

I'm tired of hearing about their 'duty', how 'Andrew served in the navy', 'Kate has had cancer', 'the King has cancer'. So have many of us had or have cancer, lost children to cancer, served in the armed forces, worked all our lives in public services, volunteered for good causes as well as working. The difference is non of these ordinary citizens are rewarded with jobs for life, endless mansions, servants, chauffeurs, Nannie's etc We just have to dig deep, and when ill with cancer get back to work before our sick pay runs out.

Nothing has changed in terms of tourism when a royal dies and no job is left undone. In many of our lifetimes, The Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, Princess Diana, Prince Philip,The Queen died. Nothing stopped running, tourism didn't drop off, the clocks didn't stop.People will visit whether the royals are here or not. Many of us have been to Versailles not expecting to see a Queen or King and many similar places across the globe.
We can still have pageantry without the royals - other countries do.

The country can run without Kates new dress display, Williams latest tantrum, the dilemma of what school his kids will go to, the saga of their dogs or what Meghan and Harry did next.

Thanks, saves me writing it.

Tuliptree

This thread is not going to be a real discussion is it? I’ll go back to the similar one on MN

Hallelujah!!!

I am astonished that so many people seem to think that if the royal family was abolished their perceived riches would immediately pass to the NHS and to support the homeless. Many of royalty's possessions do not belong to them, as in they are not allowed to sell them or give them away, they are their for future generations and and are frequently available for display and /or access.
Likewise the royal houses, which are not nearly so splendid or comfortable as the uninformed imagine, are open to the public as are the grounds.
Oliver Cromwell tried to rid the country of royalty with little success; the royal money and priceless assets such as the royal art collection and crown jewels were sold or melted down for a pittance, and used to pay his soldiers' wages; the country did not benefit. At the end of his life his attempt to pass government on to his son failed; the country preferred the restoration of the royal family.Charles 11.

I do wish people would check their facts before they parroted ill-informed prejudices, or perhaps just read history, the teaching of which is steadily and deliberately being eroded.

Allira

Tuliptree

Yes, I know some of them. However, he was courageous in the Falklands.

That’s not a get out of jail free card is if? Or are you saying all ex -Fslklsnds service people can behave like this?

🤔
Nice to have you back 😂

I thought she had gone to play on Mumsnet.

Re Charles and Jimmy Savile, so many people failed to see the reality. In the 70s my parents lived not far from Broadmoor, and were friends with the chief psychiatrist and his wife - who incidentally came to my and dh’s wedding. Parents were invited to several events, presumably fundraisers, at Broadmoor, at which JS was certainly present at least once.*

If even Broadmoor’s chief psychiatrist, who was used to dealing with psychotic double murderers etc., could not see through Jimmy Savile’s carefully created facade, I fail to understand how on earth Charles was supposed to.

*My folks were introduced to JS, and my mother said at the time that he gave her the absolute creeps, but she was always a hyper sensitive type anyway.

I have seldom read such common sense and reasoned thinking about the Royal family as I have on reading Stone if Destiny’s post.
It echoes all of my own thinking and put so well.
The “fans” of the family who greet every photo, every bit of gossip are sycophants in my eyes, perhaps not putting their own lives into perspective but envying the unattainable.
The clothes, the glamour, the lifestyle, all so beyond their own.
Like going to the cinema and then back out in the dark to real life.

merlotgran

JaneJudge

Because she most people Do not have a horse

So what?

Many people have horses nowadays, not just Royals 🤦‍♀️

BBC - 2 November 2024 - documentary

"The royal family has received millions of pounds income in rent from the NHS, schools and the armed forces."

Look it up if you don't believe me.

Oreo

Are you a teacher or a teaching assistant or another job in a school Jane Judge as the salaries in ‘education’ vary widely.
Teachers do not require food banks, neither do nurses.

In general, I agree here.

When I employed teachers, teaching assistants, mealtime supervisors etc, it went like this:
Teachers managed fine on the salary. Even dining out in restaurants.
TAs often came to ask for an advance a couple of months a year because their funds were running low.
Mealtime assistants needed help and were allowed to take home food from our kitchen for themselves and their families.
As said, in education as a whole, the salaries vary considerably.

If not the King then some redundant politician: Thatcher, Truss, Farage....

Yes Grantanow but at least we could vote them out eventually.

May I just point out that you do not simply walk into a foodbank and load up your wagon with goodies.
You must first prove a 'need'.
You are welcome.

Article in the online Guardian just now, describing some
'encounters' with AMW in his post as Trade Whatever.

People bringing up concerns about Presidents and mentioning Trump and Putin and Lukashenko, do this because they exist now, in our own time.
SORES, great post.

I remember going to the waxworks as a kid, seeing this huge room just for the royals. Loads of them.
Now grown up, paying tax, I think Charles has done the right thing slimming down the RF.
My friends grand daughter says, BP should be turned into a gay pub 😂

Maremia

May I just point out that you do not simply walk into a foodbank and load up your wagon with goodies.
You must first prove a 'need'.
You are welcome.

Yes, I think for some foodbanks ( not all ) you need a referral.
They are meant for temporary use in a crisis not a long term help.

Any foodbank operating under the Trussell Trust umbrella will require a referral from a registered referral agency. With that referral at least three day's worth of food for the size of family will be provided. Usually there is a limit to the number of referrals allowed over a given period. Many, if not most, foodbanks offer much more than food. They can offer advice on where to source help for debt, health and other problems.
All of which is absolutely nothing to do with the Royal family.

From AI The UK Royal Family costs each person approximately £1.29 per year based on the 2022-23 £86.3 million Sovereign Grant. This core funding covers official travel, property maintenance, and staff. However, when including security and other hidden costs, anti-monarchy groups estimate the true annual cost is significantly higher, potentially over £300M to £510M.

Even at the highest figure that works out at just over £7 each per year.

Thanks for that Trussell Trust information Rosie51. I agree that the RF is not, in itself, responsible for the need for food banks in the UK or for UK poverty in general.

I do think the RF can modernise further however. In comparison to other EU RFs it is significantly more expensive, publicly prominent and ceremony focused. Here in UK the Monarchy retains a higher degree of imperial pomp, larger staffing and greater media scrutiny.

I suspect in view of AMW's arrest and ongoing investigation, the RF may be considering such matters in comparison. Hopefully they will adjust to be more to be in line with other EU RFs as there is enormous focus and scrutiny on the extent of privilege AMW enjoyed yet his activities as a RF member have damaged public trust.

I do think the RF can modernise further however. In comparison to other EU RFs it is significantly more expensive, publicly prominent and ceremony focused. Here in UK the Monarchy retains a higher degree of imperial pomp, larger staffing and greater media scrutiny.

I am sure that Charles and, in his turn William, are both intent upon heading towards a more modern Monarchy, even without the Andrew problem they face.

However, it requires our Parliament to remove some of the decidedly suspect and no longer required from the Act of Succession.

It is up to us, the public, too, to stop making such demands on the Royal Family in general that have nothing to do with the duties of Head of State.

We do still need a bit of pomp and circumstance, though. 😀

Sorry - Line of Succession!

I have been interested to read that there are a number of different police forces dealing with the case - each responsible for a particular aspect. So The Met is dealing with the more serious crime of public office, but others are dealing with sex trafficking, as well as other arrestable offences.

It is generally thought that there is sufficient potential arrestable evidence, which prior to the events that unfolded yesterday would have been months in the gathering, including contact with the DOJ in the USA, the CPS in the U.K.

As more and more drips out over the coming weeks and months the monarchy will be under sever scrutiny and strain.

Apparently there are 8 different forces dealing with this, all dealing with different aspects.

Indigo8

BBC - 2 November 2024 - documentary

"The royal family has received millions of pounds income in rent from the NHS, schools and the armed forces."

Look it up if you don't believe me.

I know of a charge nurse who is living in an HMO because the hospital where he works is in an area of high rents and property prices which does attract any wage weighting. He is struggling to save enough for the deposit on a small rented flat. The only alternative would be to live in a cheaper area miles away and add hours of travel to his, already long, working day or night.

The royals cream off millions of pounds in rent from the NHS every year while many senior, highly skilled employees work long hours for peanuts and are unable to live a decent life on their income.

Caleo

King Charles has reinstated the British Monarch as a viable and justifiable head of state. His attitude towards the affairs of his brother Andrew is faultless and an example for the US of good leadership.

I revised my opinion. I see now that King Charles could hardly have taken any other position.

We need an elected head of state, elected on personal merit and proved performance not inherited wealth and primogeniture.

Moreover, the glorification of traditional aristocracy undermines the meritocratic society.