Monarchy the institution. Yes or no?

[The Prof]

Calm down!

Sod off Prof!

I'm just thinking about your blood pressure. We don't want you doing yourself a mischief

[Goat Boy]

Don't we?

[Diamond Dog]

[The Prof]

Ok •most• people on here have a passing concern for your welfare apart from Goatboy, Solarscrope and undoubtably a few others who will be more than happy for you to die a slow and painful death.

[Goat Boy]

Poll it!

[Diamond Dog]

I'm being playful. Honestly.

[Darkness_Fish]

Do you still want ... A Head of State?

Do the monarchists? Should the monarch start taking that role, in a capacity that isn't just ceremonial?

[Thang-y]

Do the monarchists [want a head of state]? Should the monarch start taking that role, in a capacity that isn't just ceremonial?

Y're a bunch of tricky bastards.

[The Modernist]

Are you actually a monarchist, Prof, or just ambivalent and think there are bigger fish to fry?

He's worried about what would happen to Balmoral.

[The Prof]

Are you actually a monarchist, Prof, or just ambivalent and think there are bigger fish to fry?

B.
I'm not a monarchist. I think they are a convenient scapegoat and getting rid of them isn't the tip of an iceberg into bringing equality and justice - it wouldn't be a start either. Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Holland and Japan all have monarchs and they all seem pretty decent places to live.
In the Sunday Times UK Rich list the Queen doesn't even get into the top 300. There's plenty more stuff to get angry about.

[Diamond Dog]

It's not the money.

It's the privilege. The inherent entitlement. The personification of all that - that's what's wrong with the Monarchy.

[KeithPratt]

But lots of people have privilege of sorts. In fact I would say that there are far wealthier people out there whose children have the life without any sort of responsibility whatsoever.

[Diamond Dog]

But they don;t get handouts from the State. Or Royal Yachts and all the other bollocks that goes with it.

[The Prof]

Beckham's kid leads a privileged life trading on his surname. So do lots of other people. I get it, - it's not fair.
£1 billion pounds has been given away in some VAT loophole to owners of private jets in an Isle of Man tax dodge.What is Lewis Hamilton's contribution to society? He drives cars around in a circle.

[Diamond Dog]

Beckham's kid leads a privileged life trading on his surname. So do lots of other people. I get it, - it's not fair.
£1 billion pounds has been given away in some VAT loophole to owners of private jets in an Isle of Man tax dodge.What is Lewis Hamilton's contribution to society? He drives cars around in a circle.

But it's not enshrined in law.

Can you not see the difference?

[The Prof]

Is it your .67p you're worried about?

[echolalia]

Name me a country that has changed its political system without revolution and the accompanying bloodshed, occupation or the like

Portugal (1974)

[Diamond Dog]

Is it your .67p you're worried about?

It's not the money.

It's the privilege. The inherent entitlement. The personification of all that - that's what's wrong with the Monarchy.

Hope this helps . You're clearly struggling to read and/or comprehend.

[The Prof]

Is it your .67p you're worried about?

It's not the money.

It's the privilege. The inherent entitlement. The personification of all that - that's what's wrong with the Monarchy.

Hope this helps . You're clearly struggling to read and/or comprehend.

OK - just checking.

When I mentioned privilege and Beckham's kid before I didn't detect much outrage. Same goes for the children of any sports star, or singer or elected politician or company director. That's because they've worked really hard to earn it, right? Driving a car, singing and dancing a bit. A greater contribution to society than, say, working as part of a helicopter search and rescue team on Anglesea

[The Prof]

When meeting a royal, there are rules about who can speak first, where to look, what to call them, how you should stand and when you should sit. It is a mysterious business to the uninitiated.
But it stems from a time when monarchs were accorded an almost divine status and had to be treated accordingly.
"From medieval times, monarchs were divinely appointed to rule by God, so they were kind of seen as gods, so they demanded to be treated as gods," says Dr Kate Williams, a historian at London's Royal Holloway university.
"They are treated as people set apart from the rest of us, so primarily what it is creating is distance and grandeur."
In short, says Dr Williams, "you don't kiss them, you don't touch them, you bow - over and over again."

All of which underpins the dreadful class system that infects our society even today in the 21st century.

... If you want to read some of the rest of the above article......

"Dr Williams says royal etiquette has adapted to reflect the shift in what we expect from our royal family.
"I think it is changing, I think in the earlier period people wanted their monarch to be set apart from them, that's what they wanted, they wanted someone more powerful [to protect them]," she says.

"The Japanese, the Chinese, the Middle Eastern countries, are more concerned with protocol day-to-day."

In other words, if the queen visits your school and you shake her hand (like you would any other old lady) I don't think you're going to vet whisked off to The Tower.