euronews reporter - Does the UK monarchy matter?

[callum123100]

it's our history to be a republic. Oliver Cromwell our brother

[gamblemadman]

In a nutshell ... YES!

[flowerpuff2001]

YES.

?you wanna have president cameron or president gordon brown represent the country to the world? YUCK.

The Queen is apolitical and secures the well functioning of government and checks whether the prime minister and his party abuses or otherwise the power vested in them by the Queen. She is a unifying force amid political rangling in parliament. no other institution does that. :)

[imenglishurnot]

plain and simply the monarchys not going anywhere soon lol

[imenglishurnot]

the monarchy makes ALOT more money than they spend from the tax payers so most of u dont no wat ur talking about. dont reply im not as immature as u lot to argu on youtube im just stating my opinion!

[CallumJ230]

@imenglishurnot The Royal family doesn't even use tax payer money.

[phil1958uk]

@CallumJ230 What funds their cushy lifestyle then? They certainly don't earn all that money!

[CallumJ230]

@phil1958uk The Royal Family own a lot of private land which they sort of lend to the government but its still owned by the royal family. So the private land makes a lot more then what the government are giving the royal family so effectively the Royal family are actually paying the government.

[CoolCollectableToys]

@CallumJ230 The estimated total annual cost of the monarchy to taxpayers is £202.4m, around five times the official figure published by the royal household (£38.3m last year). The Crown Estate is essentially a nationalised property management company, governed by the Crown Estates Act. It does not include royal palaces and it is not the personal property of the Queen, so sorry but the royal family do not pay the goverment & the queen does not pay tax !

[1emanres]

Arguing that "the institution based on birthright rather than merit should be abolished" is to argue against family and has nothing to do with anti-monarchism and everything to do with socialism/communism, for it attacks the concept of ownership of property. Antimonarchists in Britain are frauds, mostly stupids and loudmouths without comprehension of anything. I'm Anastasia Romanov's child and I consider such people unworthy of human bodies. Monarchy is the most democratic institution possible.

[ulula97]

@1emanres 'Monarchy is the most democratic institute possible' That makes sense.........

[lopllkkjhgggfff]

@ulula97 this is just ignorant...'' Antimonarchists in Britain are frauds, mostly stupids and loudmouths without comprehension of anything'' this is just a personal attack on republicans and must be disregarded. there is no reason for monarchy.. its a waste of time and it cost a lot of money to run..

[ulula97]

@lopllkkjhgggfff Right on! Don't want the monarchy, we have better things to spend our money on!

[CoolCollectableToys]

@1emanres eh? you seriously need help with your delusions

[kev9089798767]

@1emanres Actually the idea of equal opportunities and ascribed status not dictating someone's opportunities is more liberal. It's just pure common logic. People in this country are obsessed with tradition. It should be abolished.

[adgjasdfgh]

Nice essay Phil. Can't say I'm convinced though. Elizabeth Windsor is a human being and, whilst I have huge respect for her, is not inherently superior to the rest of us. The Queen, however, is a symbolic figurehead of our country. A unifying presence.

All I see in your posts is jealousy and bitterness. I'd hate to be king/queen. It is a very hard job. The queen is 85 years old. She is still working. For us. She will likely do so until her dying day.

That, I think, deserves some respect.

[CoolCollectableToys]

@adgjasdfgh "Elizabeth Windsor is a human being" not according to david icke lol no seriously this woman and her cronies are behind globalisation within the Bilderberg group. These 125 people who meet each year behind closed doors are most powerful people in the world. what do you think they do there ?

[CoolCollectableToys]

@adgjasdfgh "Elizabeth Windsor is a human being" not according to david icke lol no seriously this woman and her cronies are behind globalisation within the Bilderberg group. These 125 people who meet each year behind closed doors are most powerful people in the world. what do you think they do there ?

[phil1958uk]

- Yes, there is the argument that they do a lot of work for charity. But surely it would be better to just give the £75 million directly to the charities. The monarchy is damaging to those caught up in it, is unaccountable and acts as a drag on our democratic process. It's a broken institution that long ago abdicated all responsibility for power but continues to take what it can from the taxpayers. - It's time it went.

[CallumJ230]

@phil1958uk The royal family don't use tax payer money.

[CoolCollectableToys]

@CallumJ230 oh man sorry i don't mean to be rud but you are very ignorant of the real facts of course they use tax payers money

[phil1958uk]

- If they all became unemployed and on benefits then that would be the best benefit Britain has ever spent. People say they bring in a lot of tourists, but the people would come anyway to look at the palaces if we made them into museums, (it may also be interesting to know that of the top ten British tourist attractions, royalty isn't one of them!) Surely we don't want to hang on to this outdated, corrupt institution, which is costing us £75 million a year. -

[phil1958uk]

- They are only there because of who they were born to and not because of their intelligence. They are only rich because they sponge off the public's money, and so are no more superior than people on the dole. We should use the many properties they own to rehouse those in need, and use the money they cost to make schools and hospitals better. If the monarchy cared about the people, they'd step down and fix themselves up with proper jobs like the rest of us. -

[phil1958uk]

The reason we have a monarchy is because they're supposed to be better than the rest of us, yet time and time again, they show they are as flawed if not more flawed, than ordinary people. They hold positions of privilege and power simply by way of history and a bloodline, rather than actually earning it. Social division is also emphasised by the monarchy. We are all expected to be courteous in their presence and bow down to them just because they are aristocrats. -