Stephen Fry on the British monarchy and aristocracy

[robdoubler1]

safety net? oh they bring money to economy with tourism(not really people come here for a variety of reasons and they still would without a monarch) maybe good arguments but they are above the law face it with all the secrecy over their money and land and relationships.

[carl77777]

To be ruled by the first child that comes out of a Windsor womb is totally and pathetically stupid.

[OrodesIII]

Stephen Fry is on English television 7 days a week. The people there consider him one of their betters and they idolize him, never tiring of his self-promotion.

[kealyc1]

Get rid of the Monarchy ? Become an pseudo-egalitarian republic, like France, or a pseudo-federal Republic like Germany ? No thank you.

[Cashback13]

We don't need to "Dispose" of the Monarchy per say just take a large chunk of the money that funds their absurdly priviledged lifestyles and re-destribute it across the U.K into worthwhile social,economic and community projects that would go a large way to contribute to the well being of the population as a whole.

[TerraFirma69]

Ugh, I'm a big fan of Stephen but hated his reasoning when I read this part of the book. I mean what an awful argument! Nobody thinks its going to change anything drastically, but just because 'we might be disappointed by the change' something makes that means we shouldn't do it!? Think of all the money that's poured into the royal family that could be spent on people who are suffering and need it! Just think of that and try to defend them, its morally reprehensible. Sorry Stephen x

[padry1509]

Royal family, my arse.

[sionnyn]

HA HA - I shall always think of the Queen as Stephen Fry's bent nose from now on! How could anyone actually take her seriously after that?

[thespacialone]

I'm frankly amazed that even now people can still whittle on about the the old guard social order as if it has any remaining relevance when the rotten carcass that is parliamentarianism infects everything with its putrescence. Chattering class inanity.

/watch?v=lECo9-oGQKI

/watch?v=wklTrodziUQ

/watch?v=zj9mVVyo2hY

[Daleksaresupreme1]

the averige britritish persons taxes would go up not down if we got rid of the royal family. its all explaned in this video "The True Cost of the Royal Family Explained" by C.G.P.Grey

[LatumWay]

@Daleksaresupreme1 I've seen that video. Its very disappointing. I'll be making some what of a response at some point.

[andyfoxy1]

I totally agree with Stephen. The royal family is a symbol of England and Briton and to go against the royalty is in my eyes anti-English/British.

[LatumWay]

@andyfoxy1 The Bill of Rights 1689 would disagree.

[andyfoxy1]

@LatumWay Bore off and go be anti-English some where else you make me sick.

[LatumWay]

@andyfoxy1 Eat shit, arsehole. I am an anti-monarchist because I am happy to be English and I do love my country. You're a deluded fucking fool

[IoEstasCedonta]

...a palace for Lady Thatcher. Now that's a scary thought.

[Bionic3333]

Bent nose or not, it's sweet how it only makes Stephen Fry seem all the more humble and modest when he's so self-loathing about his appearance. Truth is, Stephen, you are one of those few men who look more and more sexy as they age and one of those few men for whom I would love to become a man - just so I could turn gay for you, of course. And I am convinced I'm not the only one who thinks like this.

[255ad]

@Bionic3333 you know he does go for the odd woman, he's says he's technically Bi because he finds about 10% of woman attractive

[Bionic3333]

@255ad I still wouldn't be able to speak in his presence. :D

[255ad]

@Bionic3333 good who would want to speak them selves when they could be listening to Stephen fry

[Bionic3333]

@255ad Perfectly said.

[PollyJuice]

Stephen Fry isn't just intelligent and eloquent, he's also funny and insightful.

[codownni]

Very True.

[neophyteshutterbug]

Stephen, every part of you is cute.

[graveeking]

Well looks like I'm going to be buying another of Steven Fry's books.

Ya know if the royalty is our wonky nose. I do believe Steven Fry must be that thing we think makes us all 'good to be British' He's a true national treasure and more of a hero to Britian than anyone else I know of.

[AnnoyingTypoSyndrome]

Get rid of the monarchy. and you get rid of the last few people who have any real reason, to keep us happy.

I know theyve beena bit bad throughout history, but getting rid of the monarchy would NOT get rid of the LORDS !

Now, imagine the house of lords with no one to answer to, except themsleves !

Those dirty little vampires would be flapping around, with nothing to stop them eating your children !

The aristocracy is the main threat, from what i can see - NOT the actual monarchs !

[hockstrap]

it would be silly to get rid of the monarchy, members of the royal family represent us abroad, and paint britain in a lot better light than fucking Cameron or Brown (i do feel a wee bit sorry for the latter tho) the monarchy attracts tourists and are culturally significant to us as brits, if we lost the monarchy, we'd lose part of our national identity and tradition

[victorbrincat]

As much as I do not agree with Stephen on this particular topic (for reasons which include the fact that the current queen does in fact believe in freedom otherwise the uk is not what it is today but history has shown us corrupt kings, queens, emperors etc to which leads to a dark path, hence the disagreement) however stephen fry has the most beautiful way with words! He is the most eloquent, handsome and intelligent man in every possible way! I love hearing him speak!!

[Roddyoneeye]

Rid yerselves of the Monarchy & Aristocracy and ye'll be taken fer a mix of the Irish crossed with the French !

[mrlopez2681]

there's an old saying that I think really counts here - "IF IT"S NOT BROKE, DON"T FIX IT. " The day Britain removes its monarchy will be a very horrid day. There is no reason to get rid of it. Leave it alone. It is a wonderful way of keeping politicians in check, while being a living embodiment of the UK's history, & giving some glamour & ceremony to boot. Be proud of it. Britian has a monarchy entirely subservient to the people, which is pretty cool.

[StephenFryphile]

If any part of me has ever been cute. Oh dear stephen, just LOOK at yourself. You are practically a puppy! *watches a sketch with control and tony*

[Patrick5009]

Very good. Real British broadcasting hero. For me the monarchy represents an alternative option to rally behind in the extreme circumstance of a terribly cruel and bigoted government getting into power. People have and always will fight and die for Queen and country. last time the monarchy was destroyed we ended up with a dictatorship. Cromwell. The monarchy is like a safety net against dictator style government. Although perceived as powerless, 1 speech and the Queen could start a revolution.

[TalesOfWar]

@Patrick5009 The Monarch has a hell of a lot of power, the Queen just chooses not to exercise it because it would likely be seen as "unfair" and "undemocratic". Morrissey got it right in "Irish Blood, English Heart".

[Patrick5009]

Very good. Real British broadcasting hero.

[Patrick5009]

Very good. Real British broadcasting hero.

[324wilson]

Fry is also a very good friend of Prince Charles. But I totally agree with Fry. I think people's ignorance is profound when it comes to politics in this country. I am a proud of our Queen. She is such a noble person. I would have her anyday instead of a politican.

Also, "reserve powers" of the Crown can also protect us from a power-crazed government.

You should check out Jeremy Paxman's "On Royalty."

[TomatoNanny]

As much as I find Fry a thoroughly brilliant man I'm gonna have to disagree here. I think his analogy of the monarchy being our 'bent nose' is somewhat trivial. The Queen takes in some £7 million each year. That's only 1p from us all but the £7m could be better spent on libraries and educational/health improvements. In an age where politicians always speak about the importance of a 'fairer society', supporting the monarchy, even in financial terms alone, seems rather contradictory.

[SohoDelights]

@TomatoNanny the crown pays back that money many times over with the revenues produced by the Crown Estate, which have been surrendered to the government by every reigning monarch since King George III in exchange for the civil list

[TalesOfWar]

@TomatoNanny A great number of parks around the country are owned by the Crown Estate, which are open to the public for free all year round barring any renovation and so on. They give it back in ways that make our lives that little bit more pleasant. £7 million is nothing. It costs around £1 million to resurface a small amount of road and add a low concrete barrier on either side. 7 million wouldn't go far.

[matais1]

The bent noise looks awesome

[ladders1]

Whilst I agree that abolishing the monarchy and house of lords would have little if any real effect on the country, I still consider the principle of the matter to be important. We should not have any form of government that is not chosen by the people.

That is to say, we should at least have the right to choose who fucks us.

[lisambofoh]

I disagree with Stephen here. I think the monarchy should be abolished. But I still think he's hilarious, and would listen to anything he said aloud.

[Casablanca1939]

Wow, he just put into words my exact feelings about the British Monarchy.

I have felt this way about the "bent nose" of England (and by proxy Canada) since I was a child. It is absurd, unjust and outdated but, so what?

[littledaz123]

It's not the importance and end result of being free, it's symbolic, just like the monarchy itself. The monarchy symbolises absolute power, dominion and rule, whereas a removal with symbolise people power. They might not cost us the earth, but surely the hundreds of millions they do cost could be better invested in children or other worthwhile investments. The monarchy is a lingering link between the past and the modern world. We no longer need a ruling family, we are civilised and advanced.

[inkstersco]

@littledaz123

"The monarchy symbolises absolute power, dominion and rule, whereas a removal with symbolise people power. "

No, it symbolises the state, nothing more, nothing less. The monarchy is democratically legitimate. No other country in the world has a democratic sovereign ; why should Britain?

The monarchy only looks absurd when one makes the churlish mistake of viewing it as an unelected version of a presidency.

[ashburnhouse]

@inkstersco Canada is another country that has a sovereign; that is, the Queen of England is also the Queen of Canada.

[unterland]

@littledaz123 And by implication, your ancestors were uncivilized and backward? I'm not British, and us such this argument really has no bearing in my life, but I will caution against disposing of one's past as if it were rubbish.

[littledaz123]

@unterland I'm not related to the Royal Family, so no my ancesteors were not uncivilized and backward. Your ancestors might have been, but certainly not mine. If you're not British, then don't comment on things that don't concern you...

[jacksawild]

It's exactly how I heard it in my head when I read it. As for the monarchy I think it's easy to forget that our sovereign and our politicians protect us from the other. Absolute rulers will become corrupt absolutely. It is a travesty that the house of lords has been reformed by political appointment; it should be a complete meritocracy so we can be sure that someone in government knows what they are doing. Politicians in our upper house is a terrifying prospect, but it is reality now.

[Babsan11]

BezoomnyBratchny, thank you!

Can anyone tell me what the title means, "Moab is my washpot"?

[BezoomnyBratchny]

@Babsan11

You're very welcome :-)

The title is taken from Psalm 108 and it's just a reference to the cleansing experience he found writing the book to be. Self-reflection of his past and all that.

[Babsan11]

@BezoomnyBratchny Thanks again! How interesting! Since I'm from Scandinavia I know nothing about british psalms. But now I know one!

Take care!

[BezoomnyBratchny]

@Babsan11

Ohh no it's not a British psalm, it's a psalm from the bible. Sorry I should have been more clear.

[Babsan11]

@BezoomnyBratchny

I am learning so much on You Tube!!! It's so cool! Thank you!

[Mullahgrrl]

@BezoomnyBratchny But the language is british, is it not?

[BezoomnyBratchny]

@Mullahgrrl

Touche.

[Mullahgrrl]

@BezoomnyBratchny It is easy to forget how large discrepancy there is between the lyrics of the same song in difrent languages.

[LatumWay]

I agree that we might not be any 'freer' without a ceremonial Monarchy, we might be 'ceremonially freer', which is, of course, not a pressing concern, but still important, at least to me.

[BezoomnyBratchny]

@LatumWay

Ohh it's important to me too. Not being noticably freer because of it is no reason not to go ahead with it. Even just on principle it should be done and it angers me that we haven't already. It's just important to stay grounded and not expect everything else to fall into place if (and hopefully when) it happens. If we expect too much, we'll find that there are many things wrong with our parliamentary system to which the monarchy was comparatively benign.

[255ad]

@BezoomnyBratchny how would getting rid of the monarchy make us any more free?

[inkstersco]

@LatumWay

Why would a monarchy not even be ceremonially free? The monarchy has nothing to do with either freedom or tyranny, not even ceremonially. One way or another, the monarchy is only definitely flawed if you make the mistake of thinking of it as government.

[255ad]

@LatumWay why is that important to you? if there would be no functional difference?

[LatumWay]

@255ad Well, I did post that a year ago, and since I have become aware of more of the monarchies powers. From that, I do think we would be 'freer' without a monarchy. Maybe only marginally, but still.

The main threat that is posed by the monarchy is the informal power of status it grants. Prince Charles has used this to get people fired, get commercial projects binned, to promote his own interests at the expense of others...

[255ad]

@LatumWay if it's informal power then it's not a fundamental problem with the principles of the current system, only one of implementation

[LatumWay]

@255ad Yes it is. Its rank from birth. Its kind of the point of monarchies.

[255ad]

@LatumWay if it's informal power, then no one has to listen to him 

[LatumWay]

@255ad Sucks how they do then, I guess.

[255ad]

@LatumWay I agree

[I4gotmyMANTRA]

You are incorrect, Mr. Fry. But you are also hilarious.

[I4gotmyMANTRA]

@I4gotmyMANTRA incorrect about you nose, that is.

[theicyridge]

Very smart, and very true.

[stopjunkscience]

He makes a good point here!

[sausagedogmcgee]

I have a similarly wonky nose and am fucking proud of it. I have a similarity with Stephen Fry, even if it's the most superficial and meaningless one imaginable.

[03Kabbotta11]

It's not meaningless ; )

[SiliconBong]

Your wonky nose is beautiful sausagedogmcgee :)

[moonmatter]

Seems like he is a Royalist

[mgore90]

@moonmatter

Seems like your an idiot

[moonmatter]

If he's not a Royalist why is his best mate prince charles. Does seem like you are a wanker, you are

[bulked]

@moonmatter you dont need to be a royalist to have a royal friend-i have a fiend who is a baker but it doesnt make me a loaf of bread

[moonmatter]

@bulked He is obviously a royalist you thick twat. You may not have a fanny but you're still a cunt.

[BillKiernan]

excellent writer.

[macolleague]

Thanks for posting this excerpt! Any chance of uploading more...? Can't ever get enough of Stephen Fry's dulce voce.