Royal Family/Monarchy

[Red]

[B]I know there has already been a post about this (The Queen Mothers death) but I would like to take in everyones views on the British royal family or monarchies in general.

The British royal family (Windsors) are worth 1.5 billion pounds. And own buckingham palace as well as other properties all over Britain and other parts of the world. Tax Payer money is used to keep this properties in pristine condition. Tax Payer money is used to keep the Queen and her family guarded and the gardeners in her garden actually also cost quite a bit to the tax payer.

The Queen Mother recently died. Yes, it is a bad thing, someone died who is quite "famous", but the Royal Family has barely any [U]real[/U] power. If the queen was to graze her finger, it would be all over the news. She is about to have her Golden Jubilee. In which she is expecting to have streets shut down so parties can take place.

I think this is insane. Why should we have to pay the Royal Family to keep their garden in order? She has no real power. And if one of our elder members of family was to hurt themselves, it wouldn't be on worldwide news. In England the newspapers will put the Queen on the front page after she hurt herself and a massacre on the third.[/B]

[Sui Generis]

I am not saying I agree with it but you could think of it this way...Of course on a less expiensive scale....In America we tax payers spend a couple million dollars a year just to make sure the Statue of Libert is in good condition....and what does this statue do for us nothing really...it provides hope....They want the royal family to be a public symbol of hope (and tragedy) to keep everyone rallied behind their country...and having a family that is completely civil and has a bunch of money just has something for the people to work for I guess...*shrugs* It sounded better in my head...

[velvet paws]

Well I already said my view on this subject...it's a load of f**king b****x! We don't need them at all! The Queen doesn't even pass laws! If the priminister and all his little lackies wanted a new law to be passed and she didn't like it..though s**t on her! She could reject it several times and in the end they'd still over rule her..because they can! Because she is a figure head with no power of her own!

The rest was in my post so I'm not going to repeat myself...

[Sephiroth]

I think the fact that we still have a royal family is stupid, no one is my king, and no one is my queen, I am my own individual....

[James]

[color=royalblue]I have mixed feelings about the Monarchy.

I live in Australia and we are technically a part of the Commonwealth of Nations, meaning...Queen Elizabeth II is our Queen the same as for every Commonwealth country.

I am definitely a supporter of Australia becoming a Republic. Maybe one hundred years ago we needed to cling to Britain because we were a fledgling nation...but now we are among the top five fast-growth developed economies on Earth...we have a formidable defence force...and we have positive relations with most of our neighbours across Asia.

So I don't think that there is any [i]need[/i] to have a Monarchy kind of "overruling" us...even though the Monarchy (as has been said), has no [i]real[/i] power.

But another side of me likes the idea of having a King and Queen...I guess it's more a sentimenal thing.

I am happy to have a Queen if she has no political power...OR if she is a democratically elected Queen (the latter being if she DID have political power).

Britain has thousands of years of heritage and tradition -- and over time, the Royal Family has played less and less of a role. These days, the Royals are pretty irrelevant when it comes to political matters. And for the most part, they are simply involved in ceremonial duties (like when the Queen opens Parliament).

And I personally like those traditions...those ceremonial events which mark a nation's history. I think that they are nice things to have.

So as I said, I'm mixed about it.

If the Queen has no power (which she doesn't)...then I see no problem having her there for ceremonial and historical reasons. And even though Buckingham Palace and whatnot are owned by the Royals...they are also valuable historic landmarks.

And therefore, I think that it is fair for those landmarks to use public money for upkeep...the same as the Statue of Liberty or the Sydney Harbour Bridge would use public funds to remain in order.

And also, as I said...I wouldn't be in favour of the Queen having any real power, unless she were elected.

So I guess I think it's appropriate for Britain to keep it's Queen (it'd be kinda sad if Britain gave up its Royal links)...but for Australia, I prefer the idea of a republic. I would rather have a national President who is our head of state, than a Queen from another country.[/color]

[Spikey]

Just like Sephiroth. Why do people need rulers? I aks myself everyday that question. But I never seem to find the answer. I know that Presidents tell you what to do, but without them the world would go mad...But in the UK, why can't they have it the same? I never doubt the 10 vommaments, and the laws...But why do we have to have a ruler.

[Break]

[SIZE=1]I really don't know how to express my dislike to England and the Royal Family... I strongly dislike them... they make no governmental choices, the pass no laws, the do nothing, so what if the queen drove a tank down a road once (To promote the victory of WWII) Who cares?!

Bah -__-;;;[/SIZE]

[James]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Spikey [/i]
[B]Just like Sephiroth. Why do people need rulers? I aks myself everyday that question. But I never seem to find the answer. I know that Presidents tell you what to do, but without them the world would go mad...But in the UK, why can't they have it the same? I never doubt the 10 vommaments, and the laws...But why do we have to have a ruler. [/B][/QUOTE]

[color=royalblue]Well once again, it depends how you view the term "ruler".

The Monarchy is really only the ruling power in name only -- it doesn't have [i]any[/i] real power.[/color]

[Lady Macaiodh]

probably gonna get flamed for this, but i think having a king & queen would be kind of cool.

i mean, it would suck if they were all "off with their heads!" every five minutes, but the british monarchy doesn't even have any authority. as long as the people get to choose who their rulers are (& i have no idea how they do it in the UK, i'm speaking of the US here) i really don't see the harm in it.

it's just a tradition, part of history.

or maybe i'm still harboring some fantasies of being a princess. ;)

[James]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Lady Macaiodh [/i]
[B]probably gonna get flamed for this, but i think having a king & queen would be kind of cool.

i mean, it would suck if they were all "off with their heads!" every five minutes, but the british monarchy doesn't even have any authority. as long as the people get to choose who their rulers are (& i have no idea how they do it in the UK, i'm speaking of the US here) i really don't see the harm in it.

it's just a tradition, part of history.

or maybe i'm still harboring some fantasies of being a princess. ;) [/B][/QUOTE]

[color=royalblue]Well, the British Royal Family don't even rule the country.

the British Government has an elected Prime Minister...so it's still a democratic nation.[/color]

[velvet paws]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Lady Macaiodh [/i]
[B]as long as the people get to choose who their rulers are (& i have no idea how they do it in the UK, i'm speaking of the US here) i really don't see the harm in it.[/B][/QUOTE]

Basically we have:

King/Queen : Royalty by blood only. They are not chosen by anyone, they are merely there because there ancestors (sp?) ruled us for many years. They are born into their position and have no power of their own they are merely figure heads.

Government : This is a group of people (demicrats or whatever) that are chosen by the british public every 4 years or so. There are 3 main 'parties' that run for the role of government and prime minister (main man and figure head of the government eg. we have Tony Blair right now) each time, although there are always sub groups that never really stand a chance. It is the government and the prime minister that decide over all what happens to the country and they can over rule the King/Queen.

MP : This is a member of parliment. Each area (city etc) in Britain gets to vote for there own reprisentitive. These MP's meet up with members of the government to help discuss how things are run and what needs doing.

I'm not really that good with politics but this is how I see things running here. Maybe it helped....? :huh: