ok, i was wondering what everyone thought about the fact that England has a monarchy. do you think it is a good idea? do you think they have overstayed their welcome? any thoughts welcome. Heather
that is round about all they do, the queen has little if not no say in what goes on. she is there maily as a figure head, to bring in tourism to England. Heather
yea but she has little say in things. i mean, how rules the country, her or the Prime Minister. she visits places and schools and opens museams and stuff but makes very little contribution towards how the UK is ran. Heather
Keep things as they are. The Queen has devolved the monarchy to the stage where it is purely symbolic. All power is the hands of parliament. So I say leave things the way they are now- the ceremonial monarchy ties us to the great history of Britain, and sets us apart from most of the modern world. That said, I think the crown should skip Charles and go straight to William. Charles is a prat.
Oh jeez, give me bloody strength! We are in a democracy under the monarchy. This means that the monarchy has devolved power to government so that the people can be ruled by a common voice and not just what the aristocracy say. The Queen can very well take this power away at will as the government is set up to act in her name. Why do you think Tony Blair is so dead set on signing us over to the EU superstate? It's so all the power of rule that the Queen has can be stripped from her and instead handed over to the [President] of the Eu which he has his sights set on.
i think it's a silly waste of tons of money that could be much better used to help the country's most in need citizens... they're all so filthy rich they don't need to use taxpayers' money to maintain their obscenely privileged lifestyle, anyway... and if they can't manage their considerable assets well enough to do that, let 'em get jobs, like everybody else has to do!
The last time it was calculated that it's roughly 62pence per taxpayer to keep the royal family in house. The overall calculation is about 15 million (although that may be a miscalculation). Illegal immigrants who don't pay their way skimming off everyone, and those who are involved in blackmarket trade (people trafficking etc) and who send our money back to their relatives back home costs the taxpayers billions. Guess who I'd rather keep.
The Royal Family pay taxes, too. And I'm fairly sure that it's only the Queen who is on an allowance from the government, since she took her children off it...
Have you noticed the majority of those in here who are anti-monarchy don't actually have one where they live?
That seems to be true, actually... Ah well, they're welcome to their opinions of course. Just because I disagree doesn't necessarily mean they're wrong. Well, until I take over the world, it doesn't...
I'm not a royalist, but the royal family don't just lounge about and enjoy their wealth, they promote the UK around the world, as sort of ambassadors. The one thing I am confused about is why people interchange the word english and british , when refering to the monarchy. I'm no expert on the history of the UK, but I'm sure I was taught that Elizabeth the 1st was the last Queen of the English monarch and when she died she had no relatives, and King James the 1st of Scotland went to England and united the monarchies, in the Monarchy of Great Britain and he became King James the 5th? of Great Britain. Am I remembering this correctly?
The queen has to sign and approve of any new laws or rules that the government decide on (I think). Personally I have no opposition against the queen and I think it can be inspiring to people that meet royalty (Eg, Britain's Got Talent!)
Not exactly, but you're on the right lines... Elizabeth I was the last queen of England, when she died then King James IV of Scotland took the English throne and became King James I of England as well. The Stuart line, until Queen Anne, was therefore styled King/Queen of England and Scotland, and so on..., until 1707 when the act of Union united Scotland and England as Great Britain, whereafter the monarchs would be styled King/Queen of Great Britain, and so on... So yes, technically the last monarch of just England was Elizabeth I, and Elizabeth II currently styles herself Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth Realms (Just as a sidenote, technically she styles herself as: By the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith. But that's a little too convoluted, I think... )
did you know that the queen actually pays tax aswell as us. and she pays more tax out than she ever receives in. so technically, she is losing money each year, not gaining anything. i like the fact we have a queen, she brings us a lot of money from tourism and has a great connection the the UK's history. it is nice, i think, to keep the tradition rather than ending up like every other country. it makes us that little bit unique. Heather
well, i'm happy to hear they're not costing the taxpayer more than 2p per year... but i still think all monarchies should be abolished... the archaic practice is by no means exclusive to the british... assuming one is fit to lead a nation merely because he/she was 'born' to do it is the worst kind of elitism and unfair to all, imo... including the 'chosen' ones... at least a queen bee or queen ant produces all of the colonies' workers, and not just a few more decorative idlers, as their human counterparts do... ;-)
Now that would be interesting. If the queen produced worker drones for the country... Role on the new British empire! Economic superpower!
haha, then we would all complain about there not being enough jobs for the humans, lol. or would she get rid of us aswell?? no, seriously, i see no harm in having queen. i mean, she gives more money back than she recieives, she has no say what so ever on how the country is good, she promotes new buildings and things, is a figure head and is always assiciated with the UK, brings in a lot of money from tourism, especially to London and serves as a reminder of our histroy and how our country was run. thats a lot of good things if you ask me like. Heather
God Save the Queen! Rule Britannia! Land of hope and glory, Mother of the free! (Oooh, I feel all patriotic )
haha, i've never heard the last one before like, lol. would you fight for your country then Banzai?? or just shout for her?? lol. Heather
I'd shout first, certainly I don't know, it would depend on the specific nature of the cause, as to whether I would fight for my country.
okiee dokiee. and i think i'd rather shout than fight for my country. i'm lazy like that you see, haha Heather
