Would getting rid of the monarchy give Britain a gr

[Soothsayer]

Would getting rid of the monarchy give Britain a greater sense of national identity?

Would getting rid of the monarchy help to give Britain a greater sense of national identity? It strikes me that most countries that have a strong national identity, have gone through some sort of revolution which in many cases entailed a change of regime. France, Russia, Germany and the United States are examples. If we got rid of the monarchy, I suspect it would require a written constitution for a start. It would embody many of the virtues we consider to be British. It strikes me that we pin our identity onto things more so than many other nations - monarchs, castles, landscapes and empires with frayed edges. So long as we are subjects, can we truly form an identity separate from the institutions that are associated with monarchy, and all its attendent pretentions? Would Britain define itself more clearly if it embraced modernity in its politics, law, education and social structures, inventing (or indeed discovering) herself as she progressed? What do we think?

[cosmicB]

Eliminating the British monarchy would instantly eliminate a useless vile parasite from its ever perpetual consuming a large portion of the lives of all Brits... The monarchy should be shoved into a huge people-toilet, and flushed right out of your lives...

[GayandProud]

i lik ethe Queen. I watched her on tele the other night and shes cool. she works all day every day and sjhes 80!!! howmany 80 year olds dothat? shes a great figurehead and she is loved allover the world

[cosmicB]

When I think of "monarchy".. I see the whole family.. the brothers, and sisters, and cousins, and sons and daughters, and sly ole friends in towering positions over the commoners.. and the great expense to keep them all at the top of nothing, doing just nothing but filling their appetites for luxury... We care for them for reasons I just can't fathom... Makes me feel like I'm looking at a thousand starving "royal"-leaches in an overly crowded bowl, all nipping at each other in their insatiable quest for more More MORE... All primmed and ready to jump on the backs of each other.. biting and chewing and gnashing and scratching, whilst screaming blood-sounds...

The Queen Mum's OK, as a mum for her personal litter, just like every mum in the world, human and critter and bugs.. but I wonder how many millions of dollars my Canada country just gives her useless family just for doing and being nothing..? And how much of each common Brit's life's money's does her family suck-up annually for doing and being absolutely nothing..? How much do Harry's mega million pound birthdays cost all Brits..? when the average lower class Brit is lucky to even have a two-hundred pound birthday, if any at all... and not even a card from the monarchy...

What is the monarchy anyway..? The head of Brit religion..? Wasn't that started by ole Henry, the one who used-to murder his young wives just cuz He couldn't spawn boy babies..? Now science has proved that boy babies happen when the male's nuts are kept cool... Females happen when male's nuts are kept warm... Ole Henry had the pox, and probably kept his green-pussing oozing festering disease ridden dic and nuts always wrapped-up in bandages, too-hot, growing only female making spermies...
How do you feel about having a pox dosed, young girl killer, as the founder and head of your lovely segment of your nation's so called "Christian" religion..?

Is the monarchy closer to your god than you..?

What use is the monarchy?.. How much money does it cost to maintain a useless monarchy?..
Isn't Brit's love for the monarchy, just personal envy for carefree wealth and luxury..?

Couldn't Brits use those billions of pounds the monarchy sucks-up, on better issues, like better care for the sick and poor, new roads, free public winter heating, cheaper petrol, repair eroding shorelines, and such..?

What's a monarchy for anyway?..

What's their blood got that commoners blood hasn't..?

Do they not pee and shid too..?

Do they not bleed when they're cut..?

Do their noses and butts dribble when they catch the flu..?

Do their armpits stink when they'ave been working hard and long..?

Can they even work hard and long..?
Hell!.. Can they even work soft and short..?

Do they breath better air than we do..?

Is the water they drink, better than ours..?

Do they experience failing and failed relationships like us..?

Do they connive and cheat on each other..?

Do they suffer toothaches and stomach-aches..?

Do they fornicate like we do..? or do they fuk like the godz..?
Do they use condoms..?
Does the king ever get good head..?


What good are they for, besides just for themselves, and for wasting the Public's life-sustaining and life-maintaining resources..?

Are they not excessive, and frivolous, and just all-around wasteful and careless and useless..?

Do you not unquestionably cater to their every whimsy and fancy..? Why?..

What the bloody hell are they good for?.... and not even a card from the monarchy...

What is the monarchy anyway..? The head of Brit religion..? Wasn't that started by ole Henry, who used-to murder his young wives cuz he couldn't spawn boy babies..? Now science has proved that boy babies happen when the male's nuts are kept cool... Females happen when male's nuts are kept warm... Ole Henry had the pox, and probably kept his pussing oozing festering disease ridden dic and nuts always wrapped-up in bandages, hot, growing only female making spermies...
How do you feel about having a pox dosed young girl killer as the founder of your lovely segment of your nation's so called "Christian" religion..?

What use is the monarchy?.. How much money does it cost to maintain a useless monarchy?..
Isn't Brit's love for the monarchy, just envy for carefree wealth and luxury..?

Couldn't Brits use those billions of pounds the monarchy sucks-up, on better issues, like better care for the sick and poor, new roads, free public winter heating, cheaper petrol, repair eroding shorelines, and such..?

What's a monarchy for anyway?..

What's their blood got that commoners blood hasn't..?

Do they pee and shid too..?

Do they bleed when they're cut..?

Do their noses and butts dribble when they get the flu..?

Do their armpits stink when they'ave been working hard and long..?

Can they even work hard and long..?
Hell!.. Can they work soft and short..?

Do they breath better air than we do..?

Is the water they drink, better than ours..?

Do they experience failing and failed relationships like us..?

Do they connive and cheat on each other..?

Do they suffer toothaches and stomach-aches..?

Do they fornicate like we do..? or do they fuk like the godz..?
Do they use condoms..?
Does the king ever get good head..?

What good are they for, besides just for themselves, and for wasting the Public's life-sustaining and life-maintaining resources..?

Are they not excessive, and frivolous, and just all-around wasteful and careless..?

Do you not unquestionably cater to their every whimsy and fancy..? Why?..

What the bloody hell are they good for?..


What good are they for, besides just for themselves, and for wasting the Public's life-sustaining and life-maintaining resources..?

Are they not excessive, and frivolous, and just all-around wasteful and careless and useless..?

Do you not unquestionably cater to their every whimsy and fancy..? Why?..

What the bloody hell are they good for?.... and not even a card from the monarchy...

What is the monarchy anyway..? The head of Brit religion..? Wasn't that started by ole Henry, who used-to murder his young wives cuz he couldn't spawn boy babies..? Now science has proved that boy babies happen when the male's nuts are kept cool... Females happen when male's nuts are kept warm... Ole Henry had the pox, and probably kept his pussing oozing festering disease ridden dic and nuts always wrapped-up in bandages, hot, growing only female making spermies...
How do you feel about having a pox dosed young girl killer as the founder of your lovely segment of your nation's so called "Christian" religion..?

What use is the monarchy?.. How much money does it cost to maintain a useless monarchy?..
Isn't Brit's love for the monarchy, just envy for carefree wealth and luxury..?

Couldn't Brits use those billions of pounds the monarchy sucks-up, on better issues, like better care for the sick and poor, new roads, free public winter heating, cheaper petrol, repair eroding shorelines, and such..?

What's a monarchy for anyway?..

Why is, and was, the queen mum's face on some of my overseas country's currency and postage stamps, and why does she visit us once in a while..? She does absolutely nothing for us...

What's their blood got that commoners blood hasn't..?

Do they pee and shid and puke too..?

Do they bleed when they're cut..?

Do their noses and butts dribble when they get the flu..?

Do their armpits stink when they'ave been working hard and long..?
Can they even work hard and long..?
Hell!.. Can they even work soft and short..? Do they know how?..

Do they breath better air than we do..?

Is the water they drink, better than ours..?

Do they experience failing and failed relationships like us..?

Do they connive and cheat on each other..?

Do they suffer toothaches and stomach-aches..?

Do they fornicate like we do..? or do they fuk like the godz..?
Do they use condoms..?
Does the king ever get good head..?

What good are they for, besides just for themselves, and for wasting the Public's life-sustaining and life-maintaining resources..?

Are they not excessive, and frivolous, and just all-around wasteful and careless..?

Do they have lots of money and treasure..?
Where do they get all their money and treasure?..

Do you not unquestionably cater to their every whimsy and fancy..? Why?..

What the bloody hell are they good for?..

[GayandProud]

they are a symbol now nothing more. They have no constitutionla power they just represent britain and keep foreighn dignitaries sweet .
the queen is useful and she does a good job
those americans love the queen

[monosodium]

they are a symbol now nothing more. They have no constitutionla power they just represent britain and keep foreighn dignitaries sweet .
the queen is useful and she does a good job
those americans love the queen

Hehe - that's true - she brings in a lot of cash to the capital. I used to think they were a waste of space, but a few things changed my mind when I looked into it.

- Maintaining a president is far more expensive than for us to retain a monarch. As we'd need someone to be in charge when parliament is dissolved. In fact at one point the main royal household contributed (voluntarily I might add) more to the UK's coffers than was needed for their upkeep... Until some dopey idiots got together to change the rules so they had to pay income tax, which in the end worked out to be less than half what they voluntarily contributed.

- Having a longstanding head of state does wonders for international relations. Even as a go-between for other governments. That's something you simply cannot put a cash figure on. Yes, technically she has no real power, but like it or not the Queen (especially) is very highly respected by many world leaders and a few well placed words from her at the right time can and has prevented wars and in some cases ended decades of deadlock.

Everyone's forgetting one other thing, without the royal family we could end up like... America (which incidentally only seems to be genuinely liked by Americans). Not a nice thought.

[GayandProud]

Having a longstanding head of state does wonders for international relations. Even as a go-between for other governments. That's something you simply cannot put a cash figure on. Yes, technically she has no real power, but like it or not the Queen (especially) is very highly respected by many world leaders

good post

the Queen is an asset to Britain. Im plesased she hasnt stepped down for Charles. I think sjhes a hell of a great lady . sorry if thats unfashionable, to be honest I dont care if it is or not. I think shes fantastic and she has done notjing but good for this country

[Ady6970]

Hear Hear!

At the end of the day we need a Head of State and a Constitutional Monarch has all the advantages of not being a career politician as well as being by far the cheapest of the available alternatives. The French Presidential system costs around £100 million as against the £30 million or so spent on our Monarchy. The Queen is a consummate professional and has served our country well as a first class ambassador for British interests. Personally I would be very sorry if we were to get rid of a system which works well and has worked well for centuries. Suggestions that the Monarchy should be brought to an end remind me of 'the way people have mucked about with church services since the 1960's, alienating vast numbers of worshippers. Don't get me started on that subject though. You do realise that if the Monarchy ceased to exist the Prayer Book would have to be re-written under the direction of Parliament?

[swee]

The monarchy will never be abolished.

[Lena]

Get rid of those leeches and make them work for a living !

[Ady6970]

Lena, that comment only betrays how little you know about the Monarchy. The Queen has to read and sign papers of state, be up to speed on what's happening in the political arena, hold regular audiences with the Prime Minister, attend meetings of the Privy Council, entertain foreign dignitaries and Heads of State, undertake official overseas visits and perform hundreds of public engagements each year. No small achievement for a lady of her age and in fact a workload that many far younger people would find daunting.

All the other members of the immediate Royal Family are heavily engaged in much good work with charities as well as undertaking large numbers of public engagements, some of which they find more congenial than others. Princess Anne is undoubtedly the hardest working Royal apart from The Queen but they all work very hard indeed and are extremely good value for money.

Are you really sure you'd want to replace all of that with a President who cost three times as much, was a shameless career politician and who did probably a tenth of the work? I wouldn'!

[GayandProud]

Get rid of those leeches and make them work for a living !

Ady6970
i think she was being ironic with a bit of ruidicule and sarcasm thrown in

[cosmicB]

I think she was being honest and logical as it gets... They truly are "parasites" in the truest sense of the word...

Mankind needs to shake-off all the crude vile impotent ancient ways, release itself from the life and money suckers, reassess itself, redefine itself, and create and establish a humanity governance system which be conducive to love, dignity, caring, sharing, and honesty... We have none of that... We need to define what we are... We need to become what we can be... We need to wake-up to some honest reality, or go extinct fast, as we are...

[AussieAdam]

What do you freaking know about the Monarchy Cosmic? Its clear by the tripe you wrote you have no understanding about what the Monarchy means. The history of the English Monarchy goes back over a thousand years more than your 4th of July.

While the true line of succession can be debated the fact is that England has thrived with a Monarchy. I think if you stick your head into a book of stats rather than examine the sociological reasons why or why it should still exist you will find that the amount of money generated by the royal family far exceeds its cost.

London is one of the top travel destinations for foriegners and the top attractions are Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Westminster Abbey, The Tower of London. Outside the home counties people who visit the Isle of Wight want to go to Carisbrooke Castle - Where Charles 1st was imprisoned and Osborne House where Queen Victoria lived and died. There are so many historical attractions that are assocaited with the Bristish monarchy.

Americans in particular come to the UK armed with cameras to take photos of themselves at Royal attractions, then go back to the land of the free with their Princess Diana plates, Tower of London plaster models, Tea towels with the Royal lineage emblazoned on it, Beefeater plastic dolls, pictures of the Queen.

All manner of gifts bought simply because of the need for tourists to go back home to a country that is not steeped in Royal history with souveniers from a country that is

People flock to the Uk because of our history and the Royal family is part of that. Truth of it is people all over the world love the English Monarchy thing. They want to know about Henry Tudor, they eat up stories of Richard and the Crusades, Harold and 1066, Charles 1st and his Cavaliers along with the civil war.

They cant get enough info about Victoria, George, Mary and Queen Elizabeth 2nd - Some know little, I have been asked by more than one American if its Charles or Philip who is on the throne? But then the point is they come and spend their money because they WANT to know.

Even when Cromwell made England a republic people wanted to make him King and after a very short period of time the Monarchy was restored because English people on the whole like having a King or Queen. Its an institution and a very profitable one too. Just how much does George Bush generate for the US economy? He sure is costing it a lot !!!

You waffle on about them being parasites without having a clue what you are talking about. You seem to understand nothing about English History, heritage or the fact that many of your cities were established and developed because an English King or Queen backed an exploration and the establishment of a settlement. Where do you think the American flag takes its colours from? The red, white and blue of Britain thats where.

I would hazard a guess Cosmic that you have never set foot in England, you have no understanding of what the monarchy is to England or its people. America's national anthem sings about a flag and about the land of the free ( not bad saying you had apartied until the late 60s and the KKK is still a force )

The English anthem is one of allegence to the throne. Our monarch is of course just a figurehead, the power is with parliament but never the less the monarchy by most people in England is an institution they are proud of. America has a president - Tell me please as I ask again, just how much gross product does he generate for America?

You know jack about the UK Cosmic so this is one thread where you either need to study more to understand the reasons why the UK has and will continue to have a Royal family or confine your waffle to threads where you can profess to have some understanding.

God save the Queen

[cosmicB]

Monarchies are obsolete, just like making fire with sticks and stones is ancient history... We've got lighters, and we've got governments... The days of monarchies, tyrants, and dictators, is coming to its end... So are the days of monarchy lovers numbered...

All monarchies, all but one classic Arabic one, seized their thrones by extreme violence and killing, slaughtering all those innocents who refused to accept the new kings and their vile self-gratifying insane policies... especially in prehistoric UK.. and it's still happening in the conflicts between England and Ireland, and there seems to be still a little bit happening between England and Scotland too... And all that crap that's happening in Arabia, England is mostly responsible for.. for having terrorized Arabic nations, and seizing them in the name of the British monarchy.. then ransacking all their treasures, and sucking up their resources.. then let me go on their merry way, crushed and ramshackled messes, trying to relocate their identities, and re-establish their disseminated tribes... then the Arab wars started up...

Monarchies were OK when they were necessary, needed to organize the masses, for the many reasons the masses needed to be organized, but now they are as much needed as we need to push our ejected-turds back up into our arses... Now days, all over the world, monarchies are nothing but useless pests and mindless parasites, and you know it... You can cling to that monarchy stuff if you must... It's your freewill to cling to what ever bit of antiquity you feel the urge and need to cling to.. but to most of us, monarchies are just useless faded dead history...

Down with the king!.. Down with the king!..

Have a noice-day Adam A...