Royal Wedding

[demotivater]

So, what do you Brits think about your Prince and his bride (the current one)?

It gets a lot of "entertainment" type coverage here in the U.S., but it was certainly nothing like Charles and Diana. I was on vacation in Michigan for that one, and I remember my mom and her friends getting up early to watch that one at like 5 am. This one certainly didn't have the play the first one did, and I understand why not. But it seems the whole Royal thing isn't what it used to be.

So what do you Brit's think about it, or the Royals in general?

[BIOSTALL]

I live in UK and i think the royal family is a bloody waste of time. They do nothing for this country, yet have countless money and get what ever they want, there lives are perfect. There are millions of starving and homeless people in this world, if the royals wernt too greedy, they could save millions of lives, just by giving a small percentage of their money. They make me sick.

BIOSTALL

[yrwyddfa]

Not much either way,really.

They do good work, and they bring in income (worth £Billions) of tourism to the place.

They are unelected, and the Queen underwrites each and every Act of Parliament but that really just the same as changing the guard these days.

The last monarch to say 'No' to an Act by a representative parliament got his head lopped off. So I imagine it's unlikely to happen again.

They don't harm anyone, they pay taxes, do huge amounts of work for charity and improve the image(I suppose) of the British nation. They also give the tabloids lots to write about - I mean lie about.

[yrwyddfa]

I live in UK and i think the royal family is a bloody waste of time. They do nothing for this country, yet have countless money and get what ever they want, there lives are perfect. There are millions of starving and homeless people in this world, if the royals wernt too greedy, they could save millions of lives, just by giving a small percentage of their money. They make me sick.

BIOSTALL

There are far richer people in the world than the British royal family. Mr Gates is one of hundreds . . .

[BIOSTALL]

But the original post didnt say: 'What do you of Bill Gates?' did it?!? I was giving my opinion on the royals

[yrwyddfa]

Indeed you were. And your reasoning, it appeared to me, was that they do nothing, and have too much money.

You suggest that with such money they could significantly reduce poverty.This was your point of debuncture.

I was pointing out that there are many many more people who could do the same. To isolate a set of individuals in such a manner, to me, seems a little unfair.

I'm sure you won't object to me saying that it appears that you paint all people with £n's with the same brush.

[yrwyddfa]

The Civil List dates back to the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, but the current system was created on the accession of George III in 1760, when it was decided that the whole cost of civil government should be provided by Parliament in return for the surrender of the hereditary revenues (principally the net surplus of the Crown Estate) by the king for the duration of the reign. In the financial year 2003-04 the revenue surplus from the Crown Estate paid to the Treasury amounted to £176.9 million.

The Grant-in-aid for the year to 31 March 2004 was £5.9 million (£5.4 million in 2002-03). Actual expenditure during the year was £4.7 million (£4.2m in 2002-03). This represents a reduction of 76% in absolute terms and 79% in real terms during the seven years since the Royal Household assumed responsibility for Royal travel expenditure.

The Grant-in-aid voted by Parliament for 1990-91 (before the Royal Household assumed responsibility) was £25.7 million; it was reduced to £15.3 million in 2003-04.

The annual amount of the Civil List for the next 10 years for the period up to December 2010 remained fixed at £7.9 million.

http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page361.asp

At the very least they draw a profit.

[Valleysboy1978]

I think they would do well to remember how privileged they are. For some bizarre reason they believe it is their right, which is why so many, including myself, hate them so much.

I would rather give the £15m to other worthy causes than a family of pompous aristocrats who belong to history and not the future