Why does the UK have royalty?

[kai]

How is our Monarchy a symbol of our culture? What is our culture? Don't people decide for themselves what their cultural practices are?

sure they do and i consider the Queen , the Union Flag, changing guards at Buckingham Palace,Trooping the colour, Beefeaters, the crown jewels , etc, etc, etc, symbols of our history and culture. and so do all the tourists , Dont you ?

 

[kai]

You haven't dumped your monarchy till they're off the tax payers' backs. All you're doing now is paying them to do even LESS than they did before.

Which might not be a bad idea, since they had the rather unpleasant habit of beheading people - for some of the darndest reasons!

"Off with her head!"

I am not sure how it balances out really the money thing, i dont know how many tourists don't want to see anything to do with royalty, its probably our unique selling point when it comes to tourism.


and i think the Queen probably works harder than any of her predecessors

 

[Aquitaine]

sure they do and i consider the Queen , the Union Flag, changing guards at Buckingham Palace,Trooping the colour, Beefeaters, the crown jewels , etc, etc, etc, symbols of our history and culture. and so do all the tourists , Dont you ?

Honestly, not really.

Modern British culture has had an ugly change anyways, now it's all crap like nightclubs & American takeaways everywhere. All people seem to do is "live for the weekend" and go out and get blind drunk whenever they can.

But besides, I guess you could say I'm not particularily active in the whole culture department - people make their own practices up anyways - who cares what some Monarch does?

 

[kai]

Honestly, not really.

Modern British culture has had an ugly change anyways, now it's all crap like nightclubs & American takeaways everywhere. All people seem to do is "live for the weekend" and go out and get blind drunk whenever they can. well i have had a go at that too:yes:

But besides, I guess you could say I'm not particularily active in the whole culture department - people make their own practices up anyways - who cares what some Monarch does?

Lots of people do! she was just at the UN?

Queen Elizabeth II addresses the United Nations

 

[Yerda]

What does the Queen do?

Nothing that justifies maintaining as disgusting an institution as the monarchy.

 

[kai]

Nothing that justifies maintaining as disgusting an institution as the monarchy.

what do you find disgusting about it?

 

[Peacewise]

queen is a good wee lass.
i think she gets to vet declarations of war too.

 

[kai]

queen is a good wee lass.
i think she gets to vet declarations of war too.

the queen doesnt vet anything her role is ceremonial and mostly symbolic.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

Nothing that justifies maintaining as disgusting an institution as the monarchy.

So what does she do????

 

[Yerda]

what do you find disgusting about it?

I'm sure you could work it out, bud.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

what do you find disgusting about it?

Speaking for myself, I find even a symbolic, figurehead monarchy to be symbolic of an idea that's very anti-democratic. Since I'm a big fan of democracy, I'm not a big fan of official symbols or messages that are in opposition to it.

 

[kai]

Speaking for myself, I find even a symbolic, figurehead monarchy to be symbolic of an idea that's very anti-democratic. Since I'm a big fan of democracy, I'm not a big fan of official symbols or messages that are in opposition to it.

how is a constitutional monarchy a symbol of anti democracy? its just the opposite in my view its like parading a toothless Tiger.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

how is a constitutional monarchy a symbol of anti democracy?

Well, what's a monarch? What does a monarch represent? How is a constitutional monarchy different from a republic?

I think the answer to your question lies in the answer to these questions.

Edit: a monarch represents hereditary, non-elected governmental power and authority. In a democracy, the power is vested in the people, not in a king or queen. Monarchy is fundamentally anti-democratic. A symbolic monarchy may only be symbolically anti-democratic, but the symbolism is still negative.

its just the opposite in my view its like parading a toothless Tiger.

Wait... so maintaining a symbolic monarchy is like putting a vanquished enemy on display? In that case, wouldn't a cage be more appropriate to house the monarch than Buckingham Palace? At the very least, I'd think that if that was the actual attitude, people would consider it inappropriate to fly Queen Elizabeth around the world as a representative of her nation.

 

[kai]

Well, what's a monarch? What does a monarch represent? How is a constitutional monarchy different from a republic?

I think the answer to your question lies in the answer to these questions.

Edit: a monarch represents hereditary, non-elected governmental power and authority. In a democracy, the power is vested in the people, not in a king or queen. Monarchy is fundamentally anti-democratic. A symbolic monarchy may only be symbolically anti-democratic, but the symbolism is still negative.
If you choose to see it that way

Wait... so maintaining a symbolic monarchy is like putting a vanquished enemy on display? In that case, wouldn't a cage be more appropriate to house the monarch than Buckingham Palace? At the very least, I'd think that if that was the actual attitude, people would consider it inappropriate to fly Queen Elizabeth around the world as a representative of her nation.

what i mean is we all know that the Queen has no Power and that she is there at our behest. well most of us anyway. and Buckingham Palace belongs to the country not the Queen. a bird in a gilded cage maybe?

 

[Octavia156]

Okay, I never really understood this. What does the Queen do? Is it tax money that makes her family unbelievably wealthy or do they work in business. Why is the Queen still around, does it seem a little ridiculous?

The royal family do mainly charity work. They don't just sit around all day, they doing 'stuff for Britain' being ambassadors, opening buildings, announcing stuff.
Its work and service.

Like all the Aristocracy they live off their estates. Charles has his organic food business. They clearly make enough from their personal investments to live totally by their own means. And they are no where near the richest people in Britain! What the tax payer pays for is the upkeep of the beautiful buildings, the ambassadorial flights etc.

We currently pay 62p tax a year each for our royal family.

 

[Octavia156]

how is a constitutional monarchy a symbol of anti democracy? its just the opposite in my view its like parading a toothless Tiger.

Yes exactly.

The only function our monarchy serve in politics is the fulfill the rites and rituals written into our constitution.

To remove them we would need to essentially re-write our constitution

 

[Octavia156]

It's kind of like an upmarket version of 'Big Brother' crossed with Coronation Street.

:troll:

LOL Do you remember the 1997 season?

 

[Smoke]

A symbolic monarchy may only be symbolically anti-democratic, but the symbolism is still negative.

You're probably right, but I still like the pageantry and tradition. But then, I'm an atheist who has Christian icons all over the house and enjoys Christmas trees and Nativity displays.

 

[Yerda]

To remove them we would need to essentially re-write our constitution

Both good ideas.

 

[kai]

Yes exactly.

The only function our monarchy serve in politics is the fulfill the rites and rituals written into our constitution.

To remove them we would need to essentially re-write our constitution

Both good ideas.

We don't have a written Constitution like the US ,Britain's constitution is historic.its made up of various parliamentary acts as well as documents like Magna carta it has evolved over the years, the product of historical development rather than deliberate design its evolving all the time.