Poll: Do you like the British Royal Family?

[Korolev]

I'm half British and I'm completely ambivalent towards them since they don't do anything. I'm aware that they still have some measure of power, but I can guarantee that if the royal family ever attempted to use that power, they'd find themselves swiftly and utterly ignored. The Princes and Princesses get the courtesy treatment because they generally keep to themselves. Should one ever try to boss around the PM or start lopping heads off, you'll find that courtesy disappear very, VERY fast. They know this - the British people tolerate them only if they behave.

 

[Mersadeon]

I don't care for them, although I am against the idea of them getting money from the state. I know, I know, they bring the tourists in, so they probably bring more money into the country than they get, but it's about the principle of the thing for me. I think it goes against the principles of equality that one particular family can simply expect a much larger sum of money from the state than any other.

Edit: Oh, and by the way. By the goddamn way. All those people making posts on every damn site saying "Well I don't CARE about their baby, who gives a shit, right?": You piss me off. I've heard more about the royal family through those posts then I would have through normal media. If you don't care, then how about you don't flood every site with how much you don't care.

 

[MorphingDragon]

[snip]
Do you even know how the Monarchy works in modern UK?

Even though they have very little in the way of official powers, as that video (accurately) states, they still have influence. Why should they be treated any differently to other citizens? Equality is supposed to be an ideal to which this country aspires. Bleh, forget I said anything, this guy said pretty much everything I wanted to, but did so more concisely since he didn't get carried away like I did:

Unnecessary and at this point are nothing but celebrities. It's stupid how highly we value these people for nothing, seriously. We worship them for being born into a life of privilege.
British and no.

Well put sir.

[snip]
I can't speak for Great Britain, but here in Australia, the Crown's power to jump start a Royal Commission has been a godsend in fighting corruption and bureaucratic complacency. That and the Queen's veiled threats of dissolving parliament and sacking the PM; are very own 'Sword of Damocles' if you will, has proven instrumental in fighting corruption and preventing it from seeping into parliament in full form.

That and the idea that we could have a 'president' Gillard or similar character in the future with no higher executive power to answer to scares the shit out of me.

So if anything, I think highly of the monarchy. Not in the celebrity fashion, but rather as an institution of safeguarding the welfare of the populi.

But what gives the Queen (of England) the right to decide what's best for a supposedly democratic nation? If you have issues with corruption etc. then you need to excise it - not rely on an autocratic outside agency to save you. Depending on the Queen to do this might achieve the right end, but it's a poor means. Better to repair the system if it is truly broken.


Unrelated to last subject, to those who are so ready to applaud the "true cost of the royal family" video, it might be worth watching this:

So your issue is basically Boohoo life isn't fair?

No shit.

Yes fuck the poor people because lol life isn't fair. In fact that is what we should have said to the slaves of America or Jewish Germans circa 1940's.

Not a valid comparison. You still have complete agency over the actions of your own life. You are in no way slaves to the royal family.

 

[WhitbyDragon]

I'm British and voted yes, but honestly more of a "Meh". I like the idea of them, but between the wedding and the baby I'm getting a tad fed up with it all. I am quite a grumpy person though

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

I am proud to support the Royals, I think they're a benefit to this country and an integral part of the nation's heritage. I don't particularly care about the media circus surrounding them, but I think Great Britain would be diminished without a Royal family.

 

[wolfyrik]

Define 'like'. I don't have anything against them as people (in fact I actually quite like William and Harry) but the institution of the Royal Family is something I have a fundamental disagreement with. And before any Royalists decide to try and put me in my place and tell me why I'm wrong then just save your breath. I've heard it all before.

I also find the way people fawn over them over every little thing pathetic and embarrassing. Alistair Stewart from ITV News described William & Kate leaving the hospital 'one of the most remarkable moments I've seen in my forty years of journalism' or words to that effect. That is beyond ridiculous, all they did was walk out of a hospital with their baby, something plenty of couples do in this country every day. I don't care if he's third in line to the throne, there's nothing remarkable about it.

And quick question to people outside the Commonwealth with monarchies? Do the people in your country get this worked up over the Royal Family anywhere as much as we do? I feel we're alone in this but I could be wrong.

Exactly this. All this fawning is absolutely sickening. It's been all over the news since yesterday and barely a relevelant bit of world news is getting past it. They're just people who happened to come out from between the legs of someone who just happened to come from between the legs of someone who was rich. As Thomas Paine so rightly put it "hereditory rulers make as much sense as an hereditory mathematician".

Retake all their land, strip their ill-gotten wealth, leave them with only the money they've actually earned on their own terms and then leave them the hell alone. They've neither earned nor deserved their positions and there's a lot of far better people, far more suited to being figureheads for the UK. Down with the monarchy, down with the greedy self-serving tories and down the trecherous etonian labour/lib dem politicians.

Not that I'm socialist or anything.....

 

[wolfyrik]

I'm half British and I'm completely ambivalent towards them since they don't do anything. I'm aware that they still have some measure of power, but I can guarantee that if the royal family ever attempted to use that power, they'd find themselves swiftly and utterly ignored. The Princes and Princesses get the courtesy treatment because they generally keep to themselves. Should one ever try to boss around the PM or start lopping heads off, you'll find that courtesy disappear very, VERY fast. They know this - the British people tolerate them only if they behave.

Edward the viii, is a good example. That guy wanted to help the poor and marry a woman he loved. Edward was outspoken on the rights of the masses and he was kicked out by the politicians for his trouble.
The result; the weak willed, pointless, useless shower that now inhabits the throne and enthralls inbred idiots across the nation. They're not something to be proud, they are something to be ashamed of and embarrassed by.
Edward VIII was a royal to be proud of.
Princess Diana was very nearly a royal to be proud of.
They're both gone. Lost to us before they could begin making the monarchy worth a crap.

Until any of them show the balls to either stand up and abdicate, abandon their royalty or start speaking out against the government, they're totally worthless.

 

[odolwa99]

I think the term you're looking for is "from the UK" and not "British". Or do you mean Anglo-Saxon? Did you actually mean "British" as in someone from the British Isles which includes The Republic of Ireland?

Look, I realize that many folk consider the term 'British Isles' as correct when referring to the islands of Britain & Ireland but there are, unsurprisingly, many people in Ireland who take exception to that term. My father is a citizen of Northern Ireland and has lived through 'the troubles', as it's referred to, but thinks of himself as Irish. This is a term which still carries a lot of weight and, quite frankly, there are still parts of Ireland where you'd be taking your life into your own hands if you referred to it as such, publicly.

Just giving you another angle on things. That said, I've got nothing against the royals and I have genuine respect for the Queen coming to Ireland and doing her bit to improve relations between our countries. So hats off to her.

 

[TrulyBritish]

Well let's see. They're an ultimately harmless family led by a grandma at the moment that bring a net-profit from tourism and lands with no real political power to really speak of. I see very little they actually do that would annoy me. Add on to this they do a fair bit for charities and that makes me like them slightly more. So yes, I guess I "like" the Royal family, although it makes very little difference to me if they stay or not.
What annoys me a lot more is people talking about the royal family. First we have the damned media spewing largely trivial nonsense non-stop at us at the merest mention of royalty (I mean seriously, do we need 24 hour coverage of a baby being born? Somebody call me when the child actually takes the throne and leave me alone 'till then), but then the media annoys me with just about everything. Then we have those (thankfully few) idiots that seem to downright worship the royals and praise the ground they walk on as well as people who seem to actually think the UK is ruled by these people and we don't have democracy or that they're just tax avoiding free loaders.
So in conclusion, people annoy me. A lot.
I honestly don't understand peoples dislike for the monarchy when we have a perfectly good Prime Minister and Government doing enough to dislike them.

 

[CriticalMiss]

I really couldn't give a damn about them, I don't hate them per se but I'm not going to go about waving flags and pledging allegiance to Liz. One reason I'll never serve in the armed forces other than being a weak little girly girl. I think the fuzz have to big up the queen too, so I'm not going to be tasering crims any time soon.

It would be way cheaper if we replaced them with carboard cutouts that wave and place them in the windows of Buckingham Palace. Tourists wouldn't know any better and it will save us a shit load of tax money.

 

[wolfyrik]

I think the term you're looking for is "from the UK" and not "British". Or do you mean Anglo-Saxon? Did you actually mean "British" as in someone from the British Isles which includes The Republic of Ireland?

Look, I realize that many folk consider the term 'British Isles' as correct when referring to the islands of Britain & Ireland but there are, unsurprisingly, many people in Ireland who take exception to that term. My father is a citizen of Northern Ireland and has lived through 'the troubles', as it's referred to, but thinks of himself as Irish. This is a term which still carries a lot of weight and, quite frankly, there are still parts of Ireland where you'd be taking your life into your own hands if you referred to it as such, publicly.

Just giving you another angle on things. That said, I've got nothing against the royals and I have genuine respect for the Queen coming to Ireland and doing her bit to improve relations between our countries. So hats off to her.

Yeah but exactly what did she do to improve relations? Wave her hands at a few passers by, give some hollow gestures that aren't backed up by any kind of political power, give a few apologies cos we kinda cocked things up. Hell I could do that, only I'd actually be sincere. Frankly we could probably achieve the same end result by sending in Stephen Fry or Bill Bailey. At least they might lighten the mood and give people a larf.

 

[irok]

Only 31% like them? yes , yes feel that sweet vindication, getting sick of all the new about them and everyone around me seems to be interested.

 

[wizzy555]

I am British and indifferent.

If I were designing a country I would not have a royal family. But I don't see the point in getting rid of them.

 

[odolwa99]

Yeah but exactly what did she do to improve relations? Wave her hands at a few passers by, give some hollow gestures that aren't backed up by any kind of political power, give a few apologies cos we kinda cocked things up. Hell I could do that, only I'd actually be sincere. Frankly we could probably achieve the same end result by sending in Stephen Fry or Bill Bailey. At least they might lighten the mood and give people a larf.

Fair point, but considering the various attempts on the life of members of the royal family by the IRA, particularly that of Lord Mountbatten, the Queen's 2nd cousin, it had implications both for her, and us.

Also, Stephen and Bill are pretty awesome, yes.

 

[MasterOfHisOwnDomain]

British and I voted Yes. I think of the Royal Family rather as I do an old church. It doesn't do any harm to anyone, and while I disagree with the principles behind it, it's historical and brings in tourists. If anyone harps on about costs, I usually remind them that this country spends a far far more ludicrous amount on bombs to blow people up, or nuclear missiles for some hypothetical war.

 

[original_funk]

Non-British but since I'm Australian, she's my queen too.

I have nothing against them and they seem nice. But I wish we could be a truly independent republic. Why should we have a monarch who lives on the other side of the world?

 

[Abomination]

I think the term you're looking for is "from the UK" and not "British". Or do you mean Anglo-Saxon? Did you actually mean "British" as in someone from the British Isles which includes The Republic of Ireland?

Look, I realize that many folk consider the term 'British Isles' as correct when referring to the islands of Britain & Ireland but there are, unsurprisingly, many people in Ireland who take exception to that term. My father is a citizen of Northern Ireland and has lived through 'the troubles', as it's referred to, but thinks of himself as Irish. This is a term which still carries a lot of weight and, quite frankly, there are still parts of Ireland where you'd be taking your life into your own hands if you referred to it as such, publicly.

Just giving you another angle on things. That said, I've got nothing against the royals and I have genuine respect for the Queen coming to Ireland and doing her bit to improve relations between our countries. So hats off to her.

Hold up, I wasn't the one claiming a person is one or the other. I was asking what the OP meant and the various interpretations the word "British" can have.

It is geographic, geopolitical, cultural, or imperial. Each version is right and each version is wrong. A citizen of the Republic of Ireland could be British, not-British, British and not-British respectively or any combination of those... apart from the geographic one because they ARE collectively known as the "British Isles" and it would be as accurate as calling an Indian, a Russian, a Chinaman, a Thai and a Korean "Asian".

The fact that someone might be offended and visit violence upon me doesn't change that in the least.

 

[Biggyzoom]

I'm British and I'm simply not interested or caring about the Royal Family. Prince William had a baby? That's nice but that's as far I'll go on the matter. It really confuses me how much the rest of the world cares.

 

[odolwa99]

It is geographic, geopolitical, cultural, or imperial. Each version is right and each version is wrong. A citizen of the Republic of Ireland could be British, not-British, British and not-British respectively or any combination of those... apart from the geographic one because they ARE collectively known as the "British Isles" and it would be as accurate as calling an Indian, a Russian, a Chinaman, a Thai and a Korean "Asian".

The fact that someone might be offended and visit violence upon me doesn't change that in the least.

I understand what you're saying, and I'm not endorsing violence in any form (I get nauseous when I see someone bleeding, for god's sake), the reason for my post was to simply give another perspective. I have an English granny, a Northern Irish father and my grandfather, though not a member of the IRA, knew people who claimed to be. The world is made binary by people in power but things are rarely so simple. That was the point I was making.

 

[conmag9]

Not British, but I AM Canadian, so there's the tie of constitutional monarchy technically still in place (if pretty toothless). Personally, I don't have any strong feelings for or against them. I think this whole Royal Baby thing is perplexing behavior on the part of many people, but I suppose it's a sort of celebrity thing (something, again, I've never understood). I suppose I have a very mild like for the Queen herself, but I don't support or oppose the actual position she occupies. The rest I don't pay any attention to at all, the point where I have a hard time remembering their names.