Poll: Introducing Princess Charlotte of Cambridge

[Fox12]

I spent close to 10 years living in Britain and during this time, I learned to at least understand why the British love certain things that puzzle the outside world so much (marmite, Radio Times, public rights of way, that kind of thing).

One thing I will never understand, no matter how long I spend there, is why any single person in Britain gives the slightest fraction of a fuck about anything relating to the royal family. The sense in it has always alluded me because even when I looked hard, I couldn't find a single thing that made the royal family relevant to anything meaningful. Its not the middle ages any more. And thank fuck for that.

Yeah, maybe it's because I'm American, but I'll never understand it. I've researched a little bit of English history, though, and... I understand it even less. I wrote a term paper on the War of the Roses, and the gist of it was that royalty is dicks. Queen Margaret gets ousted from her kingdom? Just get a bunch of Scottish mercenaries to rape the countryside, and pay them by allowing them to loot your own people. The king taxes everyone to death, and there's a successful rebellion/civil war? Lets just let him go, I'm sure he won't seek vengeance. I mean, there's loyalty, and then there's insanity : P

Or maybe it's just my inability to care about someone who couldn't possibly care less about me, and who probably lives off my dime.

Congratulations on the baby, though, I guess.

You mean like America, where several states don't let people hold political office if they are not Christian?

To be fair, that's a little iffy. A handful of states say that you can't be an atheist if you run for office (though they say nothing about Christianity specifically). However, it's a moot point, since that's blatantly unconstitutional, and it can't be enforced. Any attempt to actually defend that clause would get destroyed in court. It's an empty gesture, and everyone knows it. More then that, it's likely a holdover from a bygone era. Not that it's not a stupid law, of course.

There is something to be said for the likelihood of an atheist candidate actually getting elected, though. Most atheists pretend to be Christian during election. When they get caught cheating on their cancer ridden wife, they can then say they asked god for forgiveness.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Honestly I don't care for it at all. Sure it's nice that they got another child but don't make a news coverage of it 24/7!

It bother me how the news has been focusing it all hours (well from the time I was watching it) and competely droped any more development from the Nepal earthquake and the rioting in Baltimore!

In saying so I should probably stop watching the BBC news.

 

[Korolev]

Well, good for them. I'm always happy to hear when a birth goes well. I've seen some that have not gone so well, and while I don't care about the royal family, I do not hate them either, so I wish them no ill and I am moderately pleased to hear that the child was delivered successfully. Then again, I am happy to hear when anyone's child is delivered successfully.

 

[Gizmo1990]

I spent close to 10 years living in Britain and during this time, I learned to at least understand why the British love certain things that puzzle the outside world so much (marmite, Radio Times, public rights of way, that kind of thing).

One thing I will never understand, no matter how long I spend there, is why any single person in Britain gives the slightest fraction of a fuck about anything relating to the royal family. The sense in it has always alluded me because even when I looked hard, I couldn't find a single thing that made the royal family relevant to anything meaningful. Its not the middle ages any more. And thank fuck for that.

Far more of us than you think simply don't give a fuck it's just the people who do are REALLY enthusiastic about them. I have a friend who works at the BBC. When the royal wedding was going on the BBC went out and interviewed random people on the street and from what she told me the number 1 answer was basicly 'I don't care I got my own shit going on'.

OT:
You can include me for the Don't give a fuck option. I have student lones, reduced hours at work and family stuff to worry about, why the hell would I care that two people I have never met had another baby?

 

[Lightspeaker]

Perhaps it's just because I'm a ragamuffin of a yankee, but I think it's really cool that they still have the traditional posts and people involved with the royal family, like the town crier.

Like, it's 2015, and what he's wearing is the REAL livery of the town crier, not some costume or reproduction. And he's carrying out a REAL duty assigned to him by a REAL royal "court." That is cool to me. Though I would like to know what papers he's got in that random laminated pouch hanging around his neck. And I was hoping for a girl, though perhaps I'm a bit biased in that regard.

No he's unofficial [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-32562117].

He's just some dude in a costume that turned up.

Oh poo. That's disappointing. Oh well, thanks for telling me anyway, lol.

That being said there ARE a bunch of ceremonial roles and things that still go on. A lot of them related to Parliament.

Anyway, on topic: well I'm quite glad about it. For all that people throw tantrums about the Royal Family I quite like having them around. They're good for tourism and bring in more money than they cost. And a new baby is guaranteed to boost that.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Besides them being a tangible link to our past, I have nothing but pride in most of them; tell me a single Brit who doesn't know of Henry VIII and his insanity?

Was he actually insane though?

During World War 2, it is Queen Elizabeth II who provided a point of unity for the British.

You mean her as a princess, or you have the wrong monarch there?

 

[Silverbane7]

you guys forget, there is one simple reason why everyone in the media in the uk are focusing on the baby.

its GoodNews? (a successfull birth) and its not the bloody elections XD
its the one piece of flotsom they can cling to, in the face of the swirling ocean of the politics and election stuff.
they will cling to it like mad and even step on eachother to do so.
maybe they will get lucky and between now and thursday something will happen thats also GoodNews? and they can use lol.

 

[Dango]

Dear Britain, I am so sorry you don't have anything better to care about.

Sincerely, an American.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

I'm pretty indifferent. I mean, the Royal Family is pretty far away from my thoughts at any given time here in Canada. <.<

 

[Recusant]

Besides them being a tangible link to our past, I have nothing but pride in most of them; tell me a single Brit who doesn't know of Henry VIII and his insanity? Queen Victoria was said to be extremely fair to many of her subjects, despite (and look at the French and Spanish colonies) not needing to.

Well, I don't recall hearing the Irish complain about her, but that may have been because those words were drowned out by the endless screams of hunger as a million people starved to death in a country that was still exporting thousands of shiploads worth of food. And guess who was sitting on the throne and decided against imposing an export ban? Victoria is an odd choice for pride, unless it's about efficiency in killing.

Finally, it's a part of our living history; the longest line of monarchs in the world.

And I can see how that would be impressive, but it's not actually true. "The world" also includes Japan, which has you beaten by better than fifteen hundred years- and that's just what can reasonably be proven.

You mean like America, where several states don't let people hold political office if they are not Christian?

You're mistaken here; no US state has such laws. There are (by my admittedly non-exhaustive count) eight states that have laws on the books banning atheists from holding office, but such laws are unenforceable- not only practically, but legally; they violate the US constitution. There's no shortage of stupid, even bigoted, laws on the books here; getting one overturned almost always requires a lawsuit expensive in both money and time.
I assume it's for similar reasons that your country has such laws on the books, like the one that makes putting certain stamps on letters upside-down an act of treason, or the one that lets you shoot Scotsman with a longbow, as long as it's on Sunday.

I don't mean to be bashing UK civic pride here, just pointing out that there are good reasons why the rest of us don't understand your clinging to this... peculiar institution.

 

[Tiger King]

Dear Britain, I am so sorry you don't have anything better to care about.

Sincerely, an American.

Don't worry friend, i'm sure fox news and the other American media will be ramming this shit down our throats asap!

I just remembered this from the last birth the royals had
sorry in advance, dunno how to post pics....

http://24.media.tumblr.com/20a61b27c0c2ae26302aad42e52c8534/tumblr_mqe6nsHWeU1ryeto5o1_1280.png

 

[Spacewolf]

Dear Britain, I am so sorry you don't have anything better to care about.

Sincerely, an American.

To be honest the American media usually goes even more over the top on their covering of this sort of thing than the British media.

 

[Silvanus]

Frankly, I like our royal family.

Besides them being a tangible link to our past, I have nothing but pride in most of them; tell me a single Brit who doesn't know of Henry VIII and his insanity? Queen Victoria was said to be extremely fair to many of her subjects, despite (and look at the French and Spanish colonies) not needing to. During World War 2, it is Queen Elizabeth II who provided a point of unity for the British.

If we're going into Royal history, though, there as as many (or more) black marks on that record as there are examples of good rulers.

It's a single point that every British person has in common; like them or not, she is our Queen. Which means when all is said and done, the other Brits are my comrades and brothers.

<3

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I remember when their son was born someone showed me this [http://i.imgur.com/675x4Fb.png], which I found slightly bemusing, especially the ones implying that she'd 'let feminism down' by having a male child, as if she had some way of controlling the baby's sex, and chose to have a boy. So when I heard she was pregnant again, I found myself hoping it'd be a girl, just out of morbid curiosity to see if the same reaction would take place.

That is one depressing .png, let me tell you. Completely missed out on it the first time.

 

[Poetic Nova]

Well, tbh, I don't give a damn. Not for dutch royalty, and not for the British royalty either.

Frankly, the whole thing can be summed up with a single image:

Spoiler

 

[Poetic Nova]

sorry in advance, dunno how to post pics....

[ img ] -link to image here- [/img ]
Without spaces.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

Bahahaha! Yeah, most of us brits couldn't care less about the royal family. Well done for them. Not only are they born into the highest privilege, but they have now just achieved what millions of humans keep achieving at a consistantly growing rate. Somebody pop the fcking champagne! Time for a party! As Bill Hicks would say; billions of fckin miracles every fckin day. (Paraphrased probably)

Although, props to them for limiting to just one protein mound and not 5 or 6 like some housing estate families here.

Anyway, it seems to be mostly tourists, old people and the BBC that obsess over the royal family. They just wander around different countries, shaking hands with all the humans they can. Very inspirational stuff. Otherwise, just another distraction from the more important news like the imminent rise of the fecal matter faeries around the world.

 

[ForumSafari]

One thing I will never understand, no matter how long I spend there, is why any single person in Britain gives the slightest fraction of a fuck about anything relating to the royal family.

Mostly tradition, the same reason yanks care about the Constitution despite it being worth absolutely nothing. It's a mixture of romantic tradition, a soap opera and, honestly, an excuse for a gossip and maybe a half day.

 

[Lightspeaker]

One thing I will never understand, no matter how long I spend there, is why any single person in Britain gives the slightest fraction of a fuck about anything relating to the royal family.

Mostly tradition, the same reason yanks care about the Constitution despite it being worth absolutely nothing. It's a mixture of romantic tradition, a soap opera and, honestly, an excuse for a gossip and maybe a half day.

Also the Duke of Edinburgh is literally one of the funniest people ever. He literally does not seem to care about what he says to anyone at all. Its just glorious.

 

[Jack Action]

I remember when their son was born someone showed me this [http://i.imgur.com/675x4Fb.png], which I found slightly bemusing, especially the ones implying that she'd 'let feminism down' by having a male child, as if she had some way of controlling the baby's sex, and chose to have a boy. So when I heard she was pregnant again, I found myself hoping it'd be a girl, just out of morbid curiosity to see if the same reaction would take place.

That is one depressing .png, let me tell you. Completely missed out on it the first time.

It was funny, half of Twitter (and 90% of the feminist blogs) reacted as if the Duchess pulled a Lady Jessica on them just to fuck with their plans. There were also a fair few who expressed strong hopes that the prince would be gender non-conforming, gay, trans, etc etc.