Bound to upset some

I expect that the real figure probably lies somewhere in the middle.
I don’t know what value you can put upon a constitutional monarchy giving a sense of stability to a country?

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Bob… this is a very old news story… dated 2015

Re the Royals, costs et al…
We thrashed things out, quite thoroughly… over the more recent years… last I saw was around June 2018.

Personally, I’m very upset that you have obviously not been following the Forum threads… :pensive::cry::cry::cry::sob::sob:

:zipper_mouth_face:

Old article maybe Stella,but one that apparently has resurfaced; perhaps as a result of another potential heir to the throne.
Several comments were made after a tongue in cheek remark I made re. cat food.
My thoughts afterwards were along the lines of “how do Royalists here reconcile living in a republic, that didn’t exactly ask nicely that its monarchy stand down; & disposed of certain by violent means.”
Also Stella, I don’t follow every forum thread simply because I don’t have the time; & some are not relevant to me.

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:upside_down_face::laughing::smiley:

Neither do I Bob… :wink:

Had the Title given a clue to the content… I would have passed it by…

but, I reckon you knew that your Title would get most folk taking a peek…:wink::upside_down_face::relaxed::relaxed:

We do live in a Republic Bob but the people at the top still take the p**s, have a look at how much running the Elysee Palace costs, the money the Macron’s spend on looking their best, the money they’ve spent on doing up the presidential properties, the pensions presidents get and as an ex-president the free perks that have for the rest of their lives which for Macron and co might well be 30/40 years.

I take your point Tim, but it wasn’t the one I was making.
To live in a republic but extol the virtues of having a (frankly outdated & redundant IMO) monarchy, seems to me at least, contradictory.
Privileges given will almost certainly be abused by those to whom they are granted.

You misjudge me Stella :slight_smile:

Well, Bob, welcome to the new Club I am forming - ‘Late Arrivals’! I’m later than you as I have only just picked up on this!

Jane, not sure about this Monarchy=Stability bit. Maybe there’s some sort of emotional tie, but I remain basically uncomfortable about even in a Constitutional one (does Britain have written Constitution?) an unelected person could still ride over the wishes of the people _

oh, wait a minute…;;? A sudden thought of King Farage floated into my mind just then - I think I am going to be sick!

Hmmmm “Farage”…& you used the word “floated”

Is that because he reminds you of “that which will not flush” ?

Even Prime Minister or President Farage gives me exactly the same feeling.

I didn’t realise there is an issue with monarchists living in republics or vice versa

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No issue at all.
As I said, my first reaction was why would a republic appeal so much to a bunch of ardent royalists…if the monarchy is so important?
I suppose the real question is "What exactly does Liz do that merits so much adulation ?

I think for most people, even royalists , it’s not a major consideration when deciding where to live

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I understood the point Bob I was just suggesting that whatever ‘head of state’ system you live under you’re going to get the same cost etc, as for adulation just look across the Atlantic, millions love a man who has used the country’s tax rules to save himself a fortune whilst tens of millions have no healthcare.

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I must say I’ve never understood the argument that the UK monarchy generates income. As the article points out, estates or attractions like castles, the crown jewels, etc, would exist whether the monarchy was still there or not. I remember being dragged along to some things - the changing of the guard, etc - as a small boy - but they were parts of family days out - if we hadn’t gone there we would have gone somewhere else, and might well have spent more money anyway…
And does anybody really choose to visit a country because it has a monarchy? Doesn’t France’s top position as a tourist destination disprove that? Are there thousands of Brits at this moment thinking ‘we must holiday in Spain because it has a monarchy’ - or are they actually thinking something like ‘I’m fed up with this weather and want some guaranteed sun’?

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Just seen this:

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Most of the estates-bar those privately bought by the RF-already belong to “us” via the Crown Estates which -at the last figures I can find -put back £329.4 million into the treasury. The land technically belongs to the Crown but can not be sold. The Crown does not administer the Crown Estates and has only limited input.

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The United Kingdom doesn’t have a written constitution, although bits of the constitution are in writing.
The term “Constitutional Monarchy” is used to indicate that the monarch has no actual power but contributes in a figure-head, non-executive-type manner.