Watched a reportage on TF1 evening news last night. All about the House of Windsor and their health issues. The people of the Sceptred Isle were portrayed as 100% devastated by recent events. Can any of our UK residents confirm that this is a true reflection of the reaction of the overwhelming majority of the British people?
Definitely not, thereâs the usual sympathy towards anyone with cancer and disgust at Kateâs treatment by the media etc but beyond that most people are not that interested in the Royal Family.
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My sisters said they are sick to the teeth of hearing about it over there and both said its a private thing and should not be plastered all over TV and the press continously. I have always had the impression that most brits donât give the royal family much thought until there is a big celebration like a marriage,death,new monarch, jubilee stuff and so on so they can have a day off and watch.
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I was in the National Portrait Gallery yesterday, and it seemed only non-british were stopping to look at the new paintings of the royals and discussing the news. The British were down the other end of gallery looking at Ed Sheeran and Michael Eavis.
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Because that who is relevant to their lives today.
Iâd say itâs not very British to be particularly interested in them (unless youâre an obsessive, or an anti-Monarchist). For most people, theyâre just there in the background, like the fact of oneâs being British.
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Their names are not on the lips of anyone I work with - the fuss is in the meeja and not the population as a whole.
Yes, watched that Gus. What annoyed me (as usual) is the constant reference to âLes Anglaisâ and not âles Britanniquesâ.
Rant over.
If youâre a news broadcaster, and you need a story, and you go out into the street with a camera and interviewer, you will interview people who give you what you want. In this case,you will talk to and broadcast people who gush about the Royals, because that is your remit.
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I think most people in the UK see the Royals as part of the furniture - yes we come out and wave flags when there is a big event like a marriage or the Coronation, but the rest of the time donât give them much thought, unless they are opening something in our town. 
They are a part of our heritage and represent the nation, so I think most Brits would miss them if the Monarchy was abolished - and having a President (whether an elected executive like in the US and France, or just a ceremonial Head of State) would seem a step down. Especially if it was someone like Boris Johnson or (heaven forfend!) Nadine Dorries!
They do act as a catalyst as well for charities and other good causes. I remember when Covid was on, our local wedding and event businesses got together to provide lunches for NHS staff - Sophie Wessex (as she was then, now the Duchess of Edinburgh) came down to Guildford to spend a day with the volunteers - I was there to photograph the event on behalf of the organisers.
I was impressed by her friendliness and willingness to pitch in and help, and it definitely encouraged everyone involved to know that their efforts had been noticed and appreciated.
The press do have a lot to answer for in terms of their constant snooping and whipping up a frenzy just to make a headline. I think the recent treatment of the Princess of Wales during her illness has been pretty much universally condemned.
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To an extent, yes though there are those that worship them.
I donât think people are quite âas disinterested as @tim17 suggests but the crux of the matter here is that the Royals have quite deliberately decided to live in the public eye which is in direct conflict with their understandable wish for privacy where personal matters such as health and medical treatment are concerned.
Inevitably, I think, there is going to be demand in our social media driven times for them to open up every facet of their lives.
Personally I do not think this is a good thing - that degree of public exposure consumes you eventually.
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Yes since the mid-60s I think that change has been happening - the Monarchy used to be seen as pretty stuffy and out of touch and I think it was the late Queen who decided that the âFirmâ needed to open up a bit if the institution was to survive - the TV series that was made in the 60s was part of that as was the televising of Charlesâ inauguration as Prince of Wales, which was much more in close-up and a âTV eventâ than Elizabeth IIâs coronation, for example.
They havenât always got it right - Edwardâs ill-fated âItâs a Royal Knockoutâ TV show for example, if you remember that! And the missteps when Diana died, not to mention the whole Harry and Meghan saga.
But I think there ought to be some boundaries, itâs unreasonable to expect every aspect of their lives to be laid open to public scrutiny, even if as someone mentioned they are âon the public payrollâ.