General Chat

Many other countries manage pretty well without a Monarch and I think your two examples just show examples of bad Government. Even if they had Liz as we have, do you really think she would have a clue what she was doing? Nope. She would let her Primeminister try and sort it. Many Brits move abroad every year, can't be all great in merry old England and her merry old Queen.

Hi Alternative to what? The Queen's main functions are a) signing Acts of Parliament. Since if she refused to sign she would cause a constitutional crisis, in practice this is a rubber stamp exercise and could be abolished. b) opening various things, making speeches All manner of people can open things and make speeches. I know that she is supposedly able to advise, consult and warn the current Prime Minister, but since the PM is under no obligation to take any notice and whatever she advises and warns could equally be advised and warned by others in politics etc, I can't see this is much use. I don't believe that the Queen has any real political or constitutional power now. Any purely ceremonial functions could be taken over by a president, or a token person drawn by lots, or an elected celebrity, if indeed we need all these ceremonial functions. I', not a great fan of fuss, flummery and fanfares myself. nell

I agree with everything youi have said Paul - and as for Blair running the country Daniel, you should bear in mind that there are two Houses in Parliament and Blair dont always get his way, even he has to depend on the House of Lords i.e., the Queen. As for being without the Royal Family you only have to look as close as France where they onl;y wish that they had the Royals too despite their revolution which was way back - and I bet that any French person knows more about our Royals Family than you do - same goes for the Americans and I guess most other countries. With the abolition of the Monarch we would probably also see the end of the Commonwealth and where would we be then ?.

The House of Lords is the Queen?

Sorry badly expressed. I am sure you know what I mean - I will return on this later bit busy at mom !

Just Two Remarks on this subject. )1) Lesley,Princess Diana,s Family has more claim to royalty than the ones we have,including Camilla. (2) Guinevere. We already have one,Including the Wicked Witch, who exploits Childrens Charities and takes advantage of the fact she,s married to the Village Idiot. Hal.

I know what you mean ;-), but there are also a load of former MP's in the Lords; people who have some knowledge of Goverment and laws.

Hal, I don't think name-calling is a constructive or intelligent way of debating any subject. Gwynne

Guinevere, they are the 'Facts' regarding the WW. If in doubt,ask the Australians. Regarding intelligent Discussion.From what I read,It seemed like the GR.Mafia were having a go at the Queen Who herself,is a great asset to this country. Hal.

Hal, Tony's wife's name is Cherie, I think it's impolite to call her what you did. I also think it's impolite to call Tony the village idiot. I disagree with a lot of what he does but his educational qualifications prove he isn't an idiot. I don't like name-calling I was brought up to believe it's bad mannered. You may think the Queen is as asset, I don't. I believe we waste far too much money on her and her family and get little in return for our money. My opinions are my own. Disagreeing with Royalists doesn't make me part of any mafia, it makes me one person with an opinion. Gwynne

Does it matter what they are referred to as, in the real world, Private Eye are far more scathing than the comments I have read on here !!!!!!!!xx

Hi Marie, I do think it matters. Calling people names dehumanises them. Gwynne

Lesley, The Plantagenets. but of course the true lineage goes back to the 'Britons' (Welsh) whose laguage was the only one used in this country well before the Romans came here. We all know that her lot were Sheep Stealers Etc.as were all of them.But hers go further than the German connection we now have. Hal. Ps. try reading 'The History of The English Speaking Peoples' By Churchill.You may find it very interesting.But its a hard read.

Gwynne I believe that when you are in the public eye you are fair game. But that's another subject for another day. We'll have to agree to differ :0)

The Plantagenets were founded by Geoffrey Plantagenista, father of Henry II. They were French. Our own English lot were overthrown by William the Conqueror. and in fact they drove the ancient Britons into Wales. But of course, they probably came from elsewhere to start with. nell

Hi Marie, Absolutely ;-) Gwynne

Hi, I dont normally get involved in strong debate like this but im gonna today. Guinevere and no disrespect to you but you had a go at Hal for name calling but you yourself have done the exact same thing in calling the royal family Parasites and you also mentioned and idiot somewhere too, please put me right if i have read your post wrong, I for one believe it would be a very sad day if we lost the royal family, i could not live in a country run by a man who doesnt know his own A**e from his elbow, but seems to know where the American Presidents is located lol. I dont know what the royal family does for us and to be honest i dont care all i care about is the fact that they make me proud to be British. Kelly :-)

Helen, your comment about actors reminds me of when I took some Russians to see the Changing of the Guard and we were watching the soldiers just prior to the march to the Palace - Russian said they have the same thing in Moscow but the soldiers strutting their stuff are actors ! I then explained that these guys were real soldiers and you could see the campaigns they had seen from the 'colours' - then his attitude changed and he became more interested. Apart from feeling proud of our Monarchy I also do feel sorry that these people are groomed into their lifestyle from birth and wonder how many of those who are anti while at the same time are glad of our democracy think for one moment about these royals who probably have the least democratic lifestyle of any of us and whose lives have to follow a set standard and pattern, and if they step out of line and become like any of us for one moment, for better or worse, the newspapers make hay !

Well said, Joe. Happy days

Hi Kelly, A parasite is an organism that lives and feeds in or on another organism (the host) and does nothing to benefit the host. I believe this to be an accurate description of the position of head of state (and his or her family) in this country. I called no one an idiot by name. I was making a point about democracy and the right of people to elect a head of state, however unsuitable, which is preferable to the head of state being there by accident of birth. I would prefer to live in a country where those who are in positions of power are there because they were chosen by the people they govern. I had hoped Tony Blair's administration would be less close to the USA than the previous government but sadly, that was not to be. As it happens I believe that there is currently no credible opposition to Labour but I live in hope. Gwynne