Monarchy versus Republic (UK and the commonwealth)

lavendar_star: I think the monarchy is a good institution which has given Britain and the countries in the commonwealth a touch of class and status, we all know the Americans love the UK monarchy and secretly wish they had one. hence the Kennedys.

1, They hold the British nation together with her former colonies (commonwealth nations).

2, The monarchy brings in millions for the UK in tourism in comparison to what they cost the tax payers.

3, The monarchy are ambassadors for international trade and relations across the globe for the UK.

4. The monarchy represent a lasting image of Englishness and of its heritage.

5. The monarchy has no real political power so where's the harm.

6, The monarchy do alot of charity work abroad in poor countries and in the UK; one of which I was a recipient of in my younger days the Princes trust.

http://www.royal.gov.uk/CharitiesandPatronages/Overview.aspx



btw that was hard lol for a republican like myself but there you go.

One Bar: 7. The monarchy provides us with a crucial moral standard to aspire to. If it weren't for the monarchy we'd be nothing but an anarchic pack of spear-throwing savages like all them other countries.

8. They provide us with beautiful fairytale weddings to watch on tv and read about everywhere we go.

9. They give us bank holidays.

10. They provide us with something nice to talk about when holidaying outside our Empire.

11. Pippa Middleton has a great arse.

hellbhoy: Have a look at the history of the UK monarchy,full of back stabbing,sibling rivalry,murder,war,omnipotent psychotic loonies,thieves,rapists,liars,genocidal and the list goes on.

Equally so for republic all of the above.

The Queen is nothing more than a tourist attraction today like a monkey in a zoo for all to look at these days.

maxwellion: Hi Everyone, I love this topic of discussion. I too am a British Republican and I thought I would respond with my answer to your main points. I would love to see what other peoples views are as well!

1, They hold the British nation together with her former colonies (commonwealth nations).
Do they? They certainly hold the Commonwealth together and there is no denying this, I think the Commonwealth has many uses and one is the recognition of shared history(albeit not always pleasant) but it represents a shared history and offers countries an excuse to trade together and participant in sports together. However does it hold the UK together? A friend from the Irish Republic once called the UK, the Ununited Kingdom on account of 'division' amoung the nations of the UK. I think cultural acceptance and embracing of British culture will hold the UK together such as Welsh and Scots Gael being recognised on the par with English as official languages.

2, The monarchy brings in millions for the UK in tourism in comparison to what they cost the tax payers.
They certainly do, however I read an estimation in the guardian a while ago that suggested that if you abolished the Monarchy and turned Buckingham Palace into a National Museaum dedicated to the history of the British Monarchy, it would generate more revenue than what is currently generated by having the Monarchy.

3, The monarchy are ambassadors for international trade and relations across the globe for the UK.
They are, although last year Prince Andrew was in some heat over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein who had been found to be having sex with minors. However in terms of representing the UK why not have a National treasure like Stephen Fry, or Richard Attenborough argue the case for Britain. I think they would have much more charisma.

4. The monarchy represent a lasting image of Englishness and of its heritage.
This is a fair point, however the problem is where does that leave the rest of the nations of the UK.. I am Northern Irish for example, fellow British citizens from Wales and Scotland may ask the question... 'If the arguement for having a Monarch is to preserve a lasting image of Englishness... where does that leave us?'

5. The monarchy has no real political power so where's the harm.
The harm is that the United Kingdom remains without a permanent constitution that fully states and permanently guarentees that the UK is a Democracy.... Although very very unlikely to ever occur, technically the laws can be reversed to restore power back to the Monarchy. I did read somewhere that in the event of Martial Law being declared in the UK and Parliament is dissolved, the Protocol does place the Monarchy in Supreme power. Is Her Majesty the woman to call in a severe crisis?

6, The monarchy do alot of charity work abroad in poor countries and in the UK; one of which I was a recipient of in my younger days the Princes trust.
This is a great point and I have nothing much to comment on except that the Monarchy can serve as role models in encouraging others to participate in charity however I would like to hope that plenty of ordinary British Citizens are contributing to charity work as well.