tigersgogrrr wrote:

Who even is she?

Excellent.

davyK wrote:

I'm content that BBC mark the occasion and cover the funeral etc. These are the sort of set pieces that are part of our culture and the Royals do it well.

But if all radio stations are playing solemn music it harkens back to the USSR state run media.

Is it worse than after September 11th? I remember days of this. With Diana's funeral we actually received an apology from head office that we weren't allowed a day off. We were actually given blank videotapes to record the funeral while we were at work.

I used mine to record the repeat of paedogeddon episode of Brass Eye.

Diana's death in the UK, particularly England, was far worse. Far, far worse.

It seems that the code name for what happens when Prince Phil dies is Operation Forth Bridge, going off my emails today.

Guys, this is the dress rehearsal, imagine when Liz shuffles off her mortal coil. 

It's going to be fucking unbearable, you will get: 

A month of seeing documentaries about all the minutiae of everything she ever did. 
Repeatedly being told how quaint it was she had her cornflakes stored in a tupperware container - which is something she doesn't even fucking control in the first place, fuck my dome. 
Inredible levels of speculation about what the funeral will be like.
Repeatedly being told how philip hasn't actually been buried and has been lying in state because they are being buried together for some reason. 
Then after that there is allllll the speculation about the coronation of charles
The coronation of charles
All the fucking coverage of every little thing charles does as king for the first month until the media get bored and go back to writing about how Megan once ignored a text from Charles who was trying to be nice and send her his favourite pumpkin soup recipe. 
All the coverage of how charles might modernise the royal family.

As a republican, I cannot fucking wait until Charles is king. I think he’s the best shot we’ve got of getting rid of the monarchy in my lifetime.

I worry about the alternative.
President Bohnson anybody?

And the Queen never dies.

Our apparent obsession with the Royals says more about us than the Royals. It's really only a variation on the obsession with celebrity. Just they have been around a hell of a long time.

Their role in the constitution is probably something to get into a froth about intellectually, but the reality is that whatever power they have would be removed if it were exercised by them. I'm not sure there would be an economic benefit to turning into a republic? So at the end of the day who gives a toss?

I don't think keeping them around really costs that much - at least that was the case last time I looked at the figures - certainly in comparison to ludicrous sums that successive governments throw away on projects such as that NHS booking system. I know at least those people are accountable. But we do seem to be able to forgive them no matter how much of our money ends up in the pockets of rich people.

And as for them owning land through inheritence - so what? Plenty of billionaires leaving their shit to offspring. What's the difference? And as I've said before if it was taken off them , who the hell do you think it would end up in the hands of?

I'm no royal fan but they do a good set piece and put on a good show of pomp and circumstance every so often. They need reforming and pruning back to prevent us having to suffer entitled pricks like Andrew. But I'd rather we kept them than got rid of them.

When you look at the numbers, working Royals live on the road, and maybe that's the way it should be. If any of them are idle they should be put to work. So letting them steward some very nice real estate is a small price to pay.

Liz could have another decade in her.

LivDiv wrote:

I worry about the alternative.
President Bohnson anybody?

Yeah this mainly why I’m not a republican. We would completely fuck up the replacement.

Nah, sorry. Fuck the royal family and a sense of an entitled gilded lifestyle. Utterly out of time. Rip em up, and as I said, sell the crown jewels. 50% to previously enslaved countries, 25% to charities in the UK and 25% to the populace.

Fuck em all. They contribute nothing, and the "they're good for pomp" response is an absolute shiter.

What have the Romans ever done for us? This thread.

I think that the potential positives from potentially having a head of state who isn’t a white toff shouldn’t be overlooked.

Yossarian wrote:

I think that the potential positives from potentially having a head of state who isn’t a white toff shouldn’t be overlooked.

Yeah - but that won't happen, will it?

I'm going to step away because I don't have anything else to add.