Should the royal family be made redundant?

Answer 1

They are trained from birth to be ambassadors . Do you think Pakistan would have held back on the death sentence if some politician had gone over?
They understand the history of our monarchy and understand how " The Empire" affected all the countries it visited.
Many of these countries, though independent now, are proud of their connection to the Royal family, I have met people in India, who have photos of their ancestors with British court and are proud of it.
They are recognised and treated with respect worldwide, and do enormous good for charities.
They keep the U.K. punching above its weight in the world ! We are a very small country really !
M : )

Answer 2

The Royal Family - the Queen in particular, is depressingly underestimated in the country.

The Queen (and others) does more for fostering good will with other nations than Blair does. The Royals spenda great deal of time travelling around the world, being very positive ambassadors for Great Britain. The trouble is, these visits often get very little attention.

Most people don't realise this, but the Commonwealth (formed of countries which were previously under British rule) is not just about the Commonwealth Games, it's also one of the strongest trading blocks in the world. Britain benifits enormously from it. It's the Queen and the Royals, not Blair and his Government, which help to maintain good relations with these countries.

Yes, there is also the 'tourist' side of things, which does bring in money, but I consider that less important than maintaining good diplomatic relations with other nations (especially when Blair etc seem to be trying to muck them up!)

As for the alleged 'cost', as someone else pointed out, theya ctually cost us very little in reality. They don't, by law, have to pay taxes, and yet Prince Charles gives £3,000,000 in taxes every year, of his own free will.

And of course, the Royals are a symbol of British history. I'm rather proud of the fact that we're one of the few nations on Earth which have managed to avoid killing-off all our Royals! I think it's a testiment to British common-sense, and approaching things with moderation :)

If we ever got-rid of them, we couldn't very easily get them back. And that would be a terrible shame.

Answer 3

No no and no. Why does everyone think that being a republic is going to save the public coffers some cash? Can you imagine the UK under president Blair, with a vice president Prescott? They would manage to squander more money on themselves than anyone else would know what to do with. And you would not see any sort of a return for that money. At least the Royal family boosts tourism in this country and if memory serves me right, they cost each tax payer in this country a staggering 64p per YEAR. You lose more than that down the back of the sofa! Yes, sarcasm was intended.
If Blair or whoever made it to president, you can count on it that the figure per head would raise significantly.

Answer 4

They are redundant, they just haven't been fired yet. Hanging onto the remanents of a family of historical despots who murdered and enslaved most of the UK population for thousands of years, and perpetuates the myth that the right to rule is hereditary, is pretty stupid. Why people cling to them as though they were a reminder of something good I have no idea. The European Monarchies, including the UK's, were responsible for more misery, more slaugthers, more torture and more foul conduct than any single thing people in history. They make Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot look like choir boys. People should wake up and understand that tales of Prince Charming and his Princess are fairytales i.e. not true.

Answer 5

Royals got one hand in every brit's pocket, the other hand over every brit's mouth. That's how they perpetuate their power, which is rooted in the power to silence criticism thru ostracization - the weapon used to keep brits from losing promotions, losing jobs and advancing in society if they criticize.
And all the money that comes in to britain by their public pranks goes into royals pockets or those that depend on royals for their income.
No wonder they liquidated diana. She wanted to change it all.

Answer 6

I think they are fine now, but I really can not see there being a royal family in 100 or so years. They will eventually be abolished.. not in our lifetime.

Answer 7

In a modern democracy.these privileged few should be disbanded and consigned to history. Viva the republic! Why waste the tax payers money on these parasites?

Answer 8

that is an organization that provides us an perception into heritage,even as the worlds were ruled by kings and queens.Royalty is a heritage which could be saved alive for us commoners to study how kings and queens stay.

Answer 9

Our Royal family make us one of the most remarkable countries in the world to visit. The pomp and circumstance involved in things like the changing of the guard, investitures and the Opening of Parliament bring people from all over the world (despite terrorist threats). To get rid of them would be to get rid of the last vestige of our very Britishness.
In recent years, the number of members of the family who are paid only by the tax payers has been considerably pared down. Yes, the remainder still cost us a fortune, but they are our Ambassadors to the world. They are the people who the world love to see and it would be to our collective detriment to lessen their visibility.

Answer 10

Yes sooner the beter