HOLY SHIT. Baby expected. SHUT. DOWN. EVERYTHING.

[Edmond]

I wouldn't want to spend to rest of my life, my every waking hour in the glare of today's media and public scrutiny. Actors and pop stars (most of them) have a shelf life and eventually fade into obscurity, but the royals have it for the rest of their life.

No thanks

 

[old.Tohtori]

Fast facepalm all you want, had no idea what this was about

 

[Embattle]

Ironic.

 

[old.user4556]

Maybe I'm a miserable bastard, but when someone says "we're having a baby!", I'm like "cool! congrats" and expect that to be the end of it. The truth is, parents-to-be suddenly get a serious case of anal-cranial disorder and think that everyone wants / needs a running commentary of every banal and thoroughly dull detail of their pregnancy.

I'll be honest, I'm happy for those that start families, but don't expect to give a fuck past that initial burst of news. The same goes for this news article; happy for them, but I know I'm going to get months of this shite rammed down my throat.

 

[Lamp]

Agree with Ed

Their life is not a picnic.

OK, so they don't have to worry about money. They can't go anywhere without police escorts, armed security & media. They're not immune to stress. They have constant appointments. Princess Anne probably works harder than your average working-class person. OK they don't have to risk public transport, but its still tiring. Would you want to sit through 4 hours of some godawful military tattoo, or the Royal Variety Performance, or visit some dreary spoon factory in some dreary northern town and pretend to be interested? All in one day. Then more of the same the following day. And the next. And the next. Its not as if they're sitting on their arses at home on piles of £50 notes, drinking champagne & watching Sky all day. Virtually zero private life. Scrutinized by the media every day for the rest of their lives: their body language, their clothes, their hair, the way they walk, what they say, what they do. Its relentless. Don't get me wrong, I don't feel sorry for them, but compared to my life, I have more freedom than they do, I'm not going to be in the papers for the slightest social faux-pas, and I can go see my mates without a monkey with a concealed machine gun one-step behind me.

 

[Edmond]

I liked the way you fleshed it out

 

[Scouse]

There's a simple answer: Give up their titles.


Oh, what's that? They don't want to do it?

Benefits must outweigh the downsides huh?

 

[Lamp]

You're either born or married into royalty. You don't "give up your title". Even if you abdicate you're still royal. Its not a part time job. With great power comes great responsibility and everyone, even that mincing waste of space Edward acknowledges it. You can have a laugh with it like Harry and get into the news for the wrong reasons.

 

[opticle]

I wouldn't say they do sweet FA but their life is a fucking picnic.

What he said

I'm sure lots of people could do the things they do given all their money and unearned influence / media swing - that's what I meant - but regardless, for those it helps, it is a good thing.

 

[opticle]

Also, despite all his apparent problems with media scrutiny, Harry clearly has a pretty sweet time.

Naked poker with models in Vegas ? Alright.

 

[DaGaffer]

They could give it up, or failing that, scale it back to Scandinavian levels. It is in their power, they don't choose to. So I don't give two fucks about their poor hard done to lives.

 

[Lamp]

Yeah, we could also have a republic and do away with the monarchy entirely

 

[DaGaffer]

Yeah, we could also have a republic and do away with the monarchy entirely

Its funny how many countries manage to do that. I'm living in one right now.

 

[Scouse]

Its funny how many countries manage to do that. I'm living in one right now.

I bet you enjoy not having the life stories of a bunch of priviledged arseholes rammed down your throat at every opportunity

 

[Wazzerphuk]

They're missing out on some great badgerbumfun though.

 

[DaGaffer]

I bet you enjoy not having the life stories of a bunch of priviledged arseholes rammed down your throat at every opportunity

Nowhere near far enough away to avoid that.

 

[Lamp]

Its funny how many countries manage to do that. I'm living in one right now.

Doesn't mean we have to have one. Throw away 1000 years of tradition? I can't see it.

In 1853 the ruling landed gentry versus the down-trodden proletariat had some meat on the bones. Today, its radical and unfashionable left-wing rhetoric.

 

[DaGaffer]

I note you don't address the issue of a scaled-back Scandinavian style monarchy, more in keeping with our ex-world power and heading south fast status....

 

[Billargh]

I care so little about this I thought the thread was actually going to be about Tom getting a woman up the duff.

 

[Lamp]

I don't know if in x-years time we will end up with a minimalist monarchy. Maybe we will. When the Charles, Lizzy, and Philip et al crowd die, we will be left with young modern royal blood. Maybe the law denying the first born female the throne will be repealed. Who knows.

One of the things that draws in the tourists is the pomp & ceremony. The fact that we are different to almost every other nation draws people over here from all corners of the globe. How come Kate gets more media attention than the queen of denmark or some Gucci princess of Monaco? Our monarchy is old fashioned and traditional, but it sells GB Plc around the world. Look at the Diamond Jubilee. The wedding of Wills & Kate. Hold a referendum tomorrow on the abolition of the monarchy and the republicans will be shafted so hard they'll need a chimney-sweep's brush to dislodge their anus from their tonsils. So to speak.

 

[Raven]

All the cool kids dislike the royal family, don't you know.

When pressed they have no real idea why though. BUT ITS BAD MKAY!

 

[opticle]

When pressed they have no real idea why though. BUT ITS BAD MKAY!

Well, if you took away the tourism bonus, it's a pretty outdated and retarded concept by modern and/or civilised standards. There is no justification for it.

Wealth, power and status conferred purely by birth and no requirement whatsoever to earn it - all solely on the grounds that its tradition?

Makes no sense.

 

[Tom]

I know, let's have a president instead. That won't cost anywhere near as much. And we all love politicians.

 

[sayward]

However you feel about it they are absolutely STUPID to announce it so early. I don't know what the statistics are for making it to full term but she is SO thin I wouldn't like to place any bets. They might have left it until she was actually showing something! The horror of having to tell the whole world if she lost it would be unbearable for her.

 

[Scouse]

When pressed they have no real idea why though.

Priviledged by birth, divine right, unelected germano cuntards.


No, no reason

 

[Aoami]

I'm not unhappy, but if someone offered me the chance to swap my life for a royals i'd bite their hand off so fast i'd be shitting out before they finished their sentence.

 

[Lamp]

And when you realised you couldn't do anything you take for granted now, would you still want it? You think they'll put £10m in your account and let you go on a spending spree with it? (a) No (b) you won't have the time to enjoy it. You think you'll be able to wear what you want? Lay around the house all day?

 

[old.Tohtori]

Priviledged by birth, divine right, unelected germano cuntards.

No, no reason

Weren't the first royalty you had french?

 

[DaGaffer]

Weren't the first royalty you had french?

No. But it does make me laugh when royalist idiots talk about 1000 years of tradition. The last true English king died with an arrow in his eye 946 years ago. Since then we've been ruled by French, Welsh, Scottish, Dutch and Germans, 90% of whom have been absolute bastards. The only time the English have had an English head of state is when we were a republic...

I know, let's have a president instead. That won't cost anywhere near as much. And we all love politicians.

The Irish president costs about 45p a year to run. You don't need an Obama.

All the cool kids dislike the royal family, don't you know.

When pressed they have no real idea why though. BUT ITS BAD MKAY!

Personally I know exactly why, but then I'm too old to be one of the cool kids, M'KAY.

 

[old.Tohtori]

No. But it does make me laugh when royalist idiots talk about 1000 years of tradition. The last true English king died with an arrow in his eye 946 years ago. Since then we've been ruled by French, Welsh, Scottish, Dutch and Germans, 90% of whom have been absolute bastards. The only time the English have had an English head of state is when we were a republic...

Ah right, perhaps of other country origin then, even if English? In any case, think it's about time you lot were ruled by you lot