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Emrys

(8,998 posts)
30. Supporters of the Royal Family come up with all sorts of reasons for keeping it
Tue Feb 10, 2026, 08:09 PM
Feb 10

The tourism money argument isn't strong - the French went as far as to guillotine most of their royals, and their exquisite palaces etc. are never short of tourists, and visitors don't have to dodge the royals.

It comes down to sheer tradition, and I think that's allied to the fragility of the British national identity as it's taking a long time for people to get used to the idea the UK is an, at best, middling power nowadays, and really has been at least since Suez.

People have a hard time articulating what "being British" means (and not a few of them have a hard time distinguishing England from the UK), and I reckon that lies at the heart of many of the tensions. I think the US is experiencing similar problems, among its many others.

Whatever my own feelings, there's no prospect of any party coming to power in the foreseeable future on a platform of outright abolishing the Royal Family. I could see it being downgraded in certain respects, perhaps following the model of European and Nordic royal families who hold the titles and some ceremonial functions, but generally live comparatively modestly and normally. I could see a time when the younger generations of royals wouldn't be unhappy with that. Harry's already made his bid for freedom, hiccups and all, and may have eased the way for those family members who'll follow him.

If Andrew does eventually testify, I can't imagine that being seen as heroic - if he'd severed connections and whistleblown years ago, maybe - I think the reaction would be, "About bloody time."

But bear in mind that this is not a particularly bright (nor truthful) man, and he doesn't perform well publicly under pressure - witness his utterly disastrous BBC TV interview with Emily Maitlis, which was intended to salvage his reputation.

Recommendations

1 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

The hatred for shithole and comrades is growing around the world............... Lovie777 Feb 10 #1
I don't take sides with the Brits on Starmer stollen Feb 10 #2
Austerity doesn't help center left politicians win elections AZProgressive Feb 10 #5
Isn't the monarchy supposed to be neutral? stollen Feb 10 #9
The chances of Andrew having access to state secrets are nil Emrys Feb 10 #21
Oil and gas people lately stollen Feb 10 #25
He was doomed the moment he became PM. RandySF Feb 10 #3
Worse than in the US?? stollen Feb 10 #7
I don't think there's the remotest chance of anyone attempting to bring down the monarchy muriel_volestrangler Feb 10 #11
If participation in a global pedophile ring.and stollen Feb 10 #15
Perhaps you overestimate how much the British identify Andrew as a central part of the monarchy muriel_volestrangler Feb 10 #18
Andrew was not always Eric Trump stollen Feb 10 #23
Nonono. After he left the Navy, his standing and reputation accelerated downhill Emrys Feb 10 #26
Yes, now I recall. Thanks for that. stollen Feb 10 #28
Supporters of the Royal Family come up with all sorts of reasons for keeping it Emrys Feb 10 #30
If not "hero" then "on the cusp of barely respectable" stollen Feb 10 #31
Replacing Starmer is the best thing Labour could do Emrys Feb 10 #22
The Labor Party JBTaurus83 Feb 10 #4
Thanks for your assessment stollen Feb 10 #6
And there lies the rub, as the Bard would say DFW Feb 10 #8
Individual country politics aside, as scary as they are, stollen Feb 10 #13
You're quoting the Tory leader there muriel_volestrangler Feb 10 #10
Brexit turned out to be a big mistake stollen Feb 10 #12
The big elephant in the room is Brexit, or more to the point, OnDoutside Feb 10 #14
No, we are not "close to kicking out the US from bases here per Greenland" muriel_volestrangler Feb 10 #17
Had the US military invaded Greenland, stollen Feb 10 #19
But we are not currently close to the US invading Greenland muriel_volestrangler Feb 10 #20
Not today. stollen Feb 10 #29
The last good UK PM was Jim Hacker! 😉 SocialDemocrat61 Feb 10 #16
All UK Prime Ministers have been unpopular in recent years JI7 Feb 10 #24
Much of the country realises that stollen Feb 10 #27
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