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The only reason anyone bows to the Queen, is as a form of respect, and even then it's a very quick bow.

 

The Queen bows her head to the Colours (Regimental Flags) of the Armed Forces as her sign of respect.

 

No one worships the Queen, as she is not seen as a God. She is the British head of state, and represents the country in her engagements and international visits.

 

(Although in Gurkha culture, Kings/Queens are viewed as Gods, so they swear a direct oath to the Queen when joining the Army)

 

As I see it, people who haven't lived under a Monarchy, are entitled to their opinions, but shouldn't really dislike something they've never experienced.

 

I lived under the British Monarchy for 24 years, and I was due to swear my oath of allegiance, for the Army. But the recession caused delays and I decided to prioritise my relationship over the forces.

 

 

For Brits who dislike the Monarchy, you have to look at why you dislike them. Is it jealousy, because they have so much wealth? Or do you feel undermined by their status?

 

As I've mentioned before, the Queen pays taxes and also pays the Treasury more than she personally earns. Brits pay under 70p a year (thats about $1.25) to the Monarchy. Is that really too much tax to pay for the amount of tourism generated from the Royal Family?

 

Edit: And a Hello to Jo, blimey it's been a fair while since I've seen that username around.

Edited by SomeBloke
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I'm Canadian so the Queen is my queen, technically. I don't really have an opinion either way though. Most of my generation doesn't. The older generation (my gram's age) still kind of do.

 

I didn't do anything for the jubilee, but I did have a bit of a funny story about it. When I was in London in February I was purchasing a jubilee tea cup for the aforementioned gram and was chatting with the sales girl about it. She asked me about what people thought of the monarchy in Canada, and I told her what I said above. And also about my one brush with them which was that last summer William and Kate came to visit. They were the marshalls in a big annual parade and they were running late. So, I was walking downtown trying to get to work and got stuck in a police barricade right outside their hotel. Since they were running late we were stuck there extra long, with lots of people gathering around. Eventually they came out and I snapped a pic of William in the car with my phone so I could show work and say "I'm late, and it's Prince William's fault!" Oh and I noted that Kate is EXTREMELY gorgeous. And then I went on my way to work.

 

So I finish this story and the girl just looked at me with wide eyes and said "Wow, I've lived in London my whole life and I've never seen a single royal and you've seen them in Canada!" And I just thought it was really funny. Especially since while I was there the Queen and Camilla had gone out shopping, which apparently never happens. And I think it's funny how there's this family of rulers, but now they're kind of more like celebrities than rulers (although I do think they're excellent diplomats).

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Ok... so umm the rest of the world need to learn how a constitutional monarchy works.

 

In this day in age, the English royalty are now (for all intents and purposes) reduced to tradition and image. Although technically they are heads of state, the ruling entity is that of Parliament (equivalent of a congress) the policy making and enforcement is the responsibility of this branch of government.

 

Mind y'all. The nations of the commonwealth still do answer to the royal family. Australia, New Zealand, and yes Canada as well. The queen is still technically your head of state.

 

---

Someone mentioned earlier that Japan does still indeed have an emperor. Same story here, the ruling tasks are that of the MPs.4

Hear hear good sir. A lot of European monarchies don't have the powers that they did centuries before. Most, as sirben pointed out are just around for tradition and image. They have a strong cultural and historical relevance, taking away the monarchies is like taking away a quintessential part of those countries. As SomeBloke has pointed out there isn't a substantial financial burden brought on by the monarchy and the benefits, the culture, tradition, history, image, all far outweigh the minor financial burden.

 

During times of financial hardship people always look for answers and outlets for their anger. Think of the French Revolution (albeit a more extreme example, with more causes but triggered by Frances economic situation). When times get tough people want someone to blame, something to cut, some way to make life a little bit easier. I'm sure if it were prior to 2008 when the financial crisis started that there would be less opposition and talk of abolishing the monarchy.

 

All in all I'd prefer keeping monarchies to preserve the history and culture that they represent, not to mention Queen Elizabeth II seems like a very lovely and intelligent queen, far better than that King George III you lot had way back when o.o...

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'"Bread and Circuses" (or bread and games) (from Latin: panem et circenses) is a metaphor for a superficial means of appeasement. It was the basic Roman formula for the well-being of the population, and hence a political strategy unto itself.[citation needed] In the case of politics, the phrase is used to describe the creation of public approval, not through exemplary or excellent public service or public policy, but through diversion, distraction, and/or the mere satisfaction of the immediate, shallow requirements of a populace.'

 

Quoted from wikipedia for ease. I have no problem with the monarchy, I'm rather fond of the anachronistic spongers. I'm certainly not a monarchist either. I do however think the big deal over the jubilee is a case of "bread and circuses". It is also how I feel about the Olympics but that's a different subject.

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  • 1 month later...

What did I do to celebratee? Well, are you sitting comfortably, good, then I'll begin... Nothing.

 

I hate the Queen, as well as the rest of the Royal Family, waste of space, time, and taxpayer's money.

I am sooo with you dude!!

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