UK Politics Thread (Part 1)

Humour is funny. Your comment wasn’t.

I think I’ve missed something here. Is there a nerve I’ve touched that I should be aware of?

1 Like

all jokes aside, unless i misread your post and revised point…

its fair to say an institution that has been in place for nearly 1000 years now is respected, (revered i can accept, maybe envied was a bit OTT), throughout the world and not get all pissy on the point.

in my humble opinion, the description could have been better, but the overiding point wasnt far off the mark…

even alot of australians who advocate for a republic seem to respect the institution.

just becuase we disagree with the premise, doesnt mean we cant respect something thats nearly 1000 years old…

that said…maybe that date of 2066 will have some significance? be nice to see it clock over to 1000 years in a way…

1 Like

Why start with 1066? King Arthur will not be overlooked! King Alfred? Ethelred the Unready?!

Gathering King Arthur GIF by Monero

from my rudimentary understanding of your monarchy, isnt that when this current institution in its original form began?

i know there were kings before.

There has been a fairly clear lineage from around the 800s but it’s probably fair to say that during this period England was often fractured with competing claims. From 1066 those divisions became less frequent although still occurred with several civil wars, insurrections, attempts to usurp, dethronings etc. Of course, we’re just talking about England (and Wales) here up until the late 1600s/early 1700s.

1 Like

Went on a bit of a mad binge watching shows like Vikings and Last Kingdom which I thought were great.

One thing that stood out was the names though, where do names like Aethelwulf, Athelstan originate from?

Where does the idea come from that longevity equals merit? There have been many customs which have lasted for millennia, but are clearly not desirable in the present or future. Slavery, the oppression of women, the persecution of Jews and homosexuals, corporal punishment of children, cruelty to animals etc etc belong in the dustbin of history and monarchy belongs there too.

5 Likes

Perhaps we can abolish the Monarchy and just have Tony Blair as our President?
He didn`t do any harm last time did he :thinking:

1 Like

Can’t argue with the overriding arc of your point about longevity being a default assessment of something being good.

I suppose I’m a bit more cautious about a movement which is basically maybe one or two generations old in its popularity ( I know anti monarchs go back further) undoing something that has stood for so long.

Especially with politics in its current state… feels like one of those things where you need to be careful what you wish for…

2 Likes

Athenian democracy dates back to the 6th century b.c., shortly thereafter the Romans replaced their king with a republic, and the English beheaded their king in 1649 so the idea’s been around a while.

I’d have Attenborough

1 Like

Love the guy,but hes about the same age as the Queen.

Blair no good then?

2 Likes

I’ve said it before that i think the british monarchy should be gracefully wound down and set off on their bikes to earn their keep. I’m sure they would do ok. Prob would be ok to let the Queen and Philip live their days out as they are, i’ve nothing against her or her family personally.
I can see how a nation that yearns over it’s glorious past would want to hang on to such an institution but this extended family and their entourage of hanger-on-ers, that makes M C Hammer’s look like a small bunch of amateur beggers, lives in complete oppulence in a range of state supplied castles and palaces, waited hand and foot and whisked from one grovelling crowd to the next in luxury transport without any merit.
They’re really just the remnants of opportunistically selected inter-bred european rulers who no longer have any executive power other than to rubber stamp the will of the government and sell union jack mugs and plates.
I’m sure that a cheaper more sustainable version could be worked out that would feed the tourist industry.

1 Like

Complete opulence?

The interesting thing is that maintaining the US Presidential office costs a fair bit more than the Monarchy.

But you pay top money and you get Trump or shagger Clinton.
We have to make do with the Queen :disappointed_relieved:

The money is a drop in the ocean compared to military budgets etc. The problem is the message it sends out.

Athel or Ethel is Old Saxon for ‘noble’, in both the sense of status and good quality.

2 Likes

yes