Symbolically, it would give the impression that you don't get a few supremely privileged people with the rest being reduced to subjects.
Of course, in practice, other economical elites play that role already, but at least they aren't guaranteed a massive salary from the state for their entire family tree.
They've trimmed the Civil List quite a bit over the years. The Queen's grandchildren all got real jobs (yes, even William and Harry).
But is pain of going through all the hassles worth it? You need to change your government system a big time and.... is it worth the trouble? Plus how can you keep UK united? What about people who like monarchy system. What about class system in UK?
Dunno about the UK. Constitutional stuff is a headache in Canada.
Can they be voted out? What is the path to end the monarchy?
Constitutional chaos, at least in Canada. Our constitution was repatriated 40 years ago and Quebec still hasn't signed on because Pierre Trudeau wouldn't declare them a "distinct society" and a bunch of other reasons. Some of the Conservative premiers wanted a bunch of concessions that included changing the anthem to the point where it basically meant that only Christian men were patriotic, and women and non-Christians weren't. Well, they finally fixed the sexist part of that. Fix the religious bias, and I can finally sing it with a clear conscience, as I have not been able to do for over 40 years.
Trying to get 10 provinces and 3 territories to agree on
anything is basically impossible, even if it's just when to have lunch. Changing the Constitution to eliminate the monarchy and decide what to do about the GG, the provincial L-Gs, and a gazillion other institutions and countless political and cultural things that make our country tick is asking more than anyone is willing to give.
Yes, absolutely. It is a moral stain which must be destroyed. That it still exists and is earnestly defended today is a sad reflection of the sorry, unfree, backwards state of the world in which we presently live.
This is funny in a sad way, since you are part of a forum that's dedicated to a game that includes Monarchy as a form of government, and King is one of the forum ranks which you had at one time, even if you had a different usertitle.
Any of the anti-monarchists here a fan of any TV series or movie that includes some element of monarchy? If you say no, I've got a BS flag smiley I'm not sure I'd be allowed to post.
I'm not saying the British monarchy is perfect - it's far from perfect. But it's helped to provide stability for centuries, and it's at least partly influenced the culture and history, for better or worse, of nearly every country on the planet.
My life would be very different today if I hadn't spent 12 years in the Society for Creative Anachronism, which was founded by a group of writers and historians in 1966, all of whom were interested in monarchy and medieval history.
For one thing, I'd never have learned to play Civ, so I'd never have come to this forum.
For two things, there's a host of other things I'd never have learned, people I'd never have met, subjects I'd never have become interested in, things I'd never have done, and I think my life would have been much less interesting.
I realize that monarchy can be brutal if the monarch literally has the power of life and death over the people, as is still the case in some parts of the world. I guess I tend to consider it from the political perspective in Canada, and the historical, literary, and artistic perspective of the SCA. I may never have met the Queen of England, but I spent an evening with the King and Queen of An Tir, sitting on the floor of someone's living room, watching the premiere of Star Trek: The Next Generation with about 30 other people, most of us still in our costumes.
I don't think it's relevant how economically great having royals might be, unless you're arguing there's a price that can be paid for setting aside an arbitrary group as being inherently superior to every other human being alive.
I never felt they were inherently superior to every other human being alive. I've seen Princess Margaret, and wasn't impressed (she was in Red Deer for a whistle stop event that resulted in something or other being named for her). Her visit was actually rather inconvenient since security had roped off the middle of downtown hours before she was due to arrive, which meant I wasn't allowed into the library to return my books. I guess I should ask Charles to pay me back for the fine I was dinged with.
Funny thing I noticed a long time ago about the Americans... they rejected being ruled by the British monarch, but over time, they created their own version of royalty, in the form of Hollywood actors and actresses, sports figures, and charismatic politicians. After all, aren't those who reach the top of the heap referred to as the "King" of whatever, or the "Queen" of whatever? Funny nomenclature for people who hate everything monarchical...
en.wikipedia.org
