Are You Republican or Royalist?

[gurnemanz]

If you think tradition is important, you can make out a sentimental case for using the hereditary principle to decide who will be your head of state but on rational grounds it is clearly a non-starter. The British do seem to like tradition and sentiment which is why we still have all this stuff. Being recognised by a supposedly divinely appointed monarch is on the surface a fairly meaningless piece of pantomime but is still the way we acknowledge people through the honours system. The town where I live has just been declared "Royal" Wootton Bassett and most people enjoyed the High Street ceremony a couple of weeks ago and the pubs did good business.

[Sydney Grew]

And so - just that; I remain unable to fathom what it may be that you appear incapable of understanding here, so let's have one more try. The sentence as a whole in which the (for you) problematic word occurs runs
"To return to the issue concerned, it does on the face of it appear to be undemocratic for such unique privileges to be accorded to the Prince of Wales and it makes one wonder whether the same or similar ones are accorded to anyone else."
This means that, although Britain is ostensibly a democracy with an electoral system that has been in place for many years . . .

The problem arises because it is a logical impossibility that a "monarchy" could at the same time be "demo-cratic." The very concepts have nothing in common, no point of contact or intersection. To imagine that they might is no more than a kind of wishful thinking found primarily among the illogical and ill-educated is it not?

I think the final partial sentence quoted above demonstrates the illusion quite well. When in doubt go to the definition!

[ahinton]

The problem arises because it is a logical impossibility that a "monarchy" could at the same time be "demo-cratic." The very concepts have nothing in common, no point of contact or intersection. To imagine that they might is no more than a kind of wishful thinking found primarily among the illogical and ill-educated labouring classes but latterly spreading is it not?

I think the final partial sentence quoted above demonstrates the illusion quite well. When in doubt go to the definition!

Well, at least I think that I can at last see where your source of confusion has arisen! I did not refer to whether or not a monarchy could at the same time be unhyphenatedly democratic. Britain (like several other European countries) has both a monarchy and a democratically elected government and there appears to be scant evidence that either regards this mutual co-existence as indicative of impractical incompatibility.

That said, my referece to an apparently undemocratic state of affairs in this particular case stands, at least until proven to be invalid.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

Prince Charles employs 133 staff to look after him and Camilla, more than 60 of them domestics: chefs, cooks, footmen, housemaids, gardeners, chauffeurs, cleaners, and his three personal valets—gentleman’s gentlemen—whose sole responsibility is the care of their royal master’s extensive wardrobe and choosing what he is to wear on any particular day. A serving soldier polishes the prince’s boots and shoes every day—he has 50 handmade pairs each costing over £800 by Lobb of St James’s—and a housemaid washes his underwear as soon as it is discarded. Nothing Charles or Camilla wears is ever allowed near a washing machine. Particular attention is paid to handkerchiefs, which are monogrammed and again all hand-washed, as it was found that when they were sent to a laundry, some would go missing—as souvenirs. HRH’s suits, of which he has 60, cost more than £3,000 each, and his shirts, all handmade, cost £350 a time (he has more than 200), while his collar stiffeners are solid gold or silver. Charles’s valets also iron the laces of his shoes whenever they are taken off.

from not in front of the corgis

[mangerton]

from not in front of the corgis

I hope that is a work of fiction, but I fear it is not.

[Serial_Apologist]

HrH Prince Charles surely puts on weight, as we all do. With all that wardrobe most of it must get discarded along the way and end up in charidee shops. Anyone know which ones??

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

...is he your size?

[vinteuil]

... Charles’s valets also iron the laces of his shoes whenever they are taken off.

well, Calum, - who irons your shoe-laces when you have your shoes taken off? - You don't mean to say you do it yourself? - You scab you, taking the crusts out of mouths of working men, depriving them of the chance of gainful employment!

Mind you, your list didn't include the staff employed to tug the forelock. That's a skilled occupation, one I never really mastered....

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

all my shoes are slip on .... i have avoided laces since childhood ...

and i am a baldie with no forelock ....


not my list

[mangerton]

£23.66 for that?

I was going to add a smiley, but I don't know whether to laugh, cry, or hold my head in despair.

Probably all three.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

£23.66 for that?

quite ... wait three weeks and it will be 1p plus postage .... meanwhile tidbits all over the place

[MrGongGong]

The riverfolk have it for £7.86
but I can't say that i'll bother

[scottycelt]

If UK republicans are always so keen on 'democracy'. why don't they campaign for a referendum on the future of the monarchy?

Let the people decide!

[MrGongGong]

If UK republicans are always so keen on 'democracy'. why don't they campaign for a referendum on the future of the monarchy?

Let the people decide!

Don't be daft
you really think that we should let a majority of people decide what happens
that would mean NO radio 3, public executions etc etc

[Serial_Apologist]

If UK republicans are always so keen on 'democracy'. why don't they campaign for a referendum on the future of the monarchy?

Let the people decide!

Murky and Sarky would have to be consulted first.