Sightly Odd ?

[BertiWooster]

So Sarah Ferguson has not been invited to the wedding , due to some negative publicity .

But look - The Crown Prince of Bahrain is one of the wedding guests .

Well that's allright then .

[I.Don No]

A president is not always head of state.....look at the Irish model......if we had that here if we did not like the job our president was doing in representing our country we could elect a replacement.

And unlike the monarchy, if we had a president who was head of state and not head of government we would not have to use our tax pounds to fund all the hangers on.

[jackthehat]

Which browser are you using, craft ?
Some seem to highlight use of the 'irony key' better than others.

It showed up fine on my screen, though........;o)

[I.Don No]

oh and by the way.....if only 70% want to keep the monarchy, let that 70% foot the bill.

Modeller....no-one visits a republic????....Paris was crowded when we went last November!!

[craft1948]

phew cheers jack...........

[tigerlily11]

Modeller millions go to France and russia to see the stately homes of the fomer wealthy elite.
I would rather be able to elect the head of state than have a foriegn one forced on me because they have the right name.
It Might cost us but really could it cost us More than the up keep of this family?
And by the way the Americans like it because they have very little history of their own and they do make a massive deal out of their presidents.
I am not and never be a royalist. They have to many hanger ons and they are' as families go the sort that you would be making fun of if they weren't who they are.

[karenmac60]

No one comes to Scotland to see the Royals - let the folk who benefit and approve pay for them. I can't wait till this chuffing cavalcade is over and done with!

[tigerlily11]

I totally agree karen

[jno]

Paris may be crowded - but not with people who've gone there to see Sarkozy. There are all sorts of presidential arrangements: some are pretty powerful (Sarko, Obama); others mainly decorative, like whatsisname in Germany. There would doubtless be plenty of debate about what sort to have if the time came to say goodbye to the royals.

No doubt the cheapest sort would be chosen. But as the royal family currently cost about 60p per person per year, it might be hard to undercut them after all.

[karenmac60]

60p per person doesn't sound much jno, but when you add it all up it's money that could be much better spent elsewhere. How many nurses/teachers etc could be funded with that?

[JonnyBoy12]

Oddly enough, I was not invited to the wedding either, and I am the most famous person I know.

[boxtops]

I wasn't either jb, they don't know what they're missing

[chrissa1]

Nobody has mentioned the fact that the Royals have their own wealth and pay taxes on them too..........On your marks, get set.........

[I.Don No]

Chrissa......the royals are wealthy......but only because of the sheets they were born onto.....their wealth was earned by the sweat blood and tears of ordinary folks in days gone by......and why shouldn't they pay taxes??!! their rubbish is collected, if they have a heart attack they would be taken to the nearest hospital which probably wouldn't be one run by bupa....

and I will have my 60p please and put it towards something a lot more worthy......like a nurse's bus fare.

[BertiWooster]

Errm , guys , guys , this was not a posting as to the merits or otherwise of having a Royal Family .
It was about the fact that one of them has been sidelined because of a minor misdemeanour ; yet a person representing a state that has been reported to have brutally repressed it’s citizens , again only recently ( allegedly ) is invited , because of protocol .
What sort of morality is that ?.

Given that the debate so far has gone along the lines of the merit of the RF – why is it that when ever anyone objects about having a RF , that the - ‘' what would you like - a president '‘ - arguement is always trotted out .
What about having a system of a Prime minister only ? – a novel idea , i appreciate .

Given that 30 % , is anti RF – I suppose that they are of the opinion that , they would rather have their £ 11,000,376 , being spent in other ways - n'est-ce pas ?

[seadogg]

modeller, do you think the world will turn up when the present constitutional monarch packs it in?

[seadogg]

Berti, I think the thread changed because the answer to your original question was clearly a matter of protocol.

[tigerlily11]

60p a day thats £202.08 a year which I for one could put toward something better than the up keep of a family that is of no interest to me.
Paying taxes to fund child benefit is another matter. Any of those children could at some in
Point in the future offer me a service which I need.
The royal family does not.
Funny how £202 a year suddenly sounds rather expensive compared to 60p a day.

[jno]

tigerlily, I said 60p a YEAR.

[jno]

oh, just to answer the question - I don't know, Berti, when Obama wasn't invited the line (plausibly enough) was that William wasn't the ruler or even the heir, so he had a much freer hand than his father or grandfather; it was a national occasion but not a state occasion. So how do the Bahrainis get an invite?