The Royal Family

Did anyone watch the Barbara Walters special last night on the Royal Family?

Very interesting!  I'd love to hear what my friends across the pond thought or think about the Royal Family.

I guess I've never much thought about it.  I loved Princess Di, but never really thought of how the whole government over there works.  (I'm not a big social studies person, AT ALL.)

But, watching the special got me thinking.  What exactly does the queen do?  Seems like not much.  I didn't realize that it's actually a democracy, but with a monarchy also.  Weird. 

On the show they showed how the elected folks and the appointed folks have this whole "show" that they do.  And all the ceremony that is held for every little thing.  Very interesting.

But, I also found it interesting that they spent $72 million dollar for the royal family last year!  YIKES!  I don't think that'd happen in the US!  And a lot of people were protesting, saying that they wanted the royal family out and their taxes to go to other things likes nurses and such. 

I guess I just don't understand exactly WHAT the royal family does.  Are they basically the public relations people for the country?  They have all the lavish dinners for other country's leaders.  But, the Prime Minister is actually the one that runs the democracy, right?

Someone please explain it to me.  I find it very interesting, yet so different from our country.

Comments

[DIXIECHICK]

I did..it was very interesting and insightful.

[holly]

nail hit on head.

they are public relations on different levels.

for starters, having a queen brings hefty tourism. that's worth it, right? no, i suppose it isn't.

although i don't profess to be an expert.

she does have roles, though. she appointed the head of my company. as is her right.

she hands out titles - my brother in law received an OBE. (something british empire. i'd google it but i gotta get my tuckus in bed).

and she delivers a speech every year on christmas.

and she opens parliament i think.

all life-saving roles...

the prime minister is the leader of the majority party. he is the head of the government, but the parliament as a whole votes for stuff (i think i remember that right). i can't rightly remember at this late hour.

wikipedia should have good stuff on this. not that i endorse wikipedia. but in a pinch, for a quick run down, should be acceptable.

[Lisa]

I'd like to have 72 million spent on me a year! If it was me, I'd like it...since it's not, I don't!! ha ha

[Suzy]

I can't say I really know what they do, Lori! I guess most people see the Queen as a national figurehead, and yes, a lot of PR. The royals do cost us a lot of money, lol! Though, for everyone who wants them out, I'd say the majority are happy for them to stay. I don't really have any strong views personally.

Yes, the Prime Minister and the government have all the say in how the country is run.

[Summer]

I watched it, and had precisely the opposite reaction when they mentioned the $72 million figure. I thought it didn't sound like much, compared to the US national budget. $72 million is a drop in the bucket; WAY more money than that is wasted by the US government on completely useless crap (like earmarks that force the military to buy equipment they can't even use, just so some congressman can go home and brag that he got a big money contract for such and such local company). $72 million, for an industrialized western country, is nothing, and the UK gets a huge return on that investment in tourist revenue alone.

Would Americans agree to spend that much money on what's essentially a symbol? Absolutely. Most Americans have no clue what's in the federal budget. $72 million dollars would be easy to overlook. Besides, think of this example: how would you feel if Congress announced that it was no longer going to fund maintenance and operation of national monuments like the Statue of Liberty or the Washington Monument? You'd be horrified, right? We'd never want to see those powerful symbols of our nation decay just because Congress wanted to allot that $72 million or whatever to some other project. Well, the Royal Family and their residences (Buckingham Palace and so on) are the most important symbols of the United Kingdom, and unlike our national monuments, they actually go around the world and do the important work of maintaining diplomatic relations.

[Jo Beaufoix]

I'm not really a fan of the royals. I don't hate them or anything, and I like the tradition/history of it all, but I dislike the priveledges they have, and how much they cost us, when there are so many people here still living on the bread line.

Hey sweetie, just popping in for a quick visit. :D

[Sybil Law]

I only saw it in bits and pieces, but I did see some of it.
The Queen is a feisty old broad, isn't she?!

[Laura]

I'm oddly fascinated by the royal family too! We took a family trip to England when I was in high school and I loved visiting Buckingham Palace.

Did you see the movie, "The Queen"? I found that very interesting.

[Keara]

I watched it too. Very interesting.

[Corey]

I missed it. but I am loving this discussion here. Great post Lori. thanks for the reminder that you moved. I guess I hadn't changed you in my reader. oops....

[Rosie]

A fasinating discussion! I've just read through all the comments. The Queen and Princess Ann are the most hardworking royals. I have a lot of respect for the Queen. She's in her 80s and still works full-time, a lot of is no-one sees but she takes her role very seriously. I'm not too sure what the rest of the royals do. Good for tourism and 'Britishness' - whatever that is exactly!