NFR. God save the Queen.

[Russianrob]

Have just seen a recording of the Queen's speech last night.What a magnificent women.When she leaves this mortal coil l will seek Russia citizenship.Until then l remain British.How grateful l am to have be born under her reign.

[filham]

Can any monarch in history have a better record than Elizabeth 11.
I am not really a royalist but that lady just has to command the admiration of the whole country.

[Andy S]

you might be gone before her

[Stoneleigh Loyalist]

She is a wonderful woman with an astonishing record but does she command the respect of the younger generation?
I feel that a lot will change when she eventually dies.

[bigalffc]

A wonderfully inspiring Woman and Monarch, God bless her.

[jarv]

Wonderful, really?  Biggest welfare recipients in the land. A drain on the taxpayer.

[Neil D]

I'm a republican so I don't share this enthusiasm for the monarchy.  I will admit the current monarch has been astute enough to keep her political views to herself and has avoided interfering in politics - as far as we know. 

The same cannot be said of her heir.  Prince Charles has a long track record of badgering politicians, government ministers, opposition leaders to promote issues dear to him.   We will never know the full extent of this as the political parties agreed in 2011 that Prince Charles' correspondence with political leaders will remain closed to the public.  He is not and has no intention of being outside of politics.  This is not the role of a genuinely constitutional monarch.

The Duchy of Cornwall - the fourth largest landowner in the UK - is run like a feudal state. It that pays no CGT or Corporation Tax.  This gives him a significant commercial advantage over his business competitors.  Meanwhile he pockets the £20m a year it generates in income and the accounts are not subject to Treasury scrutiny.

All this because we seem inexplicably attached to a system which affords wealth and political influence to individuals on the basis of birth alone.  We can do better.

[Logicalman]

She is a wonderful woman with an astonishing record but does she command the respect of the younger generation?
I feel that a lot will change when she eventually dies.

It will be a double-whammy, firstly she is, perhaps, the only current royal that can command any decent respect at all, so when the Charlie takes over, the Monarchy will suffer both due to him being what he is and the lack of ongoing respect for the Monarchy in general.

[Russianrob]

Agree with Neil D,hence l am looking forward to Russian Citizenship,but still hold the Queen in high esteem and will do till she or l die.

[Statto]

The royal family costs me about £1 per year and for that I get the fairest and most robust constitution in the world. A quid for liberty and justice. No complaints from me.

[bobby01]

you might be gone before her

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[ByTheRiver]

She is a wonderful woman with an astonishing record but does she command the respect of the younger generation?

I would imagine not. And why would she - they have been brought up to believe (rightfully) that all human beings are equal regardless of race, gender, religion, etc. So how on earth would a monarchy make sense?

Have to say I'm with Jarv and Neil D (ad most of the youth, I imagine) on this.

[Statto]

She is a wonderful woman with an astonishing record but does she command the respect of the younger generation?

I would imagine not. And why would she - they have been brought up to believe (rightfully) that all human beings are equal regardless of race, gender, religion, etc. So how on earth would a monarchy make sense?

Have to say I'm with Jarv and Neil D (ad most of the youth, I imagine) on this.

Opposed to the monarchy
Over 55s - 18%
18-24 year olds - 25%

Source: YouGov

[ByTheRiver]

She is a wonderful woman with an astonishing record but does she command the respect of the younger generation?

I would imagine not. And why would she - they have been brought up to believe (rightfully) that all human beings are equal regardless of race, gender, religion, etc. So how on earth would a monarchy make sense?

Have to say I'm with Jarv and Neil D (ad most of the youth, I imagine) on this.

Opposed to the monarchy
Over 55s - 18%
18-24 year olds - 25%

Source: YouGov

Not a huge amount of difference between those two groups, surprisingly. I'd have had the over 55s even lower (my mum LOVES all of them), and the youth definitely higher. I suppose it depends on the terms though - opposed to the monarchy seems a little strong. If it were blasé about the monarchy I suspect it would be higher. You don't see too many youngsters lining the streets for one of them to go past in their multi-million pound carriage with scarcely a wave, for example. Tends to be, erm, a certain type of person. At least in the TV interviews!

Interesting stats either way, chap. Ta.

[ron]

The quest for societies where everyone is equal generally passes through the phase of some being more equal than others and then finishes up with a Stalin or someone similar.
All in all,  a constitutional monarchy is a safer bet.
Oops mods... not really a political point, just saying I think the monarchy with checks on extreme government policies is a good idea.

[ffcne]

Wonderful, really?  Biggest welfare recipients in the land. A drain on the taxpayer.

Tourism covers a lot of that.

[Woolly Mammoth]

Wonderful, really?  Biggest welfare recipients in the land. A drain on the taxpayer.

So is sending money abroad from poor people in a rich country to rich people in poor countries.

[Neil D]

Wonderful, really?  Biggest welfare recipients in the land. A drain on the taxpayer.

Tourism covers a lot of that.

The top Royal tourist attraction, Windsor Castle (and Holyroodhouse, for good measure), had 1.5m visitors in 2016.  Not enough to put them in the top 20 for visitor numbers. 

[Southcoastffc]

I'm with Neil.  I've never understood why accidents of birth should mean that reverence and awe be accorded.  And the financial arguments in favour of the monarchy simply don't stack up.  Parasites IMO, however 'nice' the old lady may be.

[Fulham 442]

Accidents at birth could apply to all of us. I feel very happy and privileged to be born into a comfortable home in Fulham.