The Jubilee

[Blackspur]

Even though shes not my queen, im a pro-royalist and will raise a drink in Her Majestys honor.

At least use British English all this week in 'Honour' :P

[Deleted]

At least use British English all this week in 'Honour' :P

Apoulougies!

[Autumn]

The 4 day weekend is nice - usually we only get 3 days of rain for Bank Holiday Weekends

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

in that I don't get a choice as a UK citizen as to whether my taxes maintain the aforementioned royals or not.

The only way to get a say in where your tax goes is to become the Chancellor of the Exchequer or one of the high-level civil servants in the Treasury.

Without the Royal Family, tourism would go down, resulting in less money for the government in addition to the lost revenue from the Crown's lands, which would mean that your taxes would go up to make up the difference. If you think that abolishing the Monarchy would do anything but increase your tax bill then you need a reality check. In addition to this, a lot of charities that do very much good would lose a big chunk of their annual budget and attractiveness as they would lose the Royal Patronage (why else do you think thousands of charities were falling over themselves trying to get the patronage of the Duchess of Cambridge after the wedding?)

[Chrispotter]

would be more impressive if she lasted 60 years during the medieval ages or something... its not really an 'achievement' to be able to sit on a throne and get the life of dreams because of who's child they were when they were born.
Wouldnt say im anti-monarchy but im definently not pro-monarchy... And yes im from the uk.

[Blackspur]

Apoulougies!

I see what you did there

[Austilias]

So we get rid of the royal family and then your tax goes up a shitload to cover the deficit from the royal estate and loss of tourism, gg. I used to be of the same view but when you actually look into it the royal family generates a mass of wealth we would struggle to cover otherwise, ontop of that the charity work many members of the royal family do is fantastic.

Also, be realistic, you dont get a say in where your tax goes now

When did I say I wanted to get rid of them? They can just as easily fund themselves (though I respect they've cut back their budget during this recession), or those who see them as a necessity can foot the bill. As to taxes, saying that we don't have a say in where our taxes go doesn't end the argument; I personally believe we should.

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

It is like 50p a year out of your taxes, you probably lose twice that amount in change that slips behind the sofa

[RandomAustralian]

I get a holiday out of it, long live the queen or whatever :P

[Austilias]

It is like 50p a year out of your taxes, you probably lose twice that amount in change that slips behind the sofa

My sofa money doesn't fund an undemocratic institution however.

[Deleted]

As a Scottish person, I dare say I hold the same opinion as the majority of Scots.
I honestly don't give a shit.
I'm just happy to have a 4 day weekend, and it'll only be an excuse to drink and have a long sleep instead of getting up at silly O'clock for work.

I'm not going to share my exact opinion on the matter as I'm sure it'll only upset Monarchy supporters, who I have nothing against ofc.

So, in direct answer to the question, will I be celebrating? No. I'm just going to take advantage of the time off work :P

[Deleted]

I'm a bit of a republican, so the only Queen I care to celebrate is my favourite band, and considering it doesn't look like Brian May will be doing this again at the Diamond Jubilee, like he did at the Golden, I won't be watching any of the broadcast. I couldn't care less about what the Windsor's get up to.

Though, I will admit to watching a bit of the wedding of William Arthur Philip Louis (what a ridiculous string of names) and Kate Middleton, just to see what all the fuss was about in regards to that woman. She's pretty, by Windsor standards, but, I wouldn't give her more than a 6.5.

[roblina]

While i'm not pro monarchy, all these negative people need to see it for what it is. It's an opportunity for the country to come together for mass celebrations and that is great, it doesn't happen often.

Will I be standing infront of the tv singing the national anthem? No.
Will I try to enjoy meeting my neighbours and townsfolk on a (hopefully) nice sunny day? Yes.

Some people just have to have an excuse to criticise everything.

[Deleted]

I've been hoping to have a barbecue at some point. It's a good excuse to have a drink and feel good about being British for a bit. At least we can have a good party!

[Deleted]

I am forced to celebrate it due to my job.

[Kendrel]

I'll be celebrating. Whether it's charity, tourism, diplomacy or just good ol' common sense, the Queen has done a great deal for the country over the last 70 odd years (she was active even before becoming the reigning monarch) and I see no reason to not support her - I kind of separate the role she plays with the person here, whether you're a republican or not, you can't deny the amazing role she's played as a person and I can't help but respect her.

Long Live the Queen imo.

[Deleted]

Apoulougies!

I read that in the "french" policemans accent from 'Allo 'allo.

[Deleted]

Much as I oppose royalty, and the fact that their comfortable lives are maintained via my taxes, I do think it's a tad extreme to think of the Queen as some evil, oppressive force in the world. Generally speaking, compared to most parts of the world, British royalty has done a lot of good, considering they could just easily sit on their asses in the lap of luxury and look pomp, pretentious, patriotic and prosperous.

So with that in mind, i'll celebrate the Jubilee on a personal level, insofar as someone who is for all intents and purposes a philanthropist, deserves to be celebrated.

They more or less fund themselves now anyway and to consider the billions that the royal family generates each year in tourism and charity work they more than pay there way in British society.

[Deleted]

For those moaning that as tax payers we pay millions for her:

Last time I checked, we give her about 50 million annually and the royal family generate 175 million annually for the country. So in fact, they benefit us, and cost us NOTHING.

royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalHousehold/Royalfinances/AnnualFinancialReports/Annualfinancialreports.aspx

[Medivh]

The time of Repubblic