The Royal Family is Obsolete

The royal family is obsolete. There. I said it. And this is coming from a die-hard Anglophile. In my humble opinion, the British monarchy is a romanticized relic that no longer holds relevance in our modern world. Its lingering presence is an offence to those who suffered cultural monopolization at the hands of British colonizers. Simply put, the British monarchy is an outdated institution that should have been dismantled ages ago.

Argument 1 — Nationalism

The primary argument in favour of the monarchy is that it’s a source of national pride. To which I say, poppycock! Nationalism is often a dangerous sentiment that has led to some of the darkest periods in human history. I mean, yeah sure, it’s pretty cool to say that your country has a Queen and that you have a direct connection to history. But let’s not forget that Britain was a global superpower, ruling over vast swathes of land and peoples. That’s not something to be proud of in today’s world.

The Queen, and by extension the royal family, is seen a unifying force for Great Britain. She and her family are frequently used to bring people together around timeless ideals such as shared history and values. But in a country as deeply divided as Britain is today, the monarchy does little to nothing to bridge those divides and remains mostly a-political. The Queen has been more or less silent during the recent Brexit debacle.

Argument 2 — Tourism

Argument number two in defence of the monarchy is that it brings in tourist dollars. And to the I say, claptrap! While that may be true to some degree, I would argue that there are other ways to generate revenue from tourists without propping up an antiquated institution. I’ve travelled to and lived for an extended period of time in London. And yes, there’s usually a crowd outside of Buckingham Palace but the royal family hardly, if ever, makes an appearance. Which is understandable given obvious security concerns. The entire time I was in the UK, I didn’t see the Royal Family once. And you know what? I didn’t mind because I wasn’t really there primarily to see Queen Elizabeth hobble down a velvet carpet at a charity gala. I was much more concerned with seeing Big Ben, Tower Bridge and all of the other amazing historical landmarks that London has to offer.

There’s so much more to London and the UK and putting extensive emphasis on the Royals does a disservice to the rest of what makes the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries great.

Besides, the royals themselves are a huge drain on the public purse. The royal family’s revenues are not as rich as they appear when measured against the expense of security, travel, and yearly pensions (even for extended family!). The royal household cost taxpayers in the United Kingdom $86 million in 2018/19 — a 41% rise over the previous year. That’s a lot of money for image-conscious monarchs during a time of austerity.

Argument 3 — Stability

Argument number three is that the monarchy provides stability in an otherwise unstable world. To which I say, balderdash! And while that may have been true at one time, it’s no longer the case. The royals are not above reproach and scandals seem to hit the family on an almost yearly basis. The most recent being Prince Andrew’s involvement with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The monarchy also doesn’t have the same power that it once did. In a world where democratically elected governments are the norm, it’s hard to justify having an unelected head of state. The royals may provide stability within Britain but they do little to nothing to foster stability abroad. Just take the recent events in Canada.

Trudeau literally turned it into a dictatorship overnight by locking down bank accounts of peaceful protesters, slandering them by calling them Neo-Nazis and having them arrested.

Let’s not mention the un-constitutional enforcement of the Emergencies Act. I won’t go into the several additional Constitution and Human Rights breaches that the Trudeau government subjected it’s people to. Riddle me this…Where was Lady Elizabeth? Off playing croquet or some other nonsense while her subjects were being thrown in jail for expressing their dissatisfaction with the government.

And In Conclusion

So there you have it, three primary arguments in defence of the monarchy and why I believe they are all invalid. The royal family is an outdated institution that is a drain on resources and does little to nothing to improve the lives of British citizens or anyone else for that matter.

What little entertainment value they provided has been lost as we entered into unprecedented times and realized that the monarchy provided little to no solace. The people have become disillusioned. It’s only a matter of time before this antiquated system falls.

Thanks for reading! Cheers!

Until next time,

Luna ❤