The Royal Fucking Wedding

Prince?

But anyway, it's not a just a question of economic value, it's a question of the values we want to encourage in our culture. Elitism, snobbery, automatic privilege by birth and dubious genetics doesn't seem to feature on any list of positive social influences I've ever encountered

Well that's one side of the coin, but look at it another way.

Prince William was born, and through that accident of birth he learns he can have no life of his own. He has the misfortune to be born into a 'special' family and through no fault of his own must always put his duty to the country of his birth above any ambition he might have had for himself. After school he must join the forces, engage in charitable work, and eventually act as head of state. Oh, and he will always be a terrorist target, so will never have any privacy. As compensation for this he is given status and wealth, and the public cheer and wave flags when he gets married.

The values of Selflessness, duty, serving your country, charitable patronage, representing and championing your country, its people and its exports: are these not positive social influences?

Is it just a coincidence that it shares the weekend with the workers day?

not a royalist but likes more holidays, we get one next year for the jubilee right? And if the queen cacks it we'd get one for her funeral and another for the coronation... Can we wait till then to abolish the royal family?

You sound like my mum, and I disagree with her. I do agree with Chompy.

Then I was Princess Anne's assistant for a while, but I chucked that in because it was obvious they were never going to make me Princess Anne, no matter how well I did the job. It was a question of who you were, rather than how well you did, you know, and I hate that.

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Oh and if you hate the cost of today you should head to the olympics thread too...

Well that's one side of the coin, but look at it another way.

Prince William was born, and through that accident of birth he learns he can have no life of his own. He has the misfortune to be born into a 'special' family and through no fault of his own must always put his duty to the country of his birth above any ambition he might have had for himself. After school he must join the forces, engage in charitable work, and eventually act as head of state. Oh, and he will always be a terrorist target, so will never have any privacy. As compensation for this he is given status and wealth, and the public cheer and wave flags when he gets married.

The values of Selflessness, duty, serving your country, charitable patronage, representing and championing your country, its people and its exports: are these not positive social influences?

:)

Brits love to moan don't they?

love a good moan and winge...

I bet if I offered you a glass of Bubbly right now you wouldnt refuse !!!!

I actually studied at St Andrews when he was there-I don't have anything against him personally, and out of what is a pretty rotten bunch he's the only one that seems to have his head vaguely wired properly.

But coincidentally, the only press agency that breached his privacy when he was there was that of his uncle. Millions were spent protecting him and he wandered about without protection in a hermetically sealed environment, where all the residents had to put up with the explosion in CCTV and monitoring that went on, not to mention the inflation in prices due to the university cashing in on the surge of applications and causing a housing crisis. It got so expensive that I actually left before my final year and studied abroad instead.

That may not be his fault, but it's a two-way process where his freedoms meant everyone else had to be security screened and live under surveillance. His charitable activity is laudable, but then, it still doesn't excuse the fact that the whole dynasty live at other people's leisure, and for all the trade roles etc that these people occupy they are actually compensated by the state.

As for the rest: The Duke of Edinburgh is a continual embarrassment to himself and the UK, as is Fergie and Andrew 'Special Trade Envoy' to the rich and corrupt. Meanwhile, Prince Harry trots about doing things like dressing up in a Nazi uniform for japes-they represent the country too, don't they? And the values they espouse don't really square up with the ones you are citing, despite the wealth and privilege they enjoy.

You can say what you want-the very fact they exist is anachronistic to living in a fair, equal and democratic society. Because some of them occasionally look past their own self-interest or occupy roles of state doesn't change that.

I bet if I offered you a glass of Bubbly right now you wouldnt refuse !!!!

Champagne smells like sick.

The values of Selflessness, duty, serving your country, charitable patronage, representing and championing your country, its people and its exports: are these not positive social influences?

No, the values are not positive social influences in the broader scheme of things, of course if you cherry pick those things that we can all agree are good then the picture looks great, but we need to see all this in the right context.

If we were to find ourselves in a post-armageddon type Hollywood scenario and we had to build society up from scratch, a hospital over there, a bit of plumbing, a school over here, a resolution dispute system of some kind (a police force, law courts etc) all the usual infrastructure of a functioning society - I often wonder at what stage we would decide to arbitrarily select one family (from a foreign country) to heap enormous wealth on, give them exclusive rights to and ownership of great swathes of land (at other people's expense) and all the other grotesquely extravagant cosseted overindulgences we grant the Windsor family.

Or maybe sick smells like Champagne ?
Who wants a cart wheel competition !!!???

Or maybe sick smells like Champagne ?

Yours certainly will in the morning.

I am going to get badly pissed up on 'street wine' (wine).

Yours certainly will in the morning.

I am going to get badly pissed up on 'street wine' (wine).

How old are you ?

I am not a royalist, but I'm not rabidly anti-monarchist either; if they were to cease to be I wouldn't loose sleep. I did however watch the wedding, and I enjoyed it. I also saw, on a very quick ride to the bike shop just now, no less than 3 street parties going on where I live (W10). I was glad to see them.

It's all preposterous, and I wouldn't wish the Windsor (if that's even their name, which it isn't) lineage on anybody, but I have a lot of time for a social occasion trickling down to the goodwill of the mere downtrodden, and for numerous people to enjoy themselves however they see fit, ringing bells and waving flags and what have you.

Meanwhile, Prince Harry trots about doing things like dressing up in a Nazi uniform for japes-they represent the country too, don't they?

Harry also dresses up in a British Army uniform and has served on the front lines in Afghanistan. And he's heavily involved with charities for disabled ex-service personnel, such as Walking With the Wounded

I'm no fan of the institution or its members though I find it hard to be anything other than completely indifferent to them.

I don't disagree with you about the negatives of the system, but that doesn't mean my scenario is false.
If you were offered the chance to swap lives with Prince William I doubt you'd want to. I know I wouldn't.

How old are you ?

Are you propositioning me ?

Are you propositioning me ?

For his/her sake, I hope not.

Are you propositioning me ?

As long as you are younger than me and like the smell of sick !

As long as you are younger than me and like the smell of sick !

Well one of those is true, but this is the sort of badly considered gamble that ended with my shotgun marriage to my 7th wife Fatima.

For his/her sake, I hope not.

Exactly, I am not always* easy on the eye, but I make up for it with a foul temper and bad breath (which draws attention away from my unbearable personality).

*ever

Exactly, I am not always* easy on the eye, but I make up for it with a foul temper and bad breath (which draws attention away from my unbearable personality).

*ever

Im sorry to be shallow (honest) but im not in if youre not hot !? (plus have BF already, and truly 1 is enough at any given time !)

Im sorry about your mum, my mum is too not well (wont go into lengthy facts) but I dont blame the Royal Family.
I too, am not a Royalist, but am so proud when a stiff capital, joins in street parties and general relaxation to come together for once in happiness of a couple that have decided to join in matrimony.... the biggest wedding in 30 years... surely ' Love is all you need ' ???

Where I live there's a street party every weekend (not far from the Theory Swine) but it's not the sort of street party you'd want to be associated with.

Such a one sided poll and yet pro royal still ahead...

Whilst I think its a waste of money, I also think it brings the country together, gives everyone something to be happy about, my girlfriend is consequently all loved up and soppy and I'm sure that applies to a lot women in the UK. Furthermore traditions are great....