Now that all of the hooplah of that damn royal wedding is thankfully receding into history, I would like to point out that this whole monarachy thing, which we Yanks tossed into the trashbin of history in 1776, still clings to the British population like a nasty fart hangs around a beer guzzling sot, but sucks a great deal of time and energy out of the average Limey's day.
The royal family really has no power in international affairs (the Prime Minister makes the calls here), and no say in internal British matters either (again, the Prime Minister who controls the House of Commons calls the shots here as well). Essentially, the royal family (the House of Windsor) has much in common with our version of fairy tale princesses: Disney Land and Disney World. People flock to see the Queen at Buckingham Palace in the same manner that all sorts of folks pay big bucks to gawk at Mickey Mouse and Goofy in Disney World.
Yes, the royals hold an enormous amount of real estate inherited through the ages as it was passed down from the old kings and queens throughout British history, and lately through the House of Hannover and on to the existing royals, the House of Windsor. Most of the profits generated by these holdings are channeled back into the government's coffers and so in reality, the royals really don't cost the country anything, but more accurately generate a modicum of profit (but nothing close to Disney World). One can only speculate as to what kind of ROI those holdings would generate were they removed from royal hands, but I suspect that the Brits want to leave well enough alone.
Should the royals decide to keep these real estate profits, and to cash in on some of their holdings, and all bets are off: a revolution would surely ensue, and this is a revolution that the royals have postponed slowly over the generations by gradually ceding power back to the people, in exchange for keeping their royal heads attached to their royal necks.
And the Brits love these guys, for reasons I can't really fathom since I am a Yank, but to see the hullabaloo about these useless Dukes, Duchessses, Earls, Lords and Viscounts gallavanting around in their phony uniforms while all marrying their first cousins is a bit much for me. But hey, whatever floats the Limey boat.
God save the Queen. And keep that 'British Disney Land' revenue flowing.
Unrelated Note: notice how King George III and Mickey are striking the same pose.
6 comments:
I am thankful as well not to hear of this wedding anymore as it was getting nauseating.
I too fail to see what's so great about the inbred crowned heads...
The royals are a joke. I was talking with some guys from Australia about this, they agree it is silly for a country to have royalty in our age.
Silver:
We agree that this whole Willy and Kate marriage more closely resembled a soap opera than something of historical significance. Two unaccomplished snobs getting hitched. Big deal.
Trestin:
I worked for an ex-pat English boss for a year or two, and it was to him whom I proposed my Disneyland analogy about his beloved royals.
He got pretty uppity about the whole Disneyland notion, and I was modestly surprised, considering he was a U.S. citizen at the time.
Think of Obama and then the Royal Family. Which would you rather have?
Case closed. Send the Kenyan back to Chicago with the rest of his thugs.
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