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In Favour Of The Golden Jubilee |
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There's been a debate in Britain, spanning many years, about whether or not to keep the royal family, or to become a republic. The recent golden jubilee events were seen as something of an acid test, I think, a test of the public mood towards the monarchy. If the jubilee was poorly supported, as many believed it would be, then we were looking at the beginning of the end of royalty. As it happened, a million people turned up outside Buckingham Palace on Tuesday afternoon to support the Queen (and to have a huge party) and the republican movement in the UK was pretty much swept away beneath an ocean of union jack flags. I've never particulary been a staunch royalist, neither have I been a keen republican. I've been a take it or leave it sort of chap, regarding the monarchy. But I have to admit that the golden jubilee celebrations did have a certain something - they had style, they had class, they were often quite stirring, but above all, they were very entertaining. It was pure and simple showbiz, and on a scale that even Hollywood would find hard to match! And I for one quite like showbiz! Some people have said that the whole jubilee thing was a waste of money. But I have to disagree. It didn't really cost all that much in the grand scheme of things, probably adding up to just a couple of pence each, but yet we got a great show that made a lot of folk genuinely happy, bringing a bit of colour into their dull lives. Plus there was the amazing full live rendition of 'Bohemian Rhapsody', Paul McCartney doing 'Hey Jude' and Ray Davies singing 'Lola'! So that tips the balance for me, shallow as it sounds. Having a monarch is just great showbiz! Scrapping the monarchy and replacing it with something utterly dull would be a very bad move. There's enough dull stuff in Britain as it is! Give me the pop concerts, the concorde fly pasts and the oceans of flags any day! Ok, the royals have far too much money than they'll ever need, especially when there are people in this world who are actually starving to death. Something has got to be done about that for sure. And there are far too many minor royals who no one has ever even heard of, and who don't seem to do very much, and these people should be sent hefty tax bills ASAP! But the monarchy has no political power any more, and hasn't had for hundreds of years really, the queen cannot make any laws or tell us what to do, she does not 'rule' us any more, she is just a state figurehead. But a very glamourous figurehead, and if you're going to have a figurehead you might as well have one that gets noticed, and the monarch certainly does that. The Queen is showbiz, and there's no biz like showbiz, Liz! Maybe the rules of succession could be changed in the future, so that we could elect our monarch. Certainly, the Anglo-Saxons used to elect their monarchs a thousand years ago! It was only after 1066 that all that stopped. Anyhow, just a few thoughts there. The past few days have definitely helped me to make up my own mind about the value and meaning of the monarchy. And the meaning for me is that the Queen is not someone for whom I would 'lay down my life' because I am a loyal 'subject' but instead she represents a wacky institution by whom I am happy to be entertained! If I was asked to vote tomorrow between the queen or a republic, then I would choose the queen. 'Republic' just sounds too serious for me. Dull. Boring. 'Monarchy' on the other hand, sounds more fun. Silly, but fun. Yes, the monarchy is ridiculous and eccentric and full of many bad things, but for me these are precisely the things that, thinking about it, makes it worth keeping! Let's just have a bit of fun in life sometimes for god's sake!
Andy Savage
LETTERS IN RESPONSE
Golden for who?...I see the old cow's new limo has a dent in in. It only cost £5 million to produce, which seems to have been kept quiet in jubilee week. Cheerio everyone. David 8th June 2002
Yes, it is easy to be critical of course, and I do agree that the extravagant lifestyle of the royals is often sickening. But if we had a president instead would it be any cheaper? And who would we get? President Thatcher? The Royals do many things that get up my nose too, but if you forget about them as individuals, the institution of the monarchy itself is eccentric and surreal and historically interesting and for me that has a certain entertainment value. Was the Golden Jubilee for the Queen personally, or was it more of a celebration of the nation's wackiness? And though I appreciate everybody has times when they do not feel like celebrating, it is wrong to expect that nobody else should be allowed to have some fun. The event was a good laugh, and it cheered a lot of people up, and if you think that's a bad thing then maybe you should take a look at yourself. Andy Savage 9th June 2002
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