Quote Originally Posted by superfeathers View Post
As others have said before me, the comparison of football and the coronation is pretty strange.
What football events are asking for £100m in taxpayer money? I was of the understanding that fans pay for tickets and the clubs pay for what goes along with the event. With the added bonus of a positive impact on the local economy.

I don't really care about the royals, i'll be switching off from it as much as physically possible and let those who want to enjoy it enjoy it. But I do find it hard to understand a country where a government says it has to make tough decisions but can then find money for this sort of nonsense.

As a side note, no doubt it's already been mentioned but were Charles quite the environmentalist he's made out to be then surely this wouldn't go ahead at all
Football gets loads of taxpayers money. But I'm not comparing football to the royalty. Im comparing being a football fan to being a fan of the coronation as an event. Neither make sense. Both are about drama, symbolism, entertainment etc.

My point was that I often view a lot of the criticism as being pretty sneering. A more open debate about the benefits of republics v monarchy's would be useful but that isn't going to happen here in a thread with this title.

I do also think it's used as a bit of virtue signalling too really, because I don't think the royal family has an impact on people's lives at all. I appreciate that symbolically it does, and that does matter to an extent, but practically there are far more things to be done that are far more useful, in my opinion.

As for the cost to taxpayer's. Well, debating over what govts should spend money on is 50% of all political debate. The reality is money will be spent on things you don't like, and that goes for everyone. That's part and parcel of society.

I'd love to see the royal family open up more, their estates become more open etc, but I do think on balance they are a positive thing for the UK, and that is based to a large part because I see little of substance from those who oppose it in terms of what would replace it.

So I view anti-royalism all as a distraction really. Probably just like many view being pro-royal as a distraction too.

Maybe everyone should just have a beer and let everyone get on with it or not, depending on taste?