With the diamond jubilee this weekend i thought this was a very appropriate subject to write about...

I agree that the monarchy is costing us too much money, i completely agree that we as a country in recession should not be spending as much as we do on the Royals but one thing makes me think otherwise. Seeing the events this weekend has made me realise the royal family brings people together, and brings out the patriots in all of us. To celebrate this british country, we certainly need to one way or another!

So my against point would be the cost - and I'm sure many of you will agree - what i don't understand is how people from America love the royals yet when asked if they want royals of their own they simply don't want them, and i have a feeling it is too do with the cost. That leads me onto one of my "for" points. The royal wedding and this weekend have brought tourism to this country in the same way the olympics will. For the spirit of it, the national pride and proud to be british feeling of it all. I am fascinated by Americans (and the world) coming to britain because I'm surprised they like the royals, they seem almost perplexed by the patriotism behind it.

If the royal family were to be scrapped would we have this same british pride or not? It makes me wonder because what else would we have done this weekend? Would we have street parties for other occasions instead? I doubt it and thats what makes me think despite the cost this must all be worth it, for that sake of british patriotism.

We need to bear in mind the social problems and financial difficulty this country is in at the moment, and i have noticed how out of touch the royals are, living in a bubble where every thing is perfect and theres certainly no poverty in buckingham palace.

I was watching TV the other day and i saw all the planes helicopters and boats and the first thought that came into my mind was "Well how much did that cost then?" and I'm guessing the answer is "a lot". Maybe thats just me though, I'm frugal and at a point in my life now where finance is a high priority, so thank heavens they didn't employ me for the event organisation because it would have been a pot noodle in a field not this royal lunch stuff...

My conclusion is that the royal family are a great attraction to the UK and bring out the patriotic feeling in all of us, but can we do it for less? Does it need to be so expensive? I am neutral on this matter, we should bear both of these points in mind if we ever consider the abolition of the monarchy. Could we maybe cut it down? Make it smaller? That would be the best option for me.