**Updated** We should be proud.... (Should the monarchy be abolished?)

Member Name: nicola21

Product:	Should the monarchy be abolished?
Date:	23/03/01 (89 review reads)
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England's heritage and history has been built on the actions of the noble men and women who have been monarchs of this fine country. Anyone who saw the BBC series the History of Britain will agree somewhat that our country's history is honourable and our kings and queens over the centuries have been extremely strong figures who have almost always acted in the best interests of England. Other nations might not agree, and that is their perogative, but if you are English, you should be proud.

Queen Elizabeth I was a remarkable woman. She shaped the future of England from when she took up reign. Her subjects called her time on the English throne as the Golden Age. Her father King Henry VIII was an incredibly strong figure who paved the way for this country.

The royal families and royal individuals over the years have been caught in scandal just like any other famous person. Think about the publicity that the lives of David and Victoria Beckham receive. Their every move is monitored and assessed for public disection. Just as much goes on in the lives of average people, but because they are not celebrities, it isn't broadcast for all to have their opinion.

So whilst all English monarchs have been strong and influencial figures, just like their subjects, they are human at the end of the day. "To err is human, to forgive is divine". Monarchs have been making human mistakes allbeit mostly in their private lives, like every other person since the dawn of civilisation. It is only today's Royal Family that the population seems to generally disrespect because they do not have the need to make the same strong, influential decisions that royals before them had to make.

History has been made by previous monarchs, and fortunately, England in Europe is in a strong enough position not to have war declared on us again. Since World War II, the monarchy have had no major role to play in shaping history, because nothing of na
tional significance has happened where a monarch is needed. Around the time of the world wars at the start of last century, the population loved the monarchy and its popularity was strong. Sovereignty was a figure for all those brave soldiers who fought and died in battle. The monarchy was a symbol for people to hold on to and fight for.

Although the government had a strong influence during the war years, the state of our country has now pretty much been passed over to the importance of government. We can now get on with dealing with the smaller issues in society that the government controls. There isn't a situation where the Queen needs to step in and take control. Nothing, thank God, is that serious anymore. So, for the generations born after the last war, because there is no more national crisis threatening England's inhabitants, more emphasis has been put on the government as a regulator of the country.

We should all be glad that the nation is in a safe enough state for us all to sit back and argue about the smaller things in everyday life, rather than going out to fight for the country in wars. This is why the government now takes precedence over the monarchy in society. The government deals with the lesser, although still important, issues in life.

The monarchy are still waiting in the wings in the event of any crisis where the Queen or future King will have to step in and take over in the interest of national security and action. We should be extremely grateful that we live in a peaceful nation, and remember that if anything does ever happen, which indeed it may, our monarchy will be there to guide our proud nation through and surface victorious.

History has shown us the importance of the monarchy as they have shaped England to what it is today. Just because our country is in a stable position for the time-being does not mean that we should eradicate them from our lives. If history be a lesson, then observe the p
ast as a warning to the future. You never know what will happen next in terms of the safety of our motherland, but if and when it does, we shall at least be prepared with the strength and pride of English monarchy to see us through as they have for hundreds of years, and hopefully will for centuries to come.

*****************UPDATE**********************

At this stage I understand that my views here have not generated much support, as most people seem to be on the same side as the abolitionists. Out with the monarchy and in with President Blair, or anyone with enough money to get themselves nominated for election. This seems to be in direct relation to the presence of the Labour government in power, and the emphasis on Britain joining Europe, the dismissal of our currency and the compliance with the format of European politics ie: a republic.

Things have changed so rapidly over the last couple of decades, from women's equality in the workplace, the contraceptive pill and much more economic power, it is hardly any wonder that the existance of the Royal Family has been near forgotten. Here, I have to point out the excessive commotion and upset that the nation suffered at the death of Princess Diana. If there was so much strong feeling towards the abolition of the Royal Family, why did so many people mourn her death?

The phenomenon swept the length and breadth of the country and millions of people who had never even met her, even myself, were lost for words and incredibly tearful at the news. Can anyone explain why? Maybe I can shed my version of light. Diana, although at the time of her death separated from the Royal Family, was in her day as a Royal, extremely popular, possibly the most popular, moreso than the Queen. After the scandal, she was still seen as a Royal and equally admired and loved. She was young, beautiful and a breath of fresh air into a suffocating presence of Royal authority. It wasn't that people didn'
;t like the Royals, but they needed a change in attitude and Diana carried this perfectly, being given credit as the "People's Princess".

For anyone who mourned Diana's death and felt the pain on a personal level (which so many people did), if you think about it, it was her existance and position within Royalty that made her popularity so vast and all those that miss her, isn't it just that you do admire stong Royal figures, but they need to be more modern and up to date in the real world, just as Diana was. If she was still here as a member of Royalty, I am sure that support for the monarchy would be stronger, and if more modern and appealing members of Royalty were in the spotlight, rather than old Prince Charles, or the tight-lipped Queen herself, there would be a larger and stronger volume of support for the historic institution.

In support of my opinion and the opinions of others here at Dooyoo who are in favour of keeping the Royal Family, I have found some evidence to aid the validity of our beliefs. Whilst various left-wing papers have done their damnedest to bring Sophie and Edward to their knees recently in the wake of scandal and Diana's memory, and succeeded unfortunately, other papers have been doing a little research of their own. And suprisingly, they're not trying to destroy public confidence and persuade readers to want a republic.

I give you the Daily Mail (Saturday, April 14, 2001) voted "Newspaper of the Year". (It is refreshing to find a newspaper that isn't all celebrity scandal and page three boobs!) The front page headline boldly states "YES, WE STILL WANT THE MONARCHY", and goes on to explain with the volume of two large pages, mostly words not pictures, that they conducted their own survey precisely representitive of the nation as a whole inclusive of sex, age, background, nationality and so on.

Pages 4 & 5 are dedicated to the results of this surve
y which is displayed in comaprison with the same statistics from 1999, and the results are showed as a percentage in relation to the responses by sex, and by age groups of 18-34, 35-54, and 55+. Various questions about the validity and postion of the monarchy were posed. Unfortunately I cannot recreate the results in full here as the Dooyoo text format is not suitable, but the general outcome can be assessed as follows:

Question One) Should Britain become a republic or remain a monarchy?

19% - Republic
70% - Monarchy
3% - Wouldn't vote
8% - Don't know

whereby 22% of men were in favour of a republic in relation to 16% of women, and 69% of men were in favour of the monarchy in relation to 72% of women. 12 other questions follow posing queries about other aspects of a republic, the role of the monarchy and the morals of current Royal members, but the general jist shows that the vast majority of a representative cross-section of the nation prefer the monarchy to a republic, but two thirds of the monarchy's supporters say it must modernise. This shows in;

Question 3) Among supporters of a monarchy, which of these do you favour?

30% - monarchy's role should remain broadly unchanged
65% - monarchy should be modernised to reflect changes in British life
5% - Neither

So, it would appear that from an honest a source as the newspaper of the year and their comprehensive poll which many Dooyoo readers may have looked at over the Easter weekend, Britons are still largely in favour of the monarchy, but it really has to change with the times along with its country. Only time will tell what will become of the Royals of Britain, but what it would appear they really need is someone who can attract the public's attention unlike any other, so that faith and admiration can be restored once more. Lets face it, Diana achieved this popular standing more than perfectly in her time and if there is
anyone who could carry this on into the future, it is her sons, but until the future coronation of William, or Harry, the monarchy will simply continue to struggle on against all criticism and harsh judgement, and hopefully survive long enough to turn itself back around to the high and important standing that it lost not that long ago.

Thankyou for reading.

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