OPINION
Marrium Zaidi
Is there anything more quintessentially British than the Royal Family? Widely celebrated as Britain’s “pride and joy”, the Monarchy has remained the jewel of England for centuries, treasured and adored by people the world over. The question is, (and please, take a breath before releasing the hounds), what do they actually do, and do we still “need” them? What did they do to earn such a prestigious title and win the hearts of the masses?
Many citizens of the UK respect and adore the Monarchy, especially, Her Majesty the Queen, who, I’m sure we can all agree has been stellar in office and “hath borne her faculties so meek”. The recent celebration of the Queen’s Jubilee was testament to how people hold her in such high esteem. The masses gathered and paid their hard earned money to witness or celebrate this monumental event: a monumental event paid for by their tax money (Twenty-eight MILLION pounds to be exact, from the pockets and wallets of hard-working classes to cover the costs of the celebrations). Money that arguably could’ve gone to the unfairly treated, poorly funded NHS or millions of families still recovering from the pandemic, who are barely gaining enough money to run their homes, to feed their children or to live up to the new increases in bills and petrol. This money was, and I say this with the greatest respect, thrown away on account of some of the wealthiest people in the world on the backs of some of our most deprived.
It is crazy to think that they are just like us, human beings, except with no worries, born with a golden ladle in hand, into wealth and power in their ivory towers. A caste system where you’re better than everyone else because of the womb you happened to be in. I don’t mean to be crass; it’s just difficult for me to get my head around. It just seems so unfair. And it’s not just the Royal Family either; it seems as if the laws that are made, in small, dark, inaccessible corners of the country never seem to apply to people of privilege, and when it seems like they do, the laws change. I’ll be here all day if I elaborate on all the scandals associated, (but not quite associated), with the Monarchy.
What’s more, although it can be argued that the Monarchy is a symbol of national pride and state unity, one constant amidst this ever-changing world, for many, it remains a symbol of colonisation and feudalism that resulted in great suffering of people all over the world. All in all, the Royal Family is estimated to contribute £19 billion to Britain’s economy pre-pandemic, mostly through tourism; fair enough; the question remains, however, whether this is offset by how much is invested in them. Also, would people really stop visiting Britain just because the nation is no longer superintended by a Monarchy? I think not. To abolish or not to abolish? Well, need I say anymore?
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