Author Topic: Current Perception of the Windsors and the Future of the Monarchy  (Read 142955 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Prince_Lieven

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 6570
  • To Be Useful In All That I Do
    • View Profile
    • Edward III's Descendants
Hey, I bought a copy of 'Time' magazine today because it has a large article on the Queen in honour of her 80th birthday. I thought you guys might like to know some of the statistics the article presented. They ran several polls.

Should the Queen continue to carry on her duties as at present?
*Yes 59%
*No 24%
*Undecided 17%


Precentage who feel very or mostly favourable toward:
*Police 73%
*Armed Forces 72%
*Church of England 51%
*Royal Family 47%
*Parliament 43%


Percentage of people who say this attribute fits the royal family:
*Good for image abroad 56%
*Important to Britain 50%
*Highly respected 32%
*Out of touch 32%
*Supports and promotes charities 31%
*Hard working 23%
*Remote 20%
*Good value for money 13%
*Important to my life 4%


It goes on to say that since 1952, the Queen has received 3 million letters, hosted about 1.1 million people at her garden parties and made 256 official overseas visits to 129 different countries. It also quotes various people who've recently met the Queen and been extremely impressed. The article was very good - they talked to the Queen's staff, and Prince Andrew as well. When Prince Andrew was asked if his mother 'likes her job' he replied "People say to me 'your life must be very strange'. But of course I've never experienced any other life. It's not strange to me. It's the same for the Queen. She has never experienced anything else. That life, that knowlege, that wisdom is purely natural for her." Pamela Hicks says that the Queen "feels she must do the job she has been given and it will be for others to judge whether she has succeeded."

Remarking on her dry sense of humour, an anecdote is told whereby a foreign head of state who was visiting slipped out of the palace at night, the Queen quipped "Has he taken his wife?" Another time, she stood up at a family dinner and the footman pulled back her chair, but she wanted to continue the conversation so went to sit down again, and of course crashed to the floor. The family found it hilarious, but the footman was horrified, until the Queen reassured him.

Prince Andrew said of his mother: "Her desire is not to change the future, but to be there, today."

I can't speak for anyone else but personlly, my admiration for this woman is boundless and long may she reign!  :D
"How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?"
-Sherlock Holmes

"Men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget."

Janet

  • Guest
Re: Current Perception of the Windsors and the Future of the Monarchy
« Reply #1 on: April 15, 2006, 02:02:08 PM »
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2006/04/15/do1502.xml

A very good and thought-provoking article. An excerpt: "Can there ever have been anyone in public life with less desire to show off, bare her soul, win people's hearts or explain herself in any way?"

I can't begin to describe how much I admire this lovely Queen.

Offline Prince_Lieven

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 6570
  • To Be Useful In All That I Do
    • View Profile
    • Edward III's Descendants
Re: Current Perception of the Windsors and the Future of the Monarchy
« Reply #2 on: April 15, 2006, 02:10:51 PM »
Thanks for posting that link Janet, very interesting stuff. It's especially right when it mentions that the Queen has never wavered from her promise to serve her country. And it's been 59 years since then!
"How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?"
-Sherlock Holmes

"Men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget."

Offline Grace

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 3126
    • View Profile
Re: Current Perception of the Windsors and the Future of the Monarchy
« Reply #3 on: April 15, 2006, 06:03:15 PM »
Lieven, I am interested to find out if you know who was polled here, "Time" being an American publication?

There has been a perceptible change in opinions of the Queen, particularly in the last few years, with even non-supporters admitting she has performed her duties admirably and is not the humourless and staid person she was thought to be in the past.  Her image has softened - it's even obvious in her choice of clothes - whether it's because of changes she made post-Diana or post-Queen Mother or due to her advancing age is hard to know. ???

At my work, we are having a morning tea on April 21 as a celebration of EII's 80 glorious years...naturally only those loyal to Her Majesty, her heirs and successors according to law may attend! That won't be everyone but it will be quite a few...  ;)

« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by Grace »

Offline Prince_Lieven

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 6570
  • To Be Useful In All That I Do
    • View Profile
    • Edward III's Descendants
Re: Current Perception of the Windsors and the Future of the Monarchy
« Reply #4 on: April 15, 2006, 06:46:35 PM »
It says that 2,264 'Britons' were interviewed in person between January 5-10 2006.  ;)
"How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?"
-Sherlock Holmes

"Men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget."

La_Bella_Regina

  • Guest
Re: Current Perception of the Windsors and the Future of the Monarchy
« Reply #5 on: April 15, 2006, 11:57:42 PM »
I admire the Queen. Sad to say, though, that I seem to be the only one in my age group over here. Here's a little story: Last year in class we were discussing the monarchy. When I said that I admired the Queen, I was shouted down, even by my teacher. One girl even said she wanted HM to die. :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[

ferngully

  • Guest
Re: Current Perception of the Windsors and the Future of the Monarchy
« Reply #6 on: April 16, 2006, 02:01:44 PM »
she is a femme formidable in my opinion, but i don't think thats such a bad thing at all ;)
selina                 xxxxxxxxxx

Caleb

  • Guest
Re: Current Perception of the Windsors and the Future of the Monarchy
« Reply #7 on: April 16, 2006, 02:13:06 PM »
The royals, as pointed out in a National Geographic documentary ("The Last Royals") bring in the tourists.

JaneEyre5381

  • Guest
Re: Current Perception of the Windsors and the Future of the Monarchy
« Reply #8 on: April 17, 2006, 09:11:43 PM »
I too admire Her Majesty.  She does a great deal and how many of us can say that at her age we're going to be as active?  I think she deserves a lot of respect for what she does and how she seems to handle the presure that comes with her position.

Ra-Ra-Rasputin

  • Guest
Re: Current Perception of the Windsors and the Future of the Monarchy
« Reply #9 on: April 18, 2006, 08:24:10 AM »
As a proud Brit, I can say that personally I think the Queen is a very nice lady and all, but I don't have the boundless admiration for her that others do.

She is where she is because she was born into it, and I don't think she deserves any special praise for doing what is not really a particularly hard or unenviable job that she didn't have to work for.  What has she done, really, for mankind? Has she saved people's lives? Has she made the world a better place? Has she triumphed against adversity? Struggled with poverty and a lack of education?  No. My own standards of what deserves praise are simply not fulfilled by the Queen.  She has done her job well, and I am admiring of her ability to keep on doing it all these years, especially as it must be boring and frustrating to not be able to go out and do what YOU want to do with your life.  However, she's not exactly had a hard life so I find it difficult to say 'she's an amazing woman', because she's not in my eyes.

She's respected because of what she represents, not because of who she is, in my mind.  I'm sure she's a lovely person and I wouldn't mind her being my granny, but I'm not particularly admiring of her, I'm afraid.

Shoot me down now! I'm a traitor to my queen! ;)

I think Liam's statistics are revealing though.  The fact that more people support the Church of England than the Queen is a sign of how popular opinion is going down.  If people are more interested in religion than the queen, you know something's up.  My own theory is that as the older generations die off, the younger generations won't be as interested in the monarchy.  The only people keeping the opinion polls marginally in the royal family's favour are the elderly generations who still have the old attitude of deference to the monarchy.  Nowadays younger people like me are more apt to question why the monarchy exists and to resent the fact that our taxes go towards supporting a monarchy that has no real role and is simply there to fill the pages of Hello! magazine, or so it seems.

Rachel
xx


Alexios

  • Guest
Re: Current Perception of the Windsors and the Future of the Monarchy
« Reply #10 on: April 18, 2006, 09:04:06 AM »
Quote
I think Liam's statistics are revealing though.  The fact that more people support the Church of England than the Queen is a sign of how popular opinion is going down.  If people are more interested in religion than the queen, you know something's up.  My own theory is that as the older generations die off, the younger generations won't be as interested in the monarchy.  The only people keeping the opinion polls marginally in the royal family's favour are the elderly generations who still have the old attitude of deference to the monarchy.  Nowadays younger people like me are more apt to question why the monarchy exists and to resent the fact that our taxes go towards supporting a monarchy that has no real role and is simply there to fill the pages of Hello! magazine, or so it seems.
Let's hope you're wrong. I have the highest respect for the queen and the monarchy. The British monarchy has such a long tradition, I would be very sad if it was ever abolished - I hope it will not happen in Australia.
I don't know why so many young people nowadays are so indifferent towards the monarchy...don't they know the splendid history of this glorious and noble instution? The monarchy is something special and precious...in my opinion the British should be proud of it and honour it. God save the Queen! Long may she reign!

Offline RichC

  • Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 757
    • View Profile
Re: Current Perception of the Windsors and the Future of the Monarchy
« Reply #11 on: April 18, 2006, 09:06:52 AM »
As an American looking over from the other side, I'm almost envious of the British system.  At least the British are honest about the head of state being born into the role.  Our current president *never* would have got to where he is if he hadn't come from a very powerful and wealthy family.  

I think the Queen does a good job, as long as she (or whoever the monarch is) stays out of party politics.  Also, the scrapes they get themselves in strike me as so minor compared to the messes our elected officials get into over here.  Yet the royals really get raked over the coals by the British press for the smallest misstep.  Our vice president recently shot someone by accident.  Can you imagine if Prince Phillip had done that?  

« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by RichC »

Alexios

  • Guest
Re: Current Perception of the Windsors and the Future of the Monarchy
« Reply #12 on: April 18, 2006, 11:45:48 AM »
Quote
Yet the royals really get raked over the coals by the British press for the smallest misstep.  Our vice president recently shot someone by accident.  Can you imagine if Prince Phillip had done that?  
I agree.

Ra-Ra-Rasputin

  • Guest
Re: Current Perception of the Windsors and the Future of the Monarchy
« Reply #13 on: April 18, 2006, 12:50:16 PM »
I think the difference between US politicians and the Royal Family is that the politicians got voted in by the public and don't scrounge off the public for their living.  Therefore, they're less accountable to the public for their private lives, because the only part of them that is public is their professional roles.

The Royal Family get paid by us for basically doing nothing; we fund their lifestyle.  We pay for them, so they're our property, in a sense, and so they're always prime fodder for criticism.  I know when it breaks down person to person individually it's a matter of pence that goes towards the royal family from our taxes, but still, they get to live the life of riley while we don't.  So, when they spend £1 million on taking helicopter rides between homes or say something racist, we are less indulgent and more critical of them because really they have no RIGHT to be where they are beyond who they happened to be born to.  Average Sun reader loves to get their knickers in a twist when they read the provocative headline: 'QUEEN SPENDS 1 MILLION OF OUR MONEY ON NEW ROLLS ROYCE' etc.  It's sensationalism and we love it.  The Brits love to moan, and if we're not moaning about the weather, we're moaning about the royals wasting our hard earned cash!

 I would be sorry to see the monarchy go, but I think anyone but the Queen/King should start getting jobs and funding their lifestyle themselves, especially royals such as Prince Andrew and Prince Edward; what do they do to justify their allowances?  If they spend our money, they have to be accountable for their actions, hence why they get raked over in the press.  

However, the British press is notorious all over the world for its vindictiveness towards all celebrities.  In certain parts of London you can't walk down the street without falling over a pap waiting to take a photo of someone 'famous' (usually the latest Big Brother winner). It's madness.  Someone just has to step out of a taxi with their knickers showing and it's front page news.  What the world has come to, eh?  ::)

Rachel
xx

CHRISinUSA

  • Guest
Re: Current Perception of the Windsors and the Future of the Monarchy
« Reply #14 on: April 18, 2006, 02:18:39 PM »
Oh Rachel, you have certainly raised my ire today.  

Quote
I think the difference between US politicians and the Royal Family is that the politicians got voted in by the public and don't scrounge off the public for their living.  Therefore, they're less accountable to the public for their private lives, because the only part of them that is public is their professional roles.

First of all, since when don't politicans scrounge off the public for their living?  The city of Washington DC is completely populated with people paid for by the public, many of whom spend their entire careers padding their own pockets through political means.

Our presidents, senators, congressmen and other officials typically work for 4-8 years.  For the rest of their lives - and their widows' lives - they receive huge pensions, the finest health care in the world, and a range of other perks.  Our former presidents and their families receive secret service protection, staff and offices, travel, and many other benefits for their lifetimes.

We probably pay more a year for our former presidents and their families - everything included - than you do for all members of the Royal Family except the Queen herself.