1. Only kings count money, if she is a queen, she'll be in the parlour, eating bread and honey! 2. Twenty quid notes: would you stick pictures of yourself where the sun don't shine? 3. They could end up playing for Queen's Park Rangers or Queen of the South. Given QPR's wretched form, I'd imagine that they'd make the first team within a week.
No, Oliver Cromwell died and they made the mistake of making his son the successor, and he was a dimwit. And I think if you asked the majority of people at the time they certainly wouldn't have been "desparate" to have the monarchy back. It just happened that there were more pro-monarchy forces inside and outside parliament then.
even when 80% of the country said they couldnt give a **** about the olympics and we couldnt afford it/it should never have been hosted here? i dont think so
He certainly oppressed the people he should have been protecting, I'll give you that. He went much too far with Puritanism, and nothing like far enough in allowing movements like the Diggers and Levellers to grow. And he was certainly a tyrant in Ireland.
Inappropriate baby names: Mohammed Wayne Chardonnay Adolf Jezobel Herod Osama Beelzebub Jesus Dodi Any more ideas?
I don't think God invented Kings and Queens they are a human construct. If I was starting from scratch with a blank piece of paper and writing the constitution for a country it certainly would not have any reference to a royal family. What has happened of course is that the Normans still run the country for they set up institutions and organisations to ensure they retained full control.
Do we have a constitution? The Normans are Scandinavian by descent so at least we got ikea.........................
We are the only country (I think) to have an "uncodified" constitution. It exists, but across many different documents starting with the Magna Carta.
If he follows in the footsteps of his ancestors of many years ago, then archery, real tennis, or rowing might be taken up by the yet to be born royal. As for a suitable name, how about something really regal - Julius, Augustus, Claudius, Caligula. I'd go for Tiberius or Cicero myself. If it is a girl, perhaps name her after the great Olympians like Allyson (Felix), "Queen" Serena (Williams)
Well news of this pregnancy has at least removed Beckham from the headlines for the moment!! So well done to them for that!!
The rights of the British are set out in English/Welsh Common Law (which the Normans left in place after 1066). Magna Carta was a restatement of features of common law. I'm not saying that all was sweetness and light in past centuries, but we were unusual in having a belief in the idea that things should be fair. It was the introduction of the Star Chamber which sought to over ride civil liberties and imprison without charge that eventually rebounded on Charles I. Habeas Corpus which requires charges to be clearly stated was even used by protestors against imprisonment in Guatanamo Bay (since American law is also based on our Common Law).
The current Monarch is a Saints supporter, she pulled rank to get the best seats in the house at Wembley 1976 and wore our colours too. Me, I am a Royalist through and through and proud of it. As far as I am concerned if you want to be a Republican there are frequent ferries across the Channel, please take one.
I don't necessarily think monarchy is a great system but the monarch of this country has very little power and what would replace the monarchy? A President most likely. I can't imagine the cost of a President and his surrounding officials and hangers-on would be that different to the cost of the royal family and certainly wouldn't bring in as many tourists. More importantly, it'd mean another layer of politicians... JUST what we all want!
There is absolutely no good reason why we should still have a monarchy in 2012. It is a stain on this country that this institution is still in place in a land that pretends it is a democracy governed by an elected parliament. If they were so good for the tourist industry, it would surely be better to replace the Queen with Mickey Mouse as he has done wonders for France ! In fact, I feel that they will eventually become "unconstitutional" under future European legislation and despite the comments on just how much the French love them, they will also quickly tell you correctly that we are subjects and not yet citizens as a consquence of retaining the monarchy. In my opinion, the whole system needs radically changing. It is a shame that whenever there is large scale civil unrest in this country, the protagonists are more interested in stealing Nike trainers than considering the genuine inequities in society. There have been some interest comments regarding the evolution of Parliamentary democrcay with the usual red herrings about the Magna Carta (which was only issued to protect the interests of the barons , was repealed by the Pope within a couple of years and was effectively less significant than the Provisions of Oxford of 1260) and reference to Cromwell who Britain had the misfortune to rule during thee Inter-regnum. In the 21st Century, the royalty have minimal constitutional powers and could easily be dispensed with to little detriment. Whilst you could easily argue the case for genuinely benifical kings from the past like Alfred and Henry II as well as the Tudors who rebelled against the Pope (another institutional which should be swiftly abolished) , you simply cannot argue this case these days. Most of our monarchs have been a disaster esepcially in the modern era. Elizabeth's only success is not to have been too imposing but the fact she is married to a racist has done our country no end of harm. It is a shame that there are no longer "commitment politicians" around like Tony Benn to point out exactly what needs to be done to turn this country into the proper democracy that it's heritage cries out for it to be. With regard to the new baby's name, here are a few suggestions:- [video=youtube;_UTnE6DVLq0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UTnE6DVLq0[/video]
