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American here, so my grasp of this is pretty tenuous. Still, seems to me there are practical reasons for not removing the current monarchial system. One, it doesn't appear to be broken and, two, reworking the governmental structure could itself become quite contentious.
I don't believe the UK has a formal constitution, and the distribution of some powers is not clearly delineated. The monarchy is more than purely ceremonial but for decades has vested its remaining powers in its ministers. Obviously a monarch trying to claw back powers would lead to a crisis, and that's not going to happen. Instead reworking the British system would become the crisis.
Some parliamentarian democracies separate the elected formal head of state (the presidency) from the prime minister nominated by the elected legislature. Electoral systems don't always deliver so-called good results. For all the complaints about 'elitism' having a predictable head of state outside the political process who arguably commits to the tradition of service established over the last 150 years or so doesn't necessarily work badly.
Then the disposition of the not insubstantial Crown Estate also would be messy. It's not the private property of the individual monarch but also apparently not owned by the British government nor the British people but by the 'monarchy.' There would have to be complex legal and managerial issues to resolve that have major financial implications. Revolutions are simpler.
Administrative matters take up a substantial portion of the king's duties and the Prince of Wales' time. Charles as PoW did a doggone good job of expanding the financial clout of the Duchy, some portion of which then funds charities. The spouses of senior royal family members take on obligations not unlike the spouse of a CEO. Some American First Ladies focus on charities, others devote considerable time to planning entertainments, still others involve themselves in the political. I believe Jill Biden is one of the first to hold a formal job, although she probably only teaches a few classes. Technically, most of her "work" consists of "'appearances and gestures.' The last First Lady chose to minimize those. No rules to any of this. They marry, not get hired.
and put an end to all this speculation about her dying for being in a coma? I mean is it that difficult for her in whatever her present predicament is to just show the world she's okay? There's more afoot here than meets the eye. One of the theories being put forth is that Kate is gradually being written out of palace life and duties because she and William have agreed on a divorce and, true to royal form, Kensington palace is being as catty about things as they can get away with. People have noticed that William doesn't mention her or refer to her when he's doing his royal duties. It's "I hope you all...." instead of "The princess of Wales and I...."
Anyone have any sensible reasons why Kate can't just appear for the cameras for just a few seconds to let us know she's okay?
She is under much stress. I read her parents Business went Bankrupt and they did not pay many suppliers. Many suppliers contacted the Palace. It's an embarrassment for her right now. Apparently, her parents were living above their means.
Except Kate Middleton's ancestors were miners from Hetton-le-Hole, which is a town and civil parish in the City of Sunderland, and Kate (and her family) are what were once known as a commoners.
Kate's ancestors were the equivalent of dirt poor US Appalachian Miners, if you can picture that, and what was the County Durham Coal Field in North East England, is still riddled with memorials to numerous terrible mining disasters, whilst Sunderland was also a centre for ship building and other such heavy industry.
As for the work Kate carries out, a good deal of it relates to numerous charities and other such voluntary organisations, as well as carrying out other official duties.
I wish her well in terms of her cancer treatment and wish her a full and speedy recovery, as do most people. I also wish her husband William and their children all the best, in respect of what must be a very worrying and difficult time for them.
Kate and William are each other's 15th cousins though.
Harry and Meghan...same...each other's 15th cousins.
I read her parents Business went Bankrupt and they did not pay many suppliers. Many suppliers contacted the Palace. It's an embarrassment for her right now. Apparently, her parents were living above their means.
The Times reported on April 1 that the couple are still struggling to pay off more than $329,000 in “insolvency firm costs.”
Royal author Christopher Andersen told Us Weekly that the family still has a “considerable” fortune.
He explained, “The party supply business she founded flourished for years until, like so many other businesses, it was undone by COVID.”...
Kate and William are each other's 15th cousins though.
Harry and Meghan...same...each other's 15th cousins.
That doesn't mean a thing, as lots of people are 15th cousin second removed to someone or other, and in reality it happened the connection was back in 1540, when the population of England and Wales at around 2.5 million was tiny compared to what is is now.
There are cities in the US such as Chicago that have larger populations than the entire country did back then, and a large native population grew and is related to what was a fairly small population back in 1540.
Hillary Clinton's family the Rodhams were miners in the Durham Coalfields, the same area the Kate's family lived in.
The Bush family can trace some of their roots to nearby Northumberland (the next county to County Durham), whilst Biden actually has a cousin that used to drive a London Bus, and is as much English as Irish, although they try to find some link to Ireland in terms of every US President in order to try and win the Irish vote.
Trump is very proud of his Scottish roots and has distant relatives in Scotland.
Barrack Obama actually has an Aunt and Cousins living in England, and visited them when he was younger and you can go on and on and on.
There are lots of ordinary people in the UK, with far greater ancestral connections to US Presidents than Kate has to the Royals, and the same will be true of many ordinary Americans.
Boris Johnson was related to prominent Turkish Muslims, and lots of people on television family tree programmes find that they are somehow related to the Royals or other such people.
Last edited by Brave New World; 04-13-2024 at 06:02 AM..
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