Blog: Why I’m not excited about the royal wedding
Tuesday 12th April 2011, 7:00AM BST.
Blog: As winter’s chill is blasted away by the balmy onset of a British spring there are many things to be happy about, notes Peter Finch.
The “Mediterranean” heat wave is pulling blossom from even the most gnarled hawthorne, pub gardens are screaming for attention, and lambs are dancing through daffodils apparently unaware they will soon end up in an ASDA fridge.
For me, however, something is looming on the horizon that’s more intrusive and annoying than an approaching swarm of summer wasps – the Royal Wedding.
My girlfriend says I’m being miserable about the whole affair and she’s right, I’m being incredibly miserable.
But in this instance there is good reason for a moan and I think a lot of people would agree.
The sycophantic sludge being poured out of Buckingham Palace is really starting to get my goat. In fact it’s taken my goat and flung it off a cliff.
We as a nation, according to Buckingham Palace, are without quarter or question to celebrate the wedding unreservedly.
We must buy “official merchandise” to commemorate the event, throw street parties with unknown neighbours, and treat the whole event as our own special day.
Not only that, if you don’t I’m afraid you’re un-British, a bore, or as my girlfriend said, miserable.
Apart from being talked to like a medieval serf, I’m getting really miffed at the fact that in 2011, when the financial world crumbles around us, we’re still propping up the nation’s biggest benefit claimants.
On top of firing over millions of pounds a year to the Windsors in grants, we are also footing the wedding bill and the massively comfortable lifestyle Kate and Wills must endure for the next 50 plus years.
A royal family spokesperson said the happy couple are “mindful of the economic situation” and insisted the Queen and Prince Charles would pay their share.
Last month the cost of the wedding was estimated at £20m. That’s £20 million when thousands of civil servants, police and nurses are heading for George Osborne’s axe.
Even if the royal family paid for everything would that cheer me up? No it wouldn’t.
Where do you think the cash originally came from? The Queen’s nine to five at Netto? It came from us, the hapless smiling peasants fawning over Kate’s dress.
Even the best thing about the wedding, back-to-back bank holiday weekends, are predicted by business leaders to cost our fragile economy £5 billion in lost working hours.
Please don’t think I’m sat here ranting at the computer, spittle flying everywhere, this is a real bone of contention for me.
Why are we still paying for this pomp and pageantry? Imagine what could be done with £20 million? It could take thousands of kids out of the gutter for life, not provide an on-screen romance for one day.
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Oh well, bang go your chances of snogging Lady Shirley under the mistletoe at the Star Christmas Party, but thank you for making such a massive sacrifice to say what lots of us are thinking!!!
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I have met her Majesty before and found her a lovely person so I can’t say I dislike the royals. Furthermore, I pleased that after all the waiting around Kate’s got her man.
However, I must admit I am a bit miffed that I work as a professional in my industry and my partner and I still have to scrimp and save every month to pay out for our wedding in July. I wish I could afford 20 million on my big day!!! Saying that I would not spend it on the wedding, with the frugal attitude I have had to have since leaving University, I could live on that five lifetimes over if not more!!!!
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“you’re un-British….or….miserable.”
There is *nothing* *more* British than being miserable.
It is those telling us to enjoy ourselves or worse organising some sort of street party that are un-British.
Wear your miserableness with patriotic pride.
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Well said sir. I couldn’t have expressed my own views better.
The best thing the English ever did was chop off the head of CharlesI. They then followed it up by doing their worst: inviting his son back onto the throne when Cromwell died.
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You do realise what happened after Charles I lost his head? Anarchy, military dictatorship, more endless conflict, butchering of the Irish…
The £20m cost quoted is security costs, not the cost of the actual wedding, which is being met by the Royal family.
If you don’t like any of this then just ignore it. It doesn’t happen often and you could just stay at home and be boring and miserable. This is a free country after all.
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“You do realise what happened after Charles I lost his head?”
It rolled into a bucket ? Only joking, it was a basket…The correct answer is I think that we had a presidential system (President Bradshaw) before Oliver Cromwell decided that he was going to take over as Lord Protector in a bloodless coup (which then led to some of what you’re describing). For some reason we never seem to talk about the fact the UK was a successful Republic for an albeit very short period of 4 years. BTW – I hope you’re not suggesting to all those republics out there that there are only 2 options – Monarchy or Dictatorship ?
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I’m merely pointing out that the “republic” (erm, lol) under Cromwell wasn’t a great thing at all. It’s annoying how in schools children learn about the civil war but don’t learn what happened after.
Since 1689 we have had the best of both worlds – a constitutional monarchy (or “crowned republic”). We’ve had 322 years of stable and increasingly democratic government, something that is extraordinary considering what this country has been through and seeing how other countries have fared politically.
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” The £20m cost quoted is security costs, not the cost of the actual wedding which is being met by the Royal family ”
So David, how did the Royal coffers get so full to pay for said wedding because i haven’t seen any of them collecting glasses down my local to earn an extra few quid..
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“i haven’t seen any of them collecting glasses down my local to earn an extra few quid..”
….surely you must have suspected that the woman who sold you your cider last night wasn’t born to a life of pulling pints (or using a till….).
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Yes, and the new barman – a Greek gentleman, I believe – made some dubious comments about a coach party of foreign holidaymakers…
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I don’t know whether I live on another planet but I haven’t really given this wedding any thought at all.
Other halfs redundancy looming. Kids having to decide on uni or not, as after next year there’s no chance.
When to move house.
I got a shock when visiting Charlies at the W/E for a sack of potatoes they unfortunately hadn’t got and I saw these cups and other royal memorablia for sale.
I’m glad I am not working on the day or it will be shoved down my throat whether I’e managed to elicit a vague sense of patriotism or not.
It is just an event for Londoners as usual or those with aspirations to belong to some sort of snob club for the thick but financially well off.
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I wish i was on a another planet for this royal wedding. this is just as much about politics, as well as the wedding. Dave-The-Rave, doing his best to to get the most political gains out of the whole buissness!! And, i certainly will not be watching the box that day, i have far more important things to do in my life.
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Well said Peter, I for one will be watching dvds all day and not going anywhere near a tv. I cannot even go to the pub because it will be on in there.
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Willie the Kid might yet turn out to be the saviour of the UK from Republicanism. HM the Q is a fine venerable lady and a credit to her country and P.Anne doesn’t do so badly either. Philip is crass, Charles tries hard but is still a clown, and the rest of ‘em have shown me no reason for me to respect or admire them and aren’t worth a tinker’s curse.
Let W-the-K and his Kate have a go, good luck to them. Their family’s record of marriage doesn’t really add up to much more than a tin of beans never mind a hill, but maybe they can learn from their elders’ mistakes and make a go of the Monarchy. Stand down, Charlie, and let Willie the Kid do the job.
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What wedding???
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I’m trying to feel happy about this big day but I have to say the amount of money it’s costing is disgusting. They don’t have to go so over the top do they. Show the country they actually care by reducing costs and giving the rest to charity. I can’t be happy about any couple prepared to waste 20 mill in one day.
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What a sour and bitter individual you are. If you don’t want to be happy for the future monarch then go indoors, shut the curtains and rant online with the other republicans, leftys and usual suspects of the envy club! No one will force you to buy a commemorative thimble I promise.
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Leaving aside to for/against the wedding for/against the royals arguments, there is one very important statement in the writers letter … namely “throw street parties with unknown neighbours”.
Now I’m not for one second saying we must all go out and stick a plastic flag covered table in the middle of the road and eat jam tarts, but it is a sad reflection on the last 20 years or so that most of us don’t know our neighbours names, even less that many associate with each other.
Maybe the one point that would come out of such things is an attempt for people to foucs on their fellow street dwellers – it’s amazing what can be achieved locally when people get together …
Just a thought.
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Bet if we had a president he would cost an awful lot more than our royal family which millions of peeps world over are envious of. The money they bring into this country well pays them.
Sorry folks
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Really Anne? At last someone who has seen all the figures that prove just how much the Royal Family really cost us (or don’t).
Is there any chance you could share them with the rest of us, or at least post a link?
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Any chance you can post your details of how much the royal family cost us, and how much revenue through tourism that they don’t generate??
No? Well dont ask stupid questions then
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So you’re not interested in a debate on the subject then – or is that another “stupid question”?
I think I already know the answer….
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“Any chance you can post your details of how much the royal family cost us, and how much revenue through tourism that they don’t generate??”
They don’t generate £10 billion a week.
Unless, of course, you know better.
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im sick of hearing about how much the (ever expanding) royal family bring into the country its all tosh
it is assumed that every tourist who visits the uk comes to see the royal family i regularly visit versaille but dont expect to see louis XIV
as an ordinary bloke living in the north could you explain to me how i benefit from them
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Looking forward to the whole day off in bed asleep, I certainly wont be watching any of the wedding should I wake up!
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How can anybody be sick about hearing about the royal wedding. the only thing I ever hear about it is how sick everybody is about hearing about it.
It aint big and it aint clever and I bet you cant wait to see all the trappings of the day.
Me? i’m not bothered.
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It has all been said before, at Charlie’s wedding, at Princess Anne’s wedding and at many others. Just hope for a fine day so that you can go out somewhere and do what you want to do. I am.
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Yet again, all the usual suspects complaining and/or moaning about the Royal family, the wedding costs etc.etc. not one has moaned about having another day off, funny that!
Life is too short, there are people worse off than you, just look at what happened in Japan for goodness sake. Stop being miserable and look for the positives on how to spend this extra day off with your family or friends. That is if they want to spend time with a MOF!
Whether you like it or not, the Royal wedding will generate extra income for the country via tourism, souvenirs and worldwide news coverage. There are people in the Potteries that are glad of it for sure.
Life’s too short folks, will all the moaning in the world really change things?…er, NO! Looks like Victor Meldrew’s relations are alive and well in Shropshire.
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Nobody really cares less about this wedding,people have much more important things to worry about such as how are they going to make ends meet.
The state should not pay 1p towards the cost of this lot,what’s wrong with a low key private wedding at a register office,if they want to get wed they should stand the cost themselves.
There are not enough police to takle crime as it is.
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The true voice of many of us, I feel.
With one in five young people out of work, unemployment at 2.5 million and the rest of us facing ‘uncertain’ times to put it euphemistically, the idea that this wedding of the ruling class is giving the rest of us ‘a lift’ is pure propaganda – not to mention utter nonsense.
I’ll be avoiding the fawning coverage and enjoying the day off with my wife and friends.
A day offs the least we deserve for having to endure the nauseating stuff the media are already serving up!
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Do’nt winge, still time for that invite to drop through the letterbox (the one for from the taxman to pay for the extra ‘security’).
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France has one of the highest incomes from tourism in europe, and where are their monarchy now? Getting rid of ours may help? we may even be able to get into some of the buildings that we already own without having to pay for the privilage. Needless to say i will be doing other things on that wedding day.
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I will spend all day watching the TV . It will take my mind off all the doom and gloom here in Ireland. I wish them a long life and happiness .
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The twenty million and more will soon be put back into the economy from people who ARE interested in the event.
Too much of the world is becoming homogenized, having a royal family complete with pomp and pageantry makes our country special and brings in millions every year.
The marriage of this lovely couple is a joy for many and they should feel free to enjoy it and buy all the tat associated with it they wish.
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Squirrel? shouldn’t that be sheep? WAKE UP
Amazes me also on this blog that the very first people who would have a go at benefits claimants etc are supporters of the royal family. Hilarious Daily Mail stuff.
None of you posting in support of the ‘lovely’ monarchy have ANYTHING in common with them. You just give them your taxes and they give you ‘pomp and pageantry’ and attract tourists in return (like no one travels to the USA or anywhere else without a Royal Family?!!?).
All this costs us millions! They must think we’re all idiots for putting up with it. Laughing at our expense.
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I don’t understand your comments at all,I am fully awake and not one to jump on every band wagon that comes along and I have never had a go at benefit claimants!
As for having nothing in common, many of us got married for heavens sake, and many people will enjoy watching this wedding
Also people certainly don’t visit this country for the weather!
Do you really think YOU would be any better off if the royal family disappeared – you need to wake up!!
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You miserable lot!!’
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I read somewhere a couple of years ago that the royal family cost each of us 50 pence per year, I am british and incredibly proud to be, I can certainly stretch to a whole £1 a year if that means we keep our royal family as they are.
Other than being little disappointed that the china for the wedding is being ordered from China rather from our potteries in the midlands home turf I think that many people forget how lucritive the royal family are, a vast amount of tourists coming to the country are attracted by the sights of Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle & Tower of London. And no doubt the wedding will bring a huge amount of tourists to the capital.
Whilst we are having a whinge about how much money is getting spent and where, just look at the Olympics how much will be spent on them, and closer to home, whilst I hear that council workers are being paid an hour less a week to save precious money, the council is going all out in Shrewsbury getting this town blooming!! Spend to save i guess they might call it.
The Royal couple will only get married once like this and I think they will command a lot of respect from the public who’ve grown up with William, I see it as a very positive event.
I bet we are spending more propping up he number of benefit cheats in Manchester or any other sizeable city than what it costs to run the Royals for a year. This is where the government need to look next for cost savings, I’m sure those bleeders will be watching something other than the wedding on their flashy wide screen tv’s not needing to be thankful for an extra days holiday because everyday is a holiday to them!
and breath……
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I go to London as do many others to go to the Tower of London, Windsor Castle, the palace as well as a host of other places, i certainly dont go because there is a Royal family, if we had none London would still be a tourist trap as the aforementioned places would still exist, much the same when i went to Rome and the Colliseum, should they still have gladiators and christians thrown to the Lions?
On the day, i will find something far more enjoyable to do.
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Rachel,
It’s believed that approx £1.5bn is cheated in benefits each year (the Govt’s own figures)…but… up to £16bn goes unclaimed by those fully entitled to it. So there’s really nothing to get too excited about, and we have bigger fish to fry when it comes to getting our money back.
If we really need to look at getting some money back we need to look at the up to £120bn per annum that goes unpaid in tax by large corporations and wealthy individuals.
I won’t be watching the wedding – I really couldn’t care less about it – but I hope they don’t spend too much public money on it – we really can’t afford it when we are subsidising rich people’s tax bills to the extent we are already.
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“I think that many people forget how lucritive the royal family are, a vast amount of tourists coming to the country are attracted by the sights of Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle & Tower of London.”
Really – can you give us one word of proof for that other than “everybody knows it”?
You might like to know that out of the 20 most visited tourist attractions in the UK the first one with any royal connection comes 17th – Windsor Castle. Just down the road, also in Windsor, Legoland comes 7th.
The world’s most visited tourist attraction is the Palace of Versailles – and there’s not much chance of bumping into a member of the French Royal Family while you’re there…..
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Were you bought up on Fairy Tales Rachel?
Then moved on to the Daily Mail?
[The Royal couple will only get married once like this and I think they will command a lot of respect from the public who’ve grown up with William, I see it as a very positive event.]
Hilarious.
Will the next wedding be registry office then after the divorce?
It’s a bit of entertainment but I wouldn’t get too carried away Rachel.
If the Olympics had been held in Manchester it would have been a lot lot fairer to those who live outside the capital.
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