Quote:
Originally Posted by Liberty4eva
As someone who lives outside of the UK, I would like to know why the UK still has a monarch. If I was to guess the answer to my own question I think it would be something like "the UK has always had a monarch. It's tradition and it would be strange if it didn't have one" or something like that. But this is the 21st century and especially with our economies suffering I wonder why the British people overwelmingly seem to put up with supporting the lavish lifestyles of this super-wealthy family through their taxes.
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We have a monarch because we still want one. The royal family represent what's left of our traditions and heritage and they contribute as much financially to the economy of this country as they may take from it. It's a symbiotic relationship. Furthermore, the Queen is a taxpayer (since 1993) just like the rest of us. Being an American you can't be expected to understand a country like ours, steeped in history and tradition, seeing as you have so little of your own, most of which is nothing to be proud of as it happens.
Would we want a Presidential style autocracy, with the endemic corruption that entails? Err, no thanks. The British Monarchy is a constitutional monarchy in which the King or Queen reigns as Head of State but with limits to their power, and the day-to-day government is carried out by Parliament. All far more civilised than the unseemly bunfight Americans undertake, where the wealthiest contender with the best connections and most influential backing ends up as President.