Royal Family

"Don't be a meddling monarch, Charles"

Chair — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:57:48 +1300

As a constitutional monarch, The Queen cannot make or pass legislation, and must remain politically neutral. On almost all matters The Queen acts on the advice of ministers. - British monarchy website

Graham Smith writes at The Guardian: "If the Prince of Wales wants political influence and power, he should relinquish the throne and run for president".

Recently I was chatting with a dairy-farming friend, who said he liked the monarchy (probably the Queen) but didn't like Prince Charles because of his views on "Europe" (which I took to mean European agricultural subsidies, which hurt New Zealand farmers). He suggested Federated Farmers might turn republican when Charles becomes King because of this.

"Prince Charles must wait his turn"

Chair — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:41:57 +1300

The results of The Daily Mail's survey on the British monarchy are in. 4,200+ responses were received - here's the results:

89% believe the Queen shouldn't abdicate.
56% said Prince Charles should not stand aside for Prince William.
73% said the Duchess of Cornwall should not become 'Queen' when Prince Charles becomes King
57% say the UK should keep the monarchy
54% think the Royal family are not worth the £40 million they cost British taxpayers

I'm surprised by the 57% support for the monarchy. I would've thought it would be a lot higher - perhaps this is a reflection of The Daily Mail's readership.

Poll: Should Charles pass the crown to William?

Chair — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 10:31:59 +1300

The Guardian has a poll on whether Prince Charles should "pass the crown" to Prince William. The result is currently running 36.8% yes, 63.2% no.

A Royal visit!

Chair — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:25:04 +1300

There was a time when New Zealanders would be excited by the prospect of a visit by a member of the Royal family. Not any more it seems - over a month ago the Prime Minister announced the Princess Royal is to visit us between 14 - 18 November. No-one's really picked it up - TV3 news ran a small article basically cut-and-pasting the Prime Minister's media statement, while not even the Monarchist League has made mention of the upcoming visit, while our own Governor-General fails to mention it in his diary.

World's wealthiest monarch

Chair — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 22:43:37 +1200

Radio New Zealand reports Thailand's king is the world's richest royal, according to Forbes magazine. The list is dominated by Middle Eastern monarchs riding high on surging oil prices. Among European monarchs, Prince Hans Adam II of the tiny principality of Liechtenstein is the wealthiest, followed by Prince Albert of Monaco and Queen Elizabeth of Britain.

A "hearse fit for a queen"

Chair — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 22:37:45 +1200

Oh dear: A Rolls-Royce Phantom VI used in the Queen's 1970 tour has been transformed into a hearse and will take a distinguished place in the fleet of Gee and Hickton Funeral Directors in Lower Hutt later this year.

An activist King?

Chair — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 12:00:57 +1200

Prince Charles has caused a stir in the United Kingdom by reiterating his opposition to genetically-modified crops. James Gray at Republic UK succinctly notes the problem with this:

Whatever your views on GM food (and I know there are a range of these within our membership), we must be clear about one thing: it is entirely inappropriate for a monarch-in-waiting to be publicly expressing any kind of political opinion. This is especially significant when Charles is being critical of current Government policy.

Queen's representative to Beijing, Prince Charles stays home

Chair — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:19:44 +1200

Earlier this year, Prince Charles gained much publicity for his alleged boycott of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing. Prince Charles, who has in the past criticised the Chinese leadership, is apparently doing so because of his views on China's occupation of Tibet. Fair enough - HRH is entitled to his own views.

Yet, yesterday's Otago Daily Times reported that the Queen's representative in New Zealand, Governor-General Anand Satyanand, will be travelling to Beijing to support the New Zealand team. You've got to laugh at the absurdity of it: the heir to the throne isn't attending, yet our virtual head of State (who is actually New Zealand's head of State but sure acts like it) is on his way.

The Tongan coronation - a useful distraction

Chair — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 08:59:31 +1200

The New Zealand Herald reports more details of next week's coronation of the King of Tonga, George V. The ceremony has been "toned down" to cost a mere NZ$3 million, or a third of New Zealand's aid budget to Tonga, after pro-democracy riots last year.

Coronations are a useful distraction - something politicians and anyone who'se read The English Constitution know all to well. Sir Winston Churchill allegedly wanted Queen Elizabeth's coronation to be closer to the 1955 general election, for example.

Zara in New Zealand, supporting the English Rugby team

Chair — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 08:46:26 +1200

Supporters of the monarchy claim the Royal family is an "international family" which does not show favour to any one of the Commonwealth realms. This is nonsense - as we've seen time and time again, the Royal family is more interested in the United Kingdom than any of its former colonies.

So it's not surprising that Stuff is reporting "Princess" Zara Phillips is in New Zealand to cheer for the English rugby team. The press have been hounding poor Zara, who just wants to be like a normal person and watch her boyfriend on the English team play rugby. But as Dr Robert Mann of the Monarchist League previously stated: