I have nothing really against the royal family, but it is a bit silly. When it comes down to it, what’s the point? Tourism? They serve no real purpose.
Yep. Like the article pointed out, Queen Elizabeth II is probably the last person to believe in the institution. Rest of them are a bunch of rich people pretending they're better than the common folks.
Tourism is exactly their purpose, they bring in huge tourist dollars annually. The tourist industry of the UK is pretty much all centered around it's history and the royal family is at the center of that. If the royals and nobility go away the links to the past go with them and that history becomes a lot less interesting to a lot of people. UK tourism dollars would take a huge hit. Not many people visit the UK for beaches and great weather.
The Royal Family provides many of the services that Americans assign to the State Department, the Pentagon, and various other Cabinet posts. The Queen or King is the Head of the Armed Forces, as well as being the Defemders of the Faith (Church of England). The Royal family have top military ranks and are the chief internal and external diplomats for the UK and the Commonwealth of 149 nations, and also have a role in influencing society with an eye to longevity of key social institutions such as the family, education, historic preservation, hundreds of charities and foundations, and recognition of outstanding efforts by their "subjects". Although they are not supposed to meddle in Parilamenatary politcal operations, the Sovereign does receive a "red box" of papers from the Prime Minister daily, and meets with the PM weekly to discuss policy and leadership issues.
I believe the Dame is wrong in her dire prediction, barring a communist incursion by a foreign nation. Our nation's degradation of its once-innovative system is a grim example of what can go wrong when a Republic is corrupted. Having Royals is a great source of cultural stability for them.
Parilamenatary = Parliamentary. /sp