The public should have a debate on the monarchy Billboards

Anniebach I’m anti-billboards whatever the topic except perhaps to disguise waste ground in towns. Plastering stuff on the sides of trailers next to the motorways is not a pretty sight and can be distracting.

Democracy has to include change, how can it not?
Last time I looked, I lived in a democratic country.

Of course, FPTP does make it less so.

We have the best system here, far better than other countries I see.

Mollygo

Anniebach I’m anti-billboards whatever the topic except perhaps to disguise waste ground in towns. Plastering stuff on the sides of trailers next to the motorways is not a pretty sight and can be distracting.

They are very American in style.

I agree with GrannyGravy13, thanks but no thanks. I don’t want a republic. I want to keep our Royal family, they are our history and they are much admired around the world bringing in a lot of revenue from tourism. (When that opens up properly one day!) Charles wants to open up royal residences so that they are more accessible for the public.

Mollygo I too am against billboards, don’t want the things in
our National Park

Billboards have been part of our history in the UK for nearly 200 years. They bring in a lot of revenue for the advertisers and jobs too. They are very creative. I don't think we should change that.

See where I'm going with this?

On the other hand, the Scottish Lochs and highland roads, surrounded by billboards might not be quite so offensive to those who like them.

I see where you're going with that Mollygo
???

Has somebody been (unduly ) influenced by “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri” ?
A non starter as far as I am concerned.

It's part of the RF myth. Like the stability and popularity of Victoria when in fact she only just survived assassination attempts and was at one time massively unpopular.

Oh, come off it, trisher. You're making 'assassination attempts' do a lot of heavy lifting there. By that token one might say that the assassinations of Lincoln and Kennedy show that they were deeply unpopular with the US public at the time. Assassinations are carried out by individuals with a grudge;they're not an expression of the mood of the nation.

Victoria was unpopular because she withdrew from her public duties during her prolonged and OTT mourning for Prince Albert. She wasn't fulfilling the public perception of the role of a monarch. Once she emerged from her seclusion she regained much that she'd lost.

She did stabilise the monarchy by means of being utterly respectable after the reign of her rackety, womanising spendthrift uncle, George IV. (Nobody takes much notice of the William IV's subsequent reign) There's little evidence of mass republican fervour in the country during or post Victoria.

Long live the monarchy I say.
Too many billboards in parts of America do spoil the look of places. We should be careful with them here.

I love that this has become a "keep the monarchy, ban the billboards" thread

Spot on Alegrias1 keep the Royal Family and ban Billboards!

Tourism is irrelevant to the debate about the monarchy

These tourism claims aren't just untrue, they're also totally irrelevant to any discussion about the monarchy.

Palaces and castles attract interest because of their history, not because of today’s royals. Get rid of the monarchy and Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle can be fully opened up to tourists all year, funding their own upkeep through ticket sales and offering a unique glimpse into Britain’s past.

Buckingham Palace is thought to contain one of the largest and most valuable art collections in the world, including the largest collection of Van Gogh paintings - yet it’s all hidden away. The palace has the potential in a republic to become a world class museum and gallery open all year round.

The monarchy is part of our constitution. It’s corrupt, secretive, bad for our politics and totally unprincipled

Grany I have visited Buckingham Palace & gardens twice, Kensington Palace & gardens, Sandringham & gardens also Windsor.

These are open to the public, admittedly Buckingham Palace is only open for three(?) months in the summer and ticket sales already go towards the upkeep.

I understand that you want to live in a republic, but please respect those of us who are happy with the Monarchy and have no wish to change things for change sake.

I was thinking this morning about billboards, and I can’t remember seeing one for a long time. I’m sure it depends where you live, but as is my wont I decided to look it up. This article predates Covid, and it seems like they are declining, unless digital. Advertising has apparently declined by a further 45% due to Covid - so on the positive side they may be cheap to hire at the moment for Grany et al.

mediatel.co.uk/news/2019/03/13/classic-billboards-face-extinction-and-thats-a-problem/

In your opinion Grany which as you can see from this thread, is not shared by everyone.

There is already a self-funding charity called ‘Historic Royal Palaces’. Perhaps they could take on a few more buildings. I think people are possibly more interested in the Tudors than more recent monarchs though.

www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/#gs.63p2zn

'Led By Donkeys' is rather good at billboards, but I don't think that this is a topic they'd be interested in

Oops I forgot, visited Hampton Court Palace frequently as a child/teenager as we moved nearby.

Visit the Tower of London at least once a year with GC /visitors from overseas (pre Covid)

MaizieD there were actually 8 attempts on Victoria's life, there were the Chartist rebellions and the Irish uprising. Imagining she was always hugely popular is very wrong.

Mollygo

Better not to assume anything.

Let's not assume unwavering support for the monarchy then.

Grany

Very Well Said Nothisagain wonder if you will get an answer.

Yes.
The answer is that saying the Queen is only brought out for a few minutes to shake hands ( and that comprises her service) must rate as the most ridiculous comment ever on threads about royalty.

....must rate as the most ridiculous comment ever on threads about royalty.

Well lets face it its a close run race...

I'd go with "they're so good for tourism"

Or "the monarchy don't have self interest or ambition at heart,"