Royalty and the media

At the risk of upsetting some of the more royalist members.......the royal family really annoy me and is a subject guaranteed to get my going.

Where to start?

According to government a couple with three children only need a two bedroomed property (until the eldest child reaches a certain age and even then, only if they are not all the same sex). If they refuse to downsize (assuming there is a smaller property available of course) then they will be subject to Bedroom Tax.

A young very rich couple (still living off tax payers money) with one child (yet to be born)need a huge multi million pound mansion ???? No bedroom tax payable of course.

Mariposa, what would Camilla have to do to deserve the Princess of Wales title?

The Royal family isn't the government, gillybob and can't be held responsible for any stupidity on the part of the Coalition. Unlike the rest of us who either voted for them or didn't vote against them in sufficient numbers.

Lilygran I may have voted Lib Dem but I certainly didn't vote for the coalition!

Or didn't vote for some of them in sufficient numbers.......

Yes I know that Lilygran but the point I was trying to make is that as usual there is one rule for the rich and wealthy and another for the poor and needy .

The bedroom tax does not effect me. But I feel so sorry for many of the families it will effect. Moving up and down from three bedrooms to two and then back again to three as their families grow. Of course if you are a member of the royal family ( or an MP for that matter) living on tax payers money then it is very different and you will be allowed (in fact encouraged) to have the biggest mansion money can buy.

Is anyone watching the current Lucy Worsley [my favourite historian at the moment] series about 'Royal illnesses and how they have shaped the monarchy' [which is far more interesting than it sounds]? Last one in the series was tonight. She put forward the case that Prince Albert's death actually saved the monarchy because he was becoming far too powerful.

I have been watching it on iPlayer, Tegan as it has clashed with Broadchurch. Looking forward to the last one. It's been a very interesting series.

The royal family doesn't live off taxpayers' money in spite of what the Murdoch media would have us believe. There have been lengthy and well-informed posts about how they are funded (not saying this debate shouldn't be opened again, just saying the information is readily available out there on the net). We do support MPs and members of the House of Lords out of taxes, as far as their public office is concerned. And teachers, doctors, soldiers, nurses, police officers, firefighters, tax inspectors, immigration officers......of course we do because they are carrying out functions on the part of the state, the public, the rest of us. Yes, rich and powerful people often get treated differently from poor and powerless people. It is disgraceful and we should all work towards making sure we aren't part of the problem. But it is a mistake to pick the royal family as an example of the rich and unfairly powerful. Look at the Times rich list!

Any one going to watch "Murderous Mistress" on channel 4 at 9pm ?

Think it may be quite gripping !

Yes! Anything to escape from the football.

Oh, so that's why there are England flags everywhere!

Oh it's Bayern Munich and Barcelona [so it might be worth watching; sorry any England fans reading this ].