AmberSpyglass
The notion that the Queen serves the British public is laughable. We’d do perfectly well without some old woman with a large hat collection and a smile that never meets her eyes accepting flowers from people who earn less in a lifetime than she has access to in a year.
People who run or work for charities, healthcare professionals, teachers, lawyers representing people who should qualify for Legal Aid but don’t, cleaners, binmen, the baristas who don’t have to hand over your coffee with a smile and a joke put out in the emotional labour to make you feel like you’re not the hundredth customer they’ve served that day.
That’s service. Not smiling and waving.
Well the notion that anyone these days, let alone an old woman with lots of hats, would be happy to sign up these days for 74 years and counting of public service is certainly laughable. Absolutely no one these days would be prepared to hand their life over to have it micromanaged, inspected, supervised, organised, on a daily basis year in, year out with very little chance of changing that life or the way they lead it.
How many baristas, binmen, healthcare professionals etc., do the same job for 74 plus years and manage a smile? How many have that level of dedication and discipline?
Service as the Queen or a member of the Royal Family is not exactly like working in Starbucks. It is something unique, long lasting and is not carried out for personal profit. People are so obsessed with money and 'what's in it for me' and 'why do they have things that I don't', that they simply cannot spot an historic institution which has to be different from everything else. It was ever thus. So, whether you think the Royal Family should be thinned out, abolished, or whatever, at least try to see their position throughout history. What they don't do is marry a rich bloke, snag a lot of posh frocks and expensive property, think they are more important than the job they've signed up for and very very quickly swan off to foreign parts to hustle for loads more money and endless time off. Writing notes on bananas, promoting the odd charity, insinuating yourself into other people's Zoom meetings, lecturing and preaching about the planet whilst obviously wasting valuable resources on a daily basis is not about service of any kind - and certainly not public service. It smacks more of self service, I feel. And any old woman with a lot of hats would easily see that.