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True. The royal family aren't just our rulers, they're our prisoners. Can you imagine being a high-ranking member of the British royal family? Your life isn't y

True. The royal family aren't just our rulers, they're our prisoners. Can you imagine being a high-ranking member of the British royal family? Your life isn't your own - you can't pursue the career of your choosing, you have an enormous amount of obligations and you have all the usual downsides of fame, and this is all by accident of birth, not something that you chose. The job might have its perks but I'm still glad to be a commoner. It's the minor royals who have it best, I think. Zara Tindall could walk down most roads in Britain and not be recognised - she gets the riches and privileges, but only a tiny fraction of the downsides experienced by her grandmother.

Balgair 6y ago
Meghan Markle talked about this: "In the car ride over, however, the importance of the meeting sunk in as Harry asked Meghan, "Do you know how to curtsy?" She told Oprah: "I thought genuinely that that was what happens outside. I thought that was part of the fanfare. I didn't think that's what happens inside. I said, 'But it's your grandmother.' He goes, 'It's the queen.' That was really the first moment that the penny dropped.""[0] Per her telling of the story, we may concluded that Harry really never had a grandmother like many other people do. It seems it's always been 'formal' in the royal family. That the ideas of duty and royalty have come before family. That's not a life that I would want to live or a family I would want to have. That said, their wealth and privilege may make up for it. But it's not perfect. [0]https://www.popsugar.com/celebrity/meghan-markle-oprah-interview-story-about-meeting-the-queen-48203526 https://www.popsugar.com/celebrity/meghan-markle-oprah-inter...
- ksec 6y ago
  >their wealth and privilege may make up for it. These Royals cant spent their wealth like billionaires either. So wealth certainly isn't a thing to be worth considering. And I mean if that is all the stuff we could tell and see, imagine all the other things we dont. In a modern world, most people, even in the high middle class wouldn't want to trade what they have to what is considered to be privilege as Royal.
  - teachrdan 6y ago
    > cant spend their wealth like billioaires What would they spend it on? Fancy houses? Private transport around the world? Lavish vacations? They get all of those things for free already. I suppose it wouldn't do for Prince Charles to buy a 200' yacht. But other than that, I'm not sure how much he, or any other royal, is suffering for not being able to spend their wealth like the rest of the 0.1%.
    - Symbiote 6y ago
      There was a royal yacht, although it was decommissioned in 1997 and the royal family didn't/don't seem interested in another. They also have (use of) a royal train. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMY_Britannia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMY_Britannia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Royal_Train https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Royal_Train
    - ben_w 6y ago
      Once you get over about $10 million per family member, you can have essentially any house, holiday, or private transport you desire. Spending like billionaires means political power or privately funded moonshot projects.
      - teachrdan 6y ago
        The royal family doesn't need to spend money to have political power--the queen and other members of the royal family already lobby in secret to pass or scuttle laws to their benefit.[0] Perhaps they can't singlehandedly fund moonshot projects. But if that's the extent to which royals are hampered, then perhaps they have an alright deal after all, what with being born into a system where enjoy a lifestyle that would cost tens of millions to sustain for anyone else. 0. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/feb/07/revealed-queen-lobbied-for-change-in-law-to-hide-her-private-wealth https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/feb/07/revealed-que...
      - deleted 6y ago
        [deleted]
- Tronno 6y ago
  Nobody forces them to treat their own family that way. It is a choice they've made for themselves.
- jariel 6y ago
  It's unbelievable that a woman would marry into a 1000 year old family institution an head of state without taking a moment to grasp what that meant. It's so shockingly naive I can hardly believe it. A 'curtsy' for your grandmother, the Queen, is a obviously a bit formal but it's not remotely irreproachable. It's literally just a form of greeting. Japanese culture has a zillion of elements of common formality - literally entire modes of language - that are an every day occurrence.

Balgair 6y ago

Meghan Markle talked about this: "In the car ride over, however, the importance of the meeting sunk in as Harry asked Meghan, "Do you know how to curtsy?" She told Oprah: "I thought genuinely that that was what happens outside. I thought that was part of the fanfare. I didn't think that's what happens inside. I said, 'But it's your grandmother.' He goes, 'It's the queen.' That was really the first moment that the penny dropped.""[0] Per her telling of the story, we may concluded that Harry really never had a grandmother like many other people do. It seems it's always been 'formal' in the royal family. That the ideas of duty and royalty have come before family. That's not a life that I would want to live or a family I would want to have. That said, their wealth and privilege may make up for it. But it's not perfect. [0]https://www.popsugar.com/celebrity/meghan-markle-oprah-interview-story-about-meeting-the-queen-48203526 https://www.popsugar.com/celebrity/meghan-markle-oprah-inter...

ksec 6y ago
>their wealth and privilege may make up for it. These Royals cant spent their wealth like billionaires either. So wealth certainly isn't a thing to be worth considering. And I mean if that is all the stuff we could tell and see, imagine all the other things we dont. In a modern world, most people, even in the high middle class wouldn't want to trade what they have to what is considered to be privilege as Royal.
- teachrdan 6y ago
  > cant spend their wealth like billioaires What would they spend it on? Fancy houses? Private transport around the world? Lavish vacations? They get all of those things for free already. I suppose it wouldn't do for Prince Charles to buy a 200' yacht. But other than that, I'm not sure how much he, or any other royal, is suffering for not being able to spend their wealth like the rest of the 0.1%.
  - Symbiote 6y ago
    There was a royal yacht, although it was decommissioned in 1997 and the royal family didn't/don't seem interested in another. They also have (use of) a royal train. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMY_Britannia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMY_Britannia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Royal_Train https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Royal_Train
  - ben_w 6y ago
    Once you get over about $10 million per family member, you can have essentially any house, holiday, or private transport you desire. Spending like billionaires means political power or privately funded moonshot projects.
    - teachrdan 6y ago
      The royal family doesn't need to spend money to have political power--the queen and other members of the royal family already lobby in secret to pass or scuttle laws to their benefit.[0] Perhaps they can't singlehandedly fund moonshot projects. But if that's the extent to which royals are hampered, then perhaps they have an alright deal after all, what with being born into a system where enjoy a lifestyle that would cost tens of millions to sustain for anyone else. 0. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/feb/07/revealed-queen-lobbied-for-change-in-law-to-hide-her-private-wealth https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/feb/07/revealed-que...
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
Tronno 6y ago
Nobody forces them to treat their own family that way. It is a choice they've made for themselves.
jariel 6y ago
It's unbelievable that a woman would marry into a 1000 year old family institution an head of state without taking a moment to grasp what that meant. It's so shockingly naive I can hardly believe it. A 'curtsy' for your grandmother, the Queen, is a obviously a bit formal but it's not remotely irreproachable. It's literally just a form of greeting. Japanese culture has a zillion of elements of common formality - literally entire modes of language - that are an every day occurrence.