A Crack in The Diamond Jubilee

The celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s sixtieth year on the throne has once again reignited the obstinate flame of widespread monarchism within our country. The celebrations in London were viewed by 10.3 million Brits, one sixth of our population. The splendour, the celebrity arrivals, the flags and the music, which included a belting set from Paul McCartney (I will not call him Sir) was not enough to assure this subject’s approval of contemporary monarchism.

To be clear on my personal stance, I am a republican, a believer in the dissolution of our sovereign state. If the idea of losing our beloved royal family scares you and you feel offended by the thought then I probably wouldn’t bother reading on. The BBC quotes our annual contribution to the monarchy through taxation at the £40million, however contrasting with that British Republicans quote the figure to be around £200million, over five times the royalist estimations. Republic’s Peter Tatchell claims that ‘The Queen's personal wealth is shrouded in secrecy. There is little disclosure’. In the past year there have been protests against organisations such as Topshop, Vodaphone, Boots and HSBC over devious tax evasion, however I would argue that these businesses, however pig-headedly ran provide jobs, incomes and most of all - national wealth, whereas our monarchy is only a drain on this scarce resource.

Business Tycoon Alan Sugar is worth around £770million, through his entrepreneurial prowess and media handling ability he has earned his fortune. Paul McCartney, perhaps our country’s greatest ever songwriter is worth £450million. The Queen is estimated to be worth £320million; over double that of poor Ringo Starr on £150million! all this wealth through her birth-right; degree of inequality when we have families who struggle so hard to get by all over the country makes me feel anything but proud to live within our great Country. The only solution to this problem is to abolish the monarchy entirely, and I for one will be hoping the country and our government see sense on this issue when Elizabeth II’s reign comes to an end. From a financial point of view the royals have got to go.

At the time of the MP expenses scandal in 2009, a poll from newspapers The Guardian and The Observer claimed that a staggering 55% of people supported the abolition of the monarchy post-Elizabeth II, with sensibly liberal prime minister Gordon Brown in the helm the steps toward republicanism were almost within sight, however after this year’s extravaganza it seems that monarchical support and affection is back on the rise and this I cannot comprehend. Perhaps the regal blue of David Cameron’s tie has enthralled the country into this lull of royal fondness; statistics taken by The Telegraph now claim that nine in ten of British adults are completely satisfied by our current system. This 35% rise in royal support will be a crushing blow to republican supporters around the country and I ask you to think for yourselves, I don’t speak as an angry young man, bitter about his taxes going to a redundant figurehead, I speak as a concerned citizen enlightened with the realisation that our monarchy is a wall we must break through to free ourselves of this stoic, elitist national identity.

We were a country ruled by God through a monarch, and technically according to the constitution we still are. The Queen’s full title is “Elizabeth the Second, by Grace of God”; to abide to this holy claim to govern above our elected members of parliament, even if purely decorative is ridiculous. We live in a time of science, of industry and of art, not of religious ceremony. An ideology not practiced or believed by the vast majority still underpins our society. From a social point of view the royals have got to go.