sj oldfield

I am also a " royal fan"
Sod doing that job, waving and smiling all the time!

BadgeIsBack

You can: some people have a flair for languages: my wife does and when you are submerged in an environment some people are like sponges...she probably benefited from a tutor; most people would. And people who are internationally based tend to lose their provincial ways..

The princess came from a professional family: you have to remember that lots of well-schooled Australians do not speak Strine : it would be a mistake to assume so. My wife has a friend, several friends who are exceptionally well spoken. Not an English glottal stop to be seen. In corporate Melbourne there is a sort of nice accent which is Australian but certainly not strine: infact if anything strine is on the decline.
You only really get it in country areas.

I am a monarchist but am not sure why. The country has plenty of fine institutions which would fill the role the family serves even if the coffers were not so full.

We need public figures: and we don't need stupid celebrities; most of the media furore is probably around the celebrity not their elevated station in life...

jad n rich

You get strine everywhere not just country, and yes some australians also speak well. Its not really about city,country or even state, its often the social background, dare we say 'class' of australian that influences the accent. Like anywhere else really.

I still think Australian at any level to Danish accent in a year or less has to be the product of tuition. But I bet any commoner becoming Royal would get a right going over Accent, deportment, etiquette, couture, grooming. Real estate agent to princess, there would have been work.

commonwealth

Kate walking on Manly Beach . . .
with her high heeled wedges on!

BadgeIsBack

And they are snubbing Melbourne ho ho!

commonwealth

good decision. not much of a muchness in MEL.

Molly Coddle

I never knew you were an Aussie fish.






OK I'm sorry but I have to disagree and stick with my first claim that Britain would indeed be pretty much worthless without the Royal Family.
Britain in 2014 hasn't got that much going for it but what it does have going for it is somewhat influenced by the Royals either directly or indirectly.



Here are a few examples that I think are worth mentioning;





1.) The countryside here is stunning, the Yorkshire Dales , the Lake District, the Cotswolds, the Highlands in Scotland, etc, etc... Theses places really are something else, most of which are owned, looked after to a high standard and protected by the Monarch. Were these lands not protected, I'm sure that someone in Government would have sold them on by now, maybe to an Arab or whoever, or maybe built on them to house new immigrants and the ever growing population.
As it stands today, nothing of the sort can be done to these beautiful landscapes. Most are Crown lands and therefore protected against such absurdities.





2.) London, which is the most popular city in the world because of the Royal Family and the impact on which the Royal Family has had on the city.

(It also used to be the business capital of the world but New York has recently taken over that title due to London's banking scandals and the uncertainty over EU membership.)

Without the Royal family London wouldn't have the stunning architecture it has, it wouldn't have the arts, the history, it wouldn't have the wealth, it wouldn't have the vibe the city holds due to it's millions of visitors each year.
Basically I think that London would be a fraction of the place it is today without the Royal Family holding residence and having a big presence there.





3.) I'd say we have the best armed forces in the world, we might be just hanging on to that title with a thread now but we once hung on to it with steel rope.

For obvious reasons the Royal Family have a big part to play in promoting the British Armed Services and they do a damn good job of it.
Unfortunately due to Government cuts the standards in the forces have slipped but that's nothing to do with the soldiers per se, it's all to do with money and lack of resources.





4.) Contrary to popular belief the Royal family actually help Britain's economy enormously. They earn Britain 160 million each year and they cost us, the tax payers, between 52 pence and under 70 pence in tax each year. (it changes annually ) I think this year the tax payer has given them as a whole 32 million and I think last year it was something like 30 million, that may sound like a lot of money but compared to the 160 million they put back into the country, it's hardly worth mentioning.






There's a lot of ignorance involved with regards to people's perception of the Royal Family. On the outside the Royal Family might just look like a load of toffs having a jolly good time, but the reality is they are doing a heck of a lot more for Britain than most people realise.
They are making my country a better place, or let me put it another way, they are stopping my country from completely self destructing, and for that fact alone, I like them and I support them.

Molly Coddle

Oh I reckon they are worse jobs........

Molly Coddle

She looks lovely, I love that dress.


I think if it was you or me we could get away with bare feet or flip flops/ thongs but she has an image to keep up. She's doing a good job, I have to say that's one of her better dresses on this trip.

northernbird

Do you find it difficult, you know to get up in the morning and get your big fat friggin head out the door. Being so stunning, slim and perfect, must be really tricky for you. Perfection is hard to achieve but apparently you seem to have achieved it.

BadgeIsBack

I was actually going to say that in the absence of the Royal Family we would have the services..an organisation that still understands public service and the need to stop thinking about self and the team.

So...this view is the Daily Mail - 'country going to the dogs' view which is very popular with many people about to leave. I am sympathetic - what you and others are seeing is the natural shift in the UK but to be honest I think many countries are experiencing what are seen as old-fashioned things going out the window. Walk through Sydney and Melbourne and you will see a heck of a lot of migrants with English not their first language or ancestral language - where you live depends on how many you come into contact with - lots live in the new estates popular with British migrants. I have an Italian cousin who tells me that the situation in his own town with poverty, unemployment and corruption is far worse than a lot of things happening in the UK.

There are people who will tell you that is not happening in their back yard but then these people might not notice the changes that are happening if they are sheltered from them. The truth is somewhere in the middle. It's ok for them and it's ok for me but shift 10k down the road and it might be a different story.

I think the Royal family are a big draw card and actually you make a point about what they have brought but I don't think you can attribute as much as you do to the family. Plenty of people brought art and architecture to London without the Royals! Interesting point about crown land.

I get the impression Jad is slim - but to be perfect her grammar or composition would need to be a bit better. ;-) (We all might benefit from lessons..)

jad n rich

Talking about someones speedy acquisition of a difficult language, and how Kate is probably advised to dress from the high street, makes me slim and perfect.

Well if you say so, lets go with that

jad n rich

And do you find it so hard to shut your ugly, fat mouth that spins into action every time you read a thread you don't agree with.

That is ugly lady, not how you or anyone else looks, its your gutter gob.

jad n rich

Espadrilles, she has the height to carry off flats. But I think it would be hard to look appropriate when everyone else is wearing pink speedos

One thing I notice about W&K is they genuinely seem to have a laugh together, a lot of royal couples seem quite aloof, they dont.

commonwealth

she needs some toner or foundation
her pores are showing