Teens respond to the question: What do you think of the royal family?
| The words that come to my mind are rich, snobby and unapproachable. |
In the wake of the current America/Afghanistan crisis, where are the British public looking for support and guidance on the situation now and in the future? Who will decide what happens next?
Even with public anger at Bush and Blair and their foreign policies, will anyone really turn to Charlie and Queenie as an alternative? The royal family are outdated, outmoded and have become redundant. They are possibly the most expensive figureheads our country could choose to have.
No longer do we pay our taxes to the king or queen so that they can send us to war or keep the peace. They take our taxes to keep their bath-taps gold and their velvet pillows smooth. In a country with a struggling NHS and the homeless sleeping in doorways, do we really need this?
Kierra Box, 16, London
The royal family today are a shambles, with controversy and corruption round every corner. They never appear to mingle with the public and are impossible to interview. They spend far too much money on things I can't even begin to imagine.
However, other countries which have royal families do not have as much history and tradition as the British. The royals need to do more for the people in Britain, not just isolate themselves in their large mansions behind the royal guard.
Jonathan Hudson, 14, Birmingham
When I think of the royal family the words that come to my mind are rich, snobby and unapproachable. They live a privileged life and they don't seem to do much for it. So what if they do charity work? So does the ordinary person in the street.
If there is a future for the royals we really need someone like Diana on the throne. The Queen in her crown and jewels seems a very distant person, someone difficult to relate to. On the other hand Prince William seems to be following in his mother's footsteps and is more down to earth and open.
The royal family need to think about spending less money and being more accessible if they want the support of the public.
Jonathan Clarke, 12, Belfast
The royal family are an amazing waste of money. We pay these people untold millions of pounds every year. We aren't even allowed to know how much money they have (the latest guess is two billion!) For all we know the Queen could be funding terrorist organisations with her money. Nobody would know!
I guess for the cost of the royal family at least we get a soap opera, with national papers publishing charts of 'who hates who' and pictures of the Queen breaking a pheasant's neck. But is it worth all that money?
Alexander Dowty 13, London
About the team
The Answer the question panel are members of Children's Express. This article It was published as part of Teen Talk, the Children's Express page in New Nation.
