Thread by @RepublicStaff

It's odd to see royalists commenting on Andrew's sense of entitlement, as if entitlement isn't the bedrock of monarchy. As a group the royals feel a deep sense of entitlement: entitled to a unique family claim to the job of head of state and head of the state church; a claim to

thousands of hectares of land that rightly belongs in public hands; exemptions from whatever law they choose to exempt themselves from, including race discrimination and environmental protection laws; titles and honours awarded to them for no reason other than the family they

belong to and their status within it; medals, ranks and uniforms from all branches of the armed forces despite their own military careers being either quite short or non-existent; hundreds of millions of pounds every year to spend as they choose on running their household;

dozens of staff, including people who help them dress in the morning; the use of private jets and helicopters for routine domestic travel even while lecturing everyone to reduce their carbon footprints; privileged and preferential treatment by the police when reported for alleged

crimes ranging from sexual offences to criminal damage to cash-for-honours; direct and secretive access to government ministers and the freedom to lobby government on any issue they wish; direct access to all government papers which allows them to intervene in official decision

making before the public, press or opposition even know what's being discussed; dispensation for any offensive comments made in public; deference and sycophancy from everyone they meet; the use of Crown Estate property

as if it were their own; exemption from freedom of information laws, preventing scrutiny of what they're doing behind closed doors; and much more. In short, they believe they are entitled to pretty much whatever they want, when they want it and on their terms. #AbolishTheMonarchy