Enough nonsense about royal duties and engagements. It's worth getting back to why we should #AbolishTheMonarchy, why we campaign for a republic.

Monarchies are corrupt and corrupting, they rest on feudal values, and our monarchy is bad for equality and democracy. 🧵 On a matter of principle we should reject the monarchy. It is an institution that celebrates inequality, that sees it as the natural order, rather than a problem to be resolved - except when posing for cameras with homeless people.

It may appear trivial, but this kind of nonsense misleads the public about what kind of man we have as a head of state, and about the role of monarch. So it's worth taking a couple of minutes to look at what is actually being claimed here, and the evidence.
#NotMyKing 🧵

https://twitter.com/TelegraphRoyals/status/1751551172903669852

The only sources for the claims are the royals, none of whom are well versed in 'hard work', and 'insiders', which is probably their press team. As for the paperwork, it's telling that it's just "paperwork" and we're never told exactly what it is he's supposed to be doing.

🚨🚨 BREAKING NEWS: We've just reported Andrew to the police.

With the release of the Epstein court documents, new details of sexual assault and rape allegations against Andrew have been revealed.

It's time for the Met Police to act. #NotMyKing #AbolishTheMonarchy #Epstein

🧵🧵 Tonight's 'Charles III: The Coronation Year' documentary is an attempt by the BBC to shamelessly promote the Royals. It's produced by a staunch royalist and probably won't mention the growing opposition to the Monarchy's undemocratic role as our Head of State. So, join @RepublicStaff for a bit of Boxing Day cheer as we live-tweet to push back against the dishonesty and Royal propaganda this documentary will shamelessly promote. Everything will be taking place IN THIS THREAD from 6.50pm TONIGHT! #NotMyKing #AbolishTheMonarchy

Charles was accused of cash for honours. He must be investigated. Republic has called the Met’s announcement that it won’t be continuing an investigation into cash for honours allegations dishonest and appalling.
#AbolishTheMonarchy Reports suggest the investigation was about the Prince’s Foundation, but it was Prince Charles, as he was then, and his aide Michael Fawcett who were reported to the police.

The Metropolitan Police have so far failed to speak to King Charles after he was reported on suspicion of breaking cash-for-honours laws. A thread⬇️ Last November, Charles' former aide and CEO of @princesfound Michael Fawcett, resigned following revelations he wrote the following letter to a Saudi donor, where he offered to help the donor obtain a knighthood and British citizenship in exchange for donations to the Trust:

Prince Charles. The work-shy heir. 🧵

Every year the press report which royal did the most engagements, as if reporting on the runners and riders at the latest Ascot races. For 2021, Princess Anne came first as the "hardest working royal", with Charles coming in second place. These reports are misleading, because the reality is that royals do very little, and none of what they do can really be described as work. Their official engagements are listed on the Court Circular, so, as we did with William, we've had a look at Charles's year so far.

If you want some insight into royal engagements, read Norman Baker's book "...And What Do You Do?" In it he describes the Queen visiting a leisure centre in Sussex to 'open' it. They all stood around for some time, waiting for the Queen to arrive. No one was allowed to sit down. Even an elderly lady, who was clearly uncomfortable standing for so long, was told she couldn't have a chair because, according to one flunky there, "nobody is allowed to sit down in the presence of the Queen".

Prince William, the Lazy Prince. 🧵

The royals and their fans like to claim the royal family is busy. To help bolster this image they talk about how many engagements they do each year. Before getting into what they mean by engagements, and why it doesn't add up to much, it's worth noting that this is an odd way to justify someone's position.

Tomorrow sees the release of the royals' annual accounts, which we've now had access to. It's worth taking a moment to appreciate how dishonest, absurd and indefensible the Sovereign Grant is. 🧵 The Grant was invented and introduced about 11 years ago by George Osborne, replacing the Civil List. The Civil List was pretty bad, but nothing like as bad as the Sovereign Grant. The Civil List was fixed by parliament every ten years, at which point MPs could debate the costs.

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

So, people have inevitably started talking about the economic benefit of the monarchy. Because when it's obvious the shine is coming off and people are losing interest, why not revert to talking about money? Here's why that claim about the profitable monarchy is nonsense. 🧵 The monarchy costs the taxpayer at least £345m a year. Compare that to similar but elected heads of state, such as in Ireland, and you can see that's very, very expensive. The budget for the Irish president is around £4m a year.
republic.org.uk/the_true_cost_…

The Palace of Versailles hasn't been the home of royals since 1789. France hasn't had a monarch since 1870. With nearly 10 million visitors every year, Versailles is one of the most visited historic sites in the world. Paris attracts over 30m visitors a year (similar to London). Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace each attract around half a million visitors a year. Windsor Castle around 1.6m. The Tower of London just under 3m.

When we tweeted pictures of the 18 royals, quite a few people had no idea who some of them were. Not surprising, as they don't make much of an appearance these days. But they still get significant subsidies from the state, including security and palatial apartments. This is Richard, (Duke of Gloucester), a cousin of the Queen (son of the last king's brother), and his wife, Birgitte van Deurs (Duchess of Gloucester). The official royal website describes them as "full-time working members of the Royal Family."

Also included in the Republics Collection: Germany, Portugal, Iceland and Mauritius.republic.org.uk/shop#!/The-Rep…

https://twitter.com/RepublicStaff/status/1486718320455741453

Of course our campaign is about the British monarchy. But it's worth reflecting on monarchs around the world, whose legitimacy is bolstered by our own. A thread.
arabnews.com/node/1261591/s… This is King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand. He is vicious and corrupt. In a country that still has around 6% living in poverty he has amassed a personal fortune estimated between $30 and $70bn.
bbc.co.uk/news/world-asi…

Hopefully the Queen will make a full recovery, however being a hereditary monarch makes her health relevant to our constitution. There is legitimate speculation that her health is worse that is being reported, with concerns that she may die within the next 12 months. When that happens Republic will make a statement but will not be campaigning before the funeral. We will pay close attention to public debates and contribute where appropriate and we'll continue to speak up for the right of people to dissent.

“President Blair” is up there with some of the more daft arguments from monarchists. Firstly Blair has already done ten years as PM, a position far more powerful in terms of domestic politics than a US president. The alternative to the monarchy is not a US style constitution. It’s a parliamentary republic in which political power is shared between government and parliament, with a limited constitutional role for the president.

This is Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson, an Icelandic historian serving as the sixth and current president of Iceland. He took office in 2016 and was re-elected in 2020 with 92.2% of the vote. His field of research is modern Icelandic history, and he has published works on the Cod Wars, the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis and the Icelandic presidency, among other topics.

In 1975 Australia's Governor General, John Kerr, sacked the prime minister. Kerr always said that he hadn't told the Queen what he was planning and that his decision was made in the final days and hours. Thanks to a legal challenge by @palaceletters we know this isn't true. Kerr acted unconstitutionally. The PM, Gough Whitlam, had the confidence and support of the lower house. Kerr also acted months after coming up with the idea, and wrote numerous letters to the Queen, telling her of his plans.

The Crown Estate does not fund the monarchy: A Guide.

The Crown Estate pays 100% of its profit to the treasury. This would continue in a republic. The government funds 100% of the Sovereign Grant. That would not continue in a republic. It was George Osborne and the Coalition government who, in 2011, invented the Sovereign Grant and created a link to Crown Estate profits.