It has long fascinated me that people in other countries are so taken with the British Royal Family. They seem to dwell on the death of Lady Diana Spencer, and fawn embarrassingly, should any of them bother to visit their lands. I exclude Quebec, and some of the Antipodean peoples in this generalisation of course, but I think you know what I mean? It would also appear that the Royals are much-loved in their homeland, from news reports, and public attendance at festivities concerning them, or where they are due to appear.

Recent celebrations for both the Jubilee, and Olympics, have shown them, especially the Queen, to be at a height of popularity, not seen since the War. She even appeared in a promotional film, with the current James Bond, which was shown to open the games. I have to admit, that most people I talk to, believe having a Royal Family to be a good thing generally, as they feel that it promotes tourism, and stops us having a ‘Presidential’ government.

However, there are over 62,000,000 people in the British Isles, and many of them, myself included, do not agree.

The current residents of the Royal Households are essentially Germans, of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The name was changed to Windsor, to make it more palatable to the public during the First World War, when Germany was the enemy.  Before this, the Royal Family was also German, from the House of Hanover. Preceding the Germans were the Stuarts, who were Scottish. Save for a short gap, after The English Civil War, those Scots ruled this country for 111 years. Prior to Scottish rule, there was Welsh rule, by the Tudors, and during the period between 1066, and the Welsh arrival in 1485, The French, specifically Norman French.

So, we can see that there has not been a ‘British’ ruler since at least 1066. Even before this date, in darker times less documented, we can be sure that many of those claiming to be the Kings of Britain, were in fact, Danish, German, or Norwegian. How many excited youngsters, waving Union Jacks along The Mall, would be aware of this, I wonder? And how many would care anyway? I know that I do. I do not agree with the concept of rule by birth, or by right, let alone what is, to my eyes at least, a foreign occupation, unchecked and unopposed, for over a thousand years.

What are Kings and Queens anyway? Go back far enough, and you will find that they are from families that had bigger gangs, better weapons, and were not afraid to kill anyone to gain power. Living in those days must have been a bit like living in Chicago in the 1920’s, or in modern countries like Rwanda, or Somalia. Large, well-armed gangs took your land, your animals, and in some cases, your families too.

They then told you that they would be your King (or Queen) and look after you, as long as you played along with them, fought in their army, and worked on their lands. They gave away bits of land and money to their friends, and called them Dukes, or Earls, and told the people that they had to do what they told them to, as well as follow the King’s orders. It was a protection racket, on a national scale. The only losers were the ordinary people.

Here I am, a millennium later. A woman calling herself Queen Elizabeth ll is on the throne; a German married to a Greek, and I am her subject, whether I like it or not. Well Mrs Windsor, ( or should that be Mrs Edinburgh? I’m never sure.) I do not like it, and I do not recognise your right to rule me, or anyone else in the UK, just because your dusty old ancestors married into money, and had a big, well-armed group of followers.

I have no respect for your in-bred family, or their dress-hanger wives, your cousins, and aunts and uncles, all leeching off society, like so many useless parasites. If we need you for tourism, then why do so many people visit Paris, Rome, or Florida? If we need you to justify pomp and circumstance, then you have never seen the annual parades along the Champs-Elysees. If we need you for History, then you have never seen The Coliseum. Presidential rule? At least we could vote them out every four years. If I could choose between you, and Obama, I know who gets my vote.

We don’t need you at all do we? It is all a massive bluff. You and your clan have pulled it off, got away with it for countless generations, and we are just mugs, providing you with protection, money, houses, transport, and treasures. The successive Governments, the Civil Service, the institutions, all propping you up to save their own skins, and keep their jobs safe, while millions who know no better, wave flags outside empty palaces. It breaks my heart.

I will not be a Subject, with all that the title suggests. I will be a citizen though, and a Republican one at that.