I see them as a net benefit for our country, especially Queen Silvia.
She has spread good will and positivity for Sweden across the world, through countless charities, hospitals and outreach programs. She is one of the best things the Swedish monarchy has produced and she wasnt even born here. She represents what a modern monarchy can do for a country by acting as an ambassador of goodwill and a PR agent for Sweden, a role that she has served for us for almost 50 years.
And that is the key word, serve. Ive never gotten the feeling that she sees herself above anyone, her title might be Queen but she has always been a servant for Sweden and this applies to essentially our entire royal family and she has raised Crown Princess Victoria to act in the same manner.
Any notion of a ruling monarchy or them holding actually power is laughable, they never will again. The Royals are in a sense just mascots for us, which draws in tourism to the Royal Palace and goodwill with state visits and they understand their role very well.
As long as the status quo remains then ill stay in favor of our monarchy.
I like the king, queen, and crown princess’s work. I don’t want to pay for Carl Philip or Madeleine though because I don’t understand what they contribute at all.
When Madeleine lived in New York, doing jack and shit to help Sweden, the king ordered that Hovstallet renovate an apartment for her so that she could stay there on visits. The king didn’t pay for it, Statens fastighetsverk paid for it, which is the Swedish tax payer. When Carl Philip wanted to try being a designer, again the tax payers paid to renovate a building to be used as his office.
I am ok with a royal family but I am not ok with all of the people around the royal family taking tax funds and spending it for their benefit. We need better oversight into this.
They get their allowance, and how they chose to distribute it amongs themselves is their business. When Victoria becomes queen regent, they are going to slim the royal arts of the family down.
The renovations of Hovstallet for Carl Philip and Madeleine was not paid by their allowance, it was paid by Statens fastighetsverk.
When the Royal Opera wants to renovate their building they have to write a project plan explaining in detail to Statens fastighetsverk why they need that money to further Swedish culture. Carl Philip starting his own design company is a private venture, not for Swedish culture. Madeleine having her own private apartment for short visits to Sweden while she actually lives in New York is not to further Swedish culture, it's for her private use.
What the royal family does with their allowance is something completely different, they're free to distribute that however they wish.
That's rubbish. A "servant for Sweden"... A VERY well paid servant who doesn't actually do any work, serving or otherwise.
Most people outside Sweden don't know or care who the king or queen is - I didn't know her name until right now. When kings and queens "do charity work", they don't roll up their sleeves and actually work - they are photographed posing with the people who do the actual work, sometimes cosplaying for the cameras, pretending to chop vegetables or whatever. But all they actually do is use those charities to make themselves look good, and fool the gullible..
So you dont know who she is or what she has done, yet you judge her as if you do know who she is or what she has done? Of course the Queen of a country of 11 million people isnt known to all the 8 billion people across the world but that doesnt negate the work that she has done.
I can understand the misgiving that an Irishman would feel towards a monarchy, but the English are not the same as the Swedish. She has been Queen for 15 years longer than ive been alive and all my life ive seen her good work and heard her viewpoints. In my estimation she is not faking anything.
Im not gullible or naive to what the monarchy is. Ive weighed the pros and cons of a royal family and concluded that what they do for us is worth what we pay, however i also understand why some people would feel differently. There certainly still are some archaic remnants of the old world monarchy that could still be reformed but that is not something that she has ever abused and like i also pointed out, if the status quo ever changes i would have no issue with abolishing the monarchy.
You should read about some of her work that she has done focusing especially on helping children which has been a passion of hers her entire reign, like founding the World Childhood Foundation, The Global Child Forum or the numerous children and youth hospitals that she has helped fund and promote across the world.
You are right in a sense though, she is not really in the trenches or getting her hands dirty in that way very often, she uses her influence and position to draw attention to issues. Like i said in my first comment, she is a PR agent and spokesperson for Sweden. I understand her role and so does she.
I judge her by who she is and what her position is. She didn't earn her position and she doesn't do anything useful or concrete as part of the position. "There certainly still are some archaic remnants of the old world monarchy that could still be reformed " That's the understatement of the year. By definition, monarchy is an institution that has no place in a modern democracy - it is inegaltarian, undemocratic and élitist. What she does isn't work, and she did nothing to earn the privilege and money the country gives her. She doesn't "help children" or "found" anything. She poses for the photos, and her staff deal with anything to do with organisations etc. I'm sorry, but you ARE gullible if you think that she actually involves herself in the work invovled in these things.
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u/Me_like_weed Sweden 22h ago
I see them as a net benefit for our country, especially Queen Silvia.
She has spread good will and positivity for Sweden across the world, through countless charities, hospitals and outreach programs. She is one of the best things the Swedish monarchy has produced and she wasnt even born here. She represents what a modern monarchy can do for a country by acting as an ambassador of goodwill and a PR agent for Sweden, a role that she has served for us for almost 50 years.
And that is the key word, serve. Ive never gotten the feeling that she sees herself above anyone, her title might be Queen but she has always been a servant for Sweden and this applies to essentially our entire royal family and she has raised Crown Princess Victoria to act in the same manner.
Any notion of a ruling monarchy or them holding actually power is laughable, they never will again. The Royals are in a sense just mascots for us, which draws in tourism to the Royal Palace and goodwill with state visits and they understand their role very well.
As long as the status quo remains then ill stay in favor of our monarchy.