[WillowTheWhisp]

I'm not sure that I'm a royalist. By that I mean I don't make a fuss about the royal family. I wouldn't get over excited if any of them came to Accy and I wouldn't stand in line in the hope of seeing one........... BUT......... I wouldn't like to abolish the monarcy.

Yes Mrs Windsor does often seem to be out of touch with reality but what can you expect? Most people in the public eye with a bob or two in the bank are out of touch with reality. I find all the fuss and bother made over who can and cannot be referred to as HRH to be a bit tiresome. "Stripping" Diana of that title after the divorce was petty in the extreme. Whatever happened she was the mother of two people who are heirs to the throne. Nothing could change that. She gave birth to them.

Yes she had "gentlemen friends" but I think she was probably out of her depth and floundering. If she'd have had more support from within it might have helped. The ongoing affair between Charles and Camilla began before the wedding and Diana probably went into that blindfold.

There may well be many irritating things about the royal family but I don't believe they sit around not doing anything all day. They aren't all paid by us not to do it either. I do think they are a tourist attraction even when not there. How many foreigners would mill around Buckingham Palace if the Queen didn't live there? I'd be interested to see if there are any calculations regarding how much revenue they bring into the country.

As for wives and mistresses and odd behaviour etc - hasn't that been the same throughout history?

Not sure about that Ozzy sheepfarmer being the rightful heir to the throne. It's possible to manipulate genealogy enough to show some very impressive results if you only pick out the links to support your theories. I have "proved" that Diana was more royal than Charles and that we should have had a King Winston (I'll leave you to work out who that was) but that wasn't the way history worked out.

I would hate this country to be a democracy like the USA with all the fuss and palaver that goes to electing a President. Not only didn't Ronald Raegan know where he was half of the time I'm not even sure he knew who he was! But that wasn't his fault.

I could say a lot more, but I've things to do and I need to check if the snow has melted yet or not.