Where would the royal family go in the event of republicanism in the united kingdom?

Question

Where would the royal family go in the event of republicanism in the united kingdom? What would happen to the royal family? Also what would become of the other countries that have the queen as their head of state?

Answer 1

They would remain as private citizens, probably with a nice, fat pay off. There would be no more royal family & all those other Commonwealth countries would simply have to elect Presidents.

Let's hope that all happens once the Queen is gone.

Answer 2

I imagine they would remain in England as private citizens.  I hope it doesn't happen, I would prefer that we stay a constitutional monarchy rather than become a Republic.

Answer 3

The majority of Americans re-elected George W. Bush primary because of the patriotism that 9-11 inspired

Answer 4

As an American, I think it is easier to watch the spectacle of the Windsors as it does not impact us.  If anything, it is a great distraction from the politics in this country.

Sure, we have our political dynasties, but we relate to them differently because of an existing belief that wealth buys politicians.  Bill Gates came out of nowhere and rose to become one of the wealthiest people on the planet, but he was raised among "us", not in a castle somewhere, wearing funny jewels with people running around bowing, scraping and minding protocol.  

I think the family would merge into the highest crust of British class.  At a minimum, they'd end up with Sandringham and Balmoral.

Answer 5

Back home to Germany

Answer 6

Greece? Germany?

These would be the obvious answers. I'm sure Philip has some ancestoral home back there in Greece.

I'm also sure Lizzie has some ancestoral pad in Germany.

Answer 7

Probably to France.  Didn't the line exile themselves to France when Cromwell took over England?  King James II was in exile in France, along with his sons. Bonnie Prince Charlie was living in France before 1745, at which time he entered Britain with the hopes of reinstating the Stuart line of kings.

Americans like the "romance" of royalty and aristocracy. They have little memory of the abuses the monarchy was guilty of in history.

Answer 8

They could continue to live here as ordinary citizens. The queen could put her feet up and watch repeats of 'The Royle Family'; prince phillip could be sent of to a retirement home; prince charles could open up a shop selling organic produce and herbal medicines; prince william could continue to serve in the army, but now as a proper soldier; prince harry could spend more time getting drunk in nightclubs. For prince andrew and edward, no change - nobody knows what they do anyway.

Just make it happen soon.

www.republic.org.uk

Answer 9

It's not going to happen -- at least not for the next two potential Kings (Charles and William) -- the majority of the UK public does not want them to "go".  

If the monarchy was dissolved - the State would have to reinvent itself. Look at Nepal - the king's palace was kept by the government but the royal family is still getting a large number of their princely estates; after all their family did amass those things over the years.  

If the Queen/Royal family did "leave" - they 'd probably just pop off and live at Sandringham year around.  

EDIT - personally, I took my BA in History (focusing on Ancient Greece and England).  I just love the history of ancient things -- loved visiting the ruins in Greece/Crete, loved the Great Estates in England.  There is so much beauty in the buildings, tracing the development of architecture, art, society, politics.  It is the foundation of my own culture - so how could you not appreciate that??!!  :)  Besides, I really appreciate old things - love antiques.  Modern stuff like IKEA makes me ill.  So - I follow the old adage - "If it ain't broke - don't fix it".  The british monarchy seems to be serving the UK quite adequately - so if they don't want a change -- I'm in their camp!!

Answer 10

Well I think they could always go to an other country Gordon Brown has the power to remove the Queen if that's what the people wanted but he has no power in other country's Canada, Australia etc. so I can see the Royals living there.  Otherwise they could always end up in LA and make millions from the Americans.

Answer 11

why would we turn to republicanism ? buckingham palace is a massive tourist attraction and our economy would go down . so i don't think it will happen .

Answer 12

As I understand it, the revenue from the crown estate( profit £211.4m last year) is voluntarily given by the monarch to the country. Theoretically, a deposed monarchy could break that arrangement. Parliament would have to have an excuse to take the money.

- To the best of my knowledge, supporters of a republic are just a very noisy minority. There is no widespread support for the notion.

Answer 13

The pomp and flammery of monarchy is oft derided but chance of us becoming republican is remote enough to be dismissed. Unlike Presidents (often of dubious character/purpose) our Head of State represents centuries of tradition and continuity.  Some dislike/despise the hereditary (accident of birth) aspect and all the assumed privileges but that disregards the huge contribution the monarch makes to both the image and economy of the UK. Our tourist industry is greatly enriched by the pageantry - the pomp of ceremonial events - and it's not all smoke & mirrors.

Our troops swear allegiance to the King or Queen - who grants an interview to the Prime Minister every Tuesday - so he/she can explain what's going on.  Technically, with the advice of the same sort of Privvy Council Elizabeth I called upon, Queen Elizabeth II can declare martial law and overrule an unduly pushy wannabe dictator.  It's a rather bizarre set-up but it works - as a brake/break on politicians.

Oddly, our American cousins oft vote for dynasties - Kennedy and Bush - and I suppose that explains their interest in the mother country.

Answer 14

In the unlikely event of the Queen being asked to relinquish her position as head of state.She would be able to stay in Britain as private citizens.The Royal family has committed no crimes.The other countries that have Queen Elizabeth as their head of state,would make the choice of whether to retain her in that position or formally declare their wish that she step down.

Who knows,or cares even,what goes on in the minds of americans,they did,after all,vote for a lying,alcoholic r****d as their own head of state,not just once but,twice.What they think of our Head of State,means absolutely nothing.If George Dubbya Lush oops,sorry Bush is the result of freedom of choice,then I,for one,am only too happy to retain our hereditary system.

Answer 15

if that happened what would silly boys like you have to ask questions about ...................

grow up and worry about your own political nominations in the US

Answer 16

Unless there was a coup d'etat, and Parliament merely refused to finance the monarchy, presumably the Royal family would remain in England as private citizens. During the English Interregnum, Charles II fled to France. More recently, the Shah of Iran eventually ended up in the United States.  Meanwhile, Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, spends much of her time in New York City; Princess Anne's son married a Canadian, and Prince Harry is dating a Zimbabwean-born girl friend.

The British royals may be primarily of German descent, but the descendants of the House of Hanover have lived in the United Kingdom since George I came to power in 1714.  Queen Victoria's first language may have been German, but predicting that the royal family will go back to Germany if ousted is only a little less ridiculous than saying that the descendants of the Mayflower Pilgrims if rounded up and exiled from the US would return to Mother England to live permanently in Plymouth.

If the Queen was forced to abdicate, the Commonwealth probably would continue to function as a loose federation of parliamentary-style democracies.  Similary, the UK still would function as a parliamentary-style democracy as well.  Some (but not all) Americans are interested in the British monarchy because they are interested in the culture and history of the UK.  After all, the two nations do share a language and a similar culture.  What's more, many Americans and Brits share a common ancestry as well.

As for myself, personally, I don't really care whether the current constitutional monarchy will at some point morph into a republican form of government or not because the history and pageantry will still be there.  Since Scotland is in the process of devolving from the current union, most likely Scotland will be a republic within a decade or so.  

The majority of Americans re-elected George W. Bush primarily because of the patriotism that  9-11 inspired.  In retrospect, many American voters admit that they make mistakes--as do the voters of all other countries.  On the whole, over time, this works quite well for the American political system since the country self-corrects itself if it strays too far to the right or the left.  I seem to recall that Labor has been returned to power in the UK during the same time period that President Bush has been in office.  Some of the above answers appear a tad jingoistic.

(I'm an American of Scottish, Irish, and English descent.)