Prince Andrew’s latest example of corruption has encouraged me to release another Chapter of my book ‘British Politics is broken, but…‘
This is for those of you who have not bought my book but who might be just persuaded to read or listen to this complete chapter.
Just below is the Audible version where you may hear my mellifluous tones reading the full chapter.
Today’s Royal family are the anachronistic remnants of a feudal and barbaric group who have, over the last one thousand years, forcibly stolen from the British people huge parts of what was ‘common land’.
The two largest parts of these feudal land grabs, were until very recently, the so-called Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster stolen by Edward 111’s army in 1337 as I mention later in this chapter.
The final and largest land grab was criminally handed to the Royal family by Sir Alec Douglas Home when he was Prime Minister. He passed a bill called the ‘Continental Shelf Act’ in 1964. It gave the Crown Estate precisely the rights it had earlier no legal rights to at all.
This cretinous failure of a PM lasted less than a year but his actions will cost the British people billions until our Republic of Great Britain takes it all back.
Since that time the seabed once part of ‘Commons’ has been slimily grabbed by the Royal family who have made millions from it.
For fuller details on this crime, I urge you to read Professor Guy Standing’s superb article published in Prospect magazine in July 2023.[1]
The Commons, as a distinct form of property, was taken forward in Magna Carta and the Charter of the Forest of 1217, the twin bedrocks of common law and all democracies.
The seabed surrounding Britain was always common land (part of the ‘Commons’) but once again Thatcher sold off huge parts of our sea bed at rock bottom prices to oil companies when North Sea oil was discovered.
Norway however used the seabed cash for the benefit of the Norwegian people.
You may have heard the phrase ‘The monarch reigns but does not rule’?
When you examine the history of what that means you realise that monarchy is inevitably destined for eventual dissolution once more of us realise what a completely divisive and irrelevant anachronism it is and has been since 1642.
That inevitability started when parliament took powers away from King Charles I in 1642 when the conflict between him and the English Parliament reached its climax and the Civil War began. The Civil War culminated in the execution of Charles in 1649, the overthrow of the English monarchy, and the establishment of the Commonwealth of England.
All I’m saying is that we now need to go back where we were then and speed things up a bit 😉
I am not advocating chopping anyone’s head off but the monarchy just has to go. Socrates and Plato realised that monarchy was an out-dated concept over two thousand five hundred years ago.
Our monarchy is an anachronism and way past its ‘sell by’ date.
The Treason Felony Act of 1848
The Treason Felony Act of 1848 prohibits the campaigning for a republic in print. The penalty for such advocacy, even if the republic is to be set up by peaceful means, is lifetime imprisonment. Calling for the abolition of the monarchy has the same penalty under the same act. This Act remains in force in the United Kingdom[2] in 2023.
However, under the Human Rights Act of 1998, the Law Lords have held that although the Treason Felony Act remains on the statute books it must be interpreted so as to be compatible with the Human Rights Act, and therefore no longer prohibits peaceful republican activity.
Royalty’s behaviour is the best argument for its abolition
Other arguments for its abolition are logic, rationality and two thousand years of human philosophical development culminating in ‘The Age of Reason’ AKA ‘The European Enlightenment’.
There are only seven theocracies in the world and the other six are Islamic.
The Royal family has been an irrelevant bunch of over privileged people for far too long, with no rational role in the running of our country for several hundred years.
Unwarranted over-privilege
Unwarranted over-privilege goes a long way to explain the mental aberrations of Philip, Andrew, Harry and Charles. They are simply far too removed from our reality but are protected in their respective delusions by our aristocratic establishment.
- King Charles: adulterer, homeopathy supporter, defender of all faiths, now a King. God help us!
- Prince Andrew; arms dealer, friend of a Libyan gun runner, sexual predator and serial liar. Hopefully on his way to gaol but probably not…
Just one of many ‘minor’ crimes committed by our former Duke of York (allegedly)
Just to give you a flavour of the man.
As brief aside, In March 2016, the ‘Republic’s’[3] CEO, Graham Smith, filed a formal report to the police, requesting an investigation into the allegations that Prince Andrew, Duke of York had caused damage to sensor-operated gates in Windsor Great Park by forcing them open in his Range Rover to avoid going an extra mile on his way home. The Thames Valley police force dismissed the reports due to ‘lack of details.’
- Harry, Duke of Sussex and Duchess Meghan, spoiled brats of course, but for some weird reason wanting to retain their titles (Netflix dosh perhaps?).
- Monarchy perpetuates class divisions and inequality.
- Our monarchy has stolen hundreds of thousands of acres of British public land over the last thousand years. They did this using feudal brute force.
- I speak of the creation of Duchy of Lancaster and the Duchy of Cornwall. See the next section for more detail on these two.
- Plus, the many private houses stolen over the centuries
- All those public assets should be returned to public ownership!
- I don’t see why we should pay for Princess Beatrice’s hats, do you?
- Hereditary public office goes against every democratic or logical principle.
- Charles II founded the East India Company which was an organisation better described as piracy beneficial to the monarchy. The company was based upon exploitation, depravity, slavery, state violence and corruption
- So, let’s solve the NHS crisis and have hereditary dentists and brain surgeons, shall we?
The Duchy of Cornwall and the Duchy of Lancaster
Not many people are familiar with the unpalatable facts of how the Duchy of Cornwall is run, because that is what Charles, formerly Duke of Cornwall prefers it to be. Now he is King, the title passes to the next in line, William, Charles’ son and fellow bore hunter.
King Edward III created The Duchy of Cornwall in 1337.
This Duchy together with the Duchy of Lancaster are more accurately described as feudal land grabs by armed gangsters in power.
Both Duchies are immune to most of our Statutory law and Common law because that’s what Edward said back in 1337.
What about tax? No way, not for them they are above the law, anyway they made the laws that made them tax free!
Republic’ has made a YouTube documentary on the Duchy of Cornwall and I think you might be surprised and become angry at what you discover. I certainly did. The documentary is just under an hour long but worth the time because if you are currently a monarchist you will change your mind after watching it.
The question might be better put as “What is right with the monarchy?”
Err, hmm…
- Lots of Americans seem to love the spectacular rituals, so good for tourism income. That statement is somewhat arguable however as is the certainty of 50 percent of their population who think that the Rapture is close at hand and Jesus coming back.
- Wills and Kate look so cute; except when Wills goes bore hunting with dad. Have a read of my 2014 blog article entitled ‘China – the elephant in the room and two royal bores’
Who else could hand out the cups at Wimbledon?
Perhaps former Wimbledon champions?
Err, now struggling a bit here.
Summing up, the monarchy is a primitive, irrational, divisive relic no longer needed, by their ‘subjects’ most of whom would prefer to be citizens of Great Britain.
The monarchy’s continuing existence is sitting in the way of philosophical and political progress.
The whole royal edifice is falling apart, so let’s put it out of its obvious misery.
[1] Read the online version here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/world/monarchy/62141/how-the-monarchy-cashes-in-on-our-seabed
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treason_Felony_Act_1848#:~:text=It%20is%20treason%20felony%20to,country%20belonging%20to%20the%20Sovereign.
[3] ‘Republic’ a pressure group for the creation of the Republic of Great Britain: –
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_(pressure_group)#cite_note-Dyer-34
[4] ‘Republic ’Visit https://www.republic.org.uk/the_duchy_of_cornwall for the whole story
[5] Have a read of my blog article here https://www.ruskinweb.co.uk/the-elephant-in-the-room/
