The author, Frederick Forsyth, explains in his Daily Express column why the constitutional monarchy is the best form of governance in the world today.....
By author Frederick Forsyth
5th Jully 2008
The Daily Express
Our Queen is better value than a republican nonentity
Would you rather have a constitutional monarch.....
...... or a president?
As usual when two words are mentioned together, half the media go into a slightly demented Robespierre mode.
Those words are "Queen" and "money."
I don't mind someone being called a republican but I do object to people calling themselves journalists sinking into grotesque distortion. So just a few points.
The palaces are NOT the Queen's. They belong to the State and thus the people and therefore us. If we had a president he would almost certainly live in something like Buckingham Palace (just as the US President lives in the White House, a palace in all but name), which would still have to be maintained by the taxpayer.
Buckingham Palace belongs to the people, NOT the Queen......
........ and it's not just monarchs who live in grand houses - presidents do, too
Two, since 1760 we, the people, have cut an annual deal with the monarch; we vote the crowned head a Civil List (an annual allowance) and the monarch passes over to the people the income from the Crown Estates. Last year, the monarchy cost £40 million; the Crown Estates made us £200 million. We made a PROFIT of £160 million out of the monarchy.
Third, the monarchy cost every Briton 66p. The Italian presidency costs each Italian almost double at £1.24. We get the most famous woman in the world. All together now - who is Italy's president?
I'm afraid it's either a dignified, dutiful constitutional monarch (Elizabeth II); an executive president two-thirds of the electorate can't stand (take your pick); or a charming entity called Giorgia Napolitano. No, he's not an ice cream, he's the Italian prez.
We Brits do pretty well. you know.
express.co.uk