If only all self appointed parasites were royals it would be easier to recognise them.

The telegram could be the standard jokey catch-all… "The weather is here, wishing you were beautiful."

Pericles I'm not surprised that tourists want to see, amongst other royal things, "the pretty soldiers in their bearskin hats, the pastel frocks and fancy tiaras" – such things are comedy gold for holiday snapshots.

Of course staunch republicans could always record the wedding then play it backwards just so it had a happy ending.

Funnily enough, even though I'm not watching much telly at the moment, I will be having a look at the wedding.
My nine year-old has an avid interest in history and dates relating to notable people and events...he's quite a full bottle on 20th century British royalty, which is something he's pursued of his own accord.
So the wedding is an opportunity for him to see a little sliver of "history".

Dear Thinker 2,

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for us becoming a Republic all we need is a gutsy PM to present an uncomplicated (one question only) Referendum to the Australian public. As they said on "Q and A" last night - it will happen - it's just a question of time.

The Royal Wedding is a separate issue, for me at least. To me it's
British history in the making - and just like Westminster Abbey,
St Paul's Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, The Tower of London, The Crown Jewels, Changing of The Guard, et cetera - its a spectacle that one observes and enjoys and then moves on.

From the British perspective however - don't knock it. According to information published in recent magazines - " The royal wedding is expected to give the UK economy a $4.65 billion boost. Royal fans will shell out around $2.6 billion on souvenirs and food. UK sales of kids' princess dresses and tiaras have risen 60 per cent in the last month. From his official shop on the Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire Prince Charles is selling wedding jigsaw puzzles and Kate's parents are also selling memorabilia via their company "Party Pieces," (but they removed cupcake decorations featuring a corgi wearing a crown, after palace anger)."

The British economy needs all the help it can get. The Olympics are just around the corner. The Royal Wedding for them is just what's needed. The amount of tourists in London at the moment is quite staggering - and we shouldn't begrudge them the joy of this historic (and money making) event. As I wrote earlier - I'll be watching - all the pomp, ceremony, and archaic traditions are quite remarkable. But then I also enjoyed the films, "The King's Speech," and of course -
"The Queen." It's all sheer entertainment.

its funny how we can watch the same show
and come to so very differnt realities

to quote lexi
"Referendum to the Australian public.
As they said on "Q and A" last night
it will happen - it's just a question of time.""

oh lexi watch it again
i only half watched it
prefering bothers/sisters..

but even i heard

the complications
such as 'crown lands'
'crown law'

and other royal type protocols..rules and regulations
dear lexi..we are a colony of great briton

ruled by a govener general
[the army swears loyalty to the gg..not to govt not to the people]
so any minor amendment needs consider those 5 points alone

then there are the other colonies
[you might think of them as states and terror-tries
to wit tassie..vic sa nsw qld west aus ..not forgetting things like xmas island and the other colonial hangovers]

no im not clever enough tom know
how many got their own gov/general
but the fact remains most got one...[how many gg's we got?]

one federal..maybe 6 or 7 or 8 all told
each with their own authority documents
THAT EACH NEED THEIR OWN REFERENdumb

then there are the differnt levels of courts
quasi govt departments..things like pensions

[pensions are linked to us being a colony
a thing public servants and solgers get..not peons or the sick]

then there are other things
like privey councils..no formalisation of a pm...

[its endlessly more com,plicated
thats why its not been done
and never will be done]

not even by referndumb

anyhow its far more complicated
thus the reason for ol nick to sugest one simple ammendment
cause the truth is

australia isnt even ALLOWED
teqniclly to be in the un
its not a country

anyhow its a mess
but if we all swallow the spin
the true criminals who run things will keep doing what they do

we havnt even got to the fact
hrh..is only a figure head..

[any decree from her
would not have lawfull ..nor hold any legal weight]
but as i said its a mess

thats why i lobbied her at chogum[qld]
to re-claim her just powers and rule the commonWEALTH..for her people

not allow govts to lord it over us
for big taxes and the serving big business
to loot the peoples wealth..via two party tricks..[tic's]

its all poly-tic's
[the scum that floats to the top..of the muck bucket]

Arjay, do you think this may be a ploy by the British royals to become more popular?

Lest face it, anyone who did not like Obama would be in a very large & growing circle of friends.

I'm afraid mate, that the world must like parasites. Many countries elect sons, daughters, even husbands of past leaders in what appears to me, to be an attempt to generate a pseudo royal family.

On the other hand I'll take the Queen, or even Charles as head of state, in preference to the bottle blond we have right now. At least the Brits can claim they got their dill by heritage, we have to admit we choose ours.