Pretty sure that polling indicated most people wanted the family to pay for it themselves. Is a gross indulgence and waste of public money.

Fair point, although I'm enjoying what I hope is an awakening happening in the US.

We're softly indoctrinated from a young age. Add in a complicit media and a lot of us are basically brainwashed.

But, yes, we agree their hidden influence is undemocratic and unaccountable, and a problem for democracy in this country.

We can have ceremonies like Changing of the Guard. France, for example, has ceremonial traditions. On tourism, it's a well peddled myth that the RF generate tourism. Yet there is no evidence to support that. Visit Britain has acknowledged that. The economy actually shrinks during big royal events.

100% of income from the Crown Estate is public money. It all goes to the Consolidated Fund (treasury income). You may see that it is 'held in right of the Crown' which some people take as belonging to the RF. This is misleading. It's not private and the Crown, of course, is a public office.

That's great for your son. But also incorrect.

This is a falsehood that is often perpetuated. If you go looking for evidence of them bringing in tourist revenue you won't find any. Visit Britain, via FOI requests, has admitted as much. Also, for info, the Crown Estate is entirely publicly owned.

Are you talking about the Crown Estate? That's a badly named portfolio of property that is entirely publicly owned. 100% of CE profits are, rightly, public money.