# A question for British and other Commonwealth(?)-dwelling Dopers **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 4, 2007, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-british-and-other-commonwealth-dwelling-dopers/406647 "2007-06-04T03:37:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-british-and-other-commonwealth-dwelling-dopers/406647/1 "2007-06-04T03:37:35Z")
If [this](http://www.christianfurr.com/queen_elizabeth%20II_files/Queen%20elizabeth%20II.JPG) person is your official head of state, I would like your opinion on something. Do you consider yourself: A) A monarchist B) A republican (in the anti-monarchy sense) C) Neither of the above? I shall explain what brought this question into my mind after at least a few people chime in; I don’t want to bias any answers. ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-british-and-other-commonwealth-dwelling-dopers/406647/2 "2007-06-04T03:55:54Z")
A republican. ---
**Author:** ![dynamitedave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed655f/32.png) [@dynamitedave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dynamitedave)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-british-and-other-commonwealth-dwelling-dopers/406647/3 "2007-06-04T03:58:46Z")
C (neither) ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-british-and-other-commonwealth-dwelling-dopers/406647/4 "2007-06-04T04:13:30Z")
Mild monarchist. (Canada; Commonwealth country.) ---
**Author:** ![Caught\_Work](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/919ad9/32.png) [@Caught\_Work](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caught_Work)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-british-and-other-commonwealth-dwelling-dopers/406647/5 "2007-06-04T05:13:04Z")
A) A monarchist (Oz, part o’ the commonwealf, your 'onor). ---
**Author:** ![tirial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac91a4/32.png) [@tirial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tirial)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-british-and-other-commonwealth-dwelling-dopers/406647/6 "2007-06-04T05:44:58Z")
A) mild monarchist ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-british-and-other-commonwealth-dwelling-dopers/406647/7 "2007-06-04T05:53:25Z")
B, lifelong. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-british-and-other-commonwealth-dwelling-dopers/406647/8 "2007-06-04T07:32:08Z")
Closer to A, I suppose. I think the current system works pretty well and I voted against the republic model proposed in the 1999 referendum (gosh, wasn’t that a long time ago now!) I’m not completely anti-republic though. I just haven’t found any of the arguments generally put forward to justify the change to be very persuasive. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-british-and-other-commonwealth-dwelling-dopers/406647/9 "2007-06-04T08:03:28Z")
I don’t currently live in the Commonwealth, but I remain a loyal subject of Her Majesty. I’m a republican, but I voted “No” in the 1999 Australian referendum, because it proposed the wrong way of choosing a president: the president should be elected directly by the people, as in such democracies as France and Ireland. ---
**Author:** ![manx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@manx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manx)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-british-and-other-commonwealth-dwelling-dopers/406647/10 "2007-06-04T08:16:31Z")
A very mild monarchist, when I think about it. Turning the country into a republic seems so complex that it’ll take something major (the Queen’s death, maybe) to kickstart and sustain a national debate on the subject, so I’m happy the way things are ---
**Author:** ![mamboman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecb155/32.png) [@mamboman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mamboman)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-british-and-other-commonwealth-dwelling-dopers/406647/11 "2007-06-04T08:35:53Z")
Ostensibly, a Republican. However, I do blanche at the way in which Australia has approached the Republican debate. The last time we had a referendum on it we were offered the stark choice of a) Constitutional Monarchy or b) Republic. I would have liked to have seen more choice, for example c) Absolute Monarchy or maybe d) Divine rule of a Sun-King or even e) Constitutional Monarchy with an Australian-born king. f)Anarcho-Syndicalism didn’t get a jersey. Fans of g) Kelptocracy were left neglected and any chance of us ever becoming a h) Enlightened Absolutist state were just flushed down the toilet! but mainly I’m a Republican ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-british-and-other-commonwealth-dwelling-dopers/406647/12 "2007-06-04T08:38:24Z")
A) for the reason that I’m not too sure what Mr Blair or his successor would cook up to replace it and as it is, it adds a bit of pomp and circumstance to proceedings. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-british-and-other-commonwealth-dwelling-dopers/406647/13 "2007-06-04T08:44:43Z")
Brit. I’m a monarchist, but only because no better solution has been found. I dread Charles becoming king. ---
**Author:** ![Surok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@Surok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surok)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-british-and-other-commonwealth-dwelling-dopers/406647/14 "2007-06-04T09:04:11Z")
I suppose A. (British, not living in the UK or any other Commonwealth country, so I don’t think I’m actually entitled to have any opinion on the matter.) ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-british-and-other-commonwealth-dwelling-dopers/406647/15 "2007-06-04T09:07:33Z")
Republican And we need to change things before Camilla comes to the throne! ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-british-and-other-commonwealth-dwelling-dopers/406647/16 "2007-06-04T09:14:55Z")
Monarchist. “Because, with all our faults, we love our Queen”. 😃 I’m hardly Camilla’s number one fan, but what’s wrong with her? ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-british-and-other-commonwealth-dwelling-dopers/406647/17 "2007-06-04T09:17:50Z")
Republican. Can’t see why we’re still paying for all the Queen’s agent’s pomp and finery, when our elected parliament’s doing all the real work. Nothing against Queen Bess – just feel that times change. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-british-and-other-commonwealth-dwelling-dopers/406647/18 "2007-06-04T09:18:18Z")
Soft republican, in that if we were starting from scratch I wouldn’t vote for the current system, but it does work OK so why risk changing it? I don’t really understand the point of having a head of state at all, actually. Switzerland doesn’t really have one, and they seem to get by. If we must have a symbolic national leader, I’m glad that it’s not a position you can campaign and/or bribe your way to. And, ignoring the head of state aspect, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy is not that different from a republic. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-british-and-other-commonwealth-dwelling-dopers/406647/19 "2007-06-04T09:20:42Z")
Ardent Monarchist (like that’s a surprise to anyone here! 😉 ) Australian/New Zealander- I wasn’t in Australia for the '99 Referendum, but would have voted “NO” had I been. ---
**Author:** ![scareyfaerie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scareyfaerie/32/3135_2.png) [@scareyfaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scareyfaerie)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-british-and-other-commonwealth-dwelling-dopers/406647/20 "2007-06-04T09:29:07Z")
Republican, definitely! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-british-and-other-commonwealth-dwelling-dopers/406647.md?page=2)