Has the British Royal Family become irrelevant?

As a strong Royalist who has no desire to see Britain become a republic

I was beginning to get het up with some obnoxious words forming in my head till I get to that point. The antagonism just drifted into oblivion then. Good write up MsC. I would not go as far as to say they have become irrelevant - but they are in danger of becoming so if there is not desire for change.

Diana may not be around but she left behind a very powerful legacy. The 'Establishment' may not want to publicly acknowledge it (although I feel sure that some of them do so privately) but I think we haven't yet seen the true fruits of Diana's legacy bear fruit, yet.

With the family steeped in tradition and lack of real world experience to transform themselves when everything around them is changing so rapidly, the real hope has to be fresh thinking at the top. To tear down some of those rituals and traditions that are largely redundant in Society now.

William is the step change that the country and the family need. Desperately. But how long he needs to wait before he can exercise his influence is easy to see. With a great grandmother as a centurian before she passed away and the Queen herself still going strong, it is argued that he may have to wait another 40 years or so. By which time it will be too late. I don't think the family themselves intend to wait that long. Perhaps they may skip Charles. But it is difficult - how can anyone officially pronounce what will happen whilst a Monarch is still alive and not be seen to be wishing her away.

Not easy. Despite a strong group of Republicans, the vast majority of the country do want to keep Britain as a monarchy. Of course there are other examples especially in Europe of a democracy and a monarchy living happily. But none better and stronger than here. That is a tribute to the strength of the monarchy and the country.

I'm proud of what the monarchy represents for Britain. Despite worts 'n all. Have clipped this to a few relevant Groups. Something like "An audience for a Queen:-)

Yes.

I know this is a bit off here, but I recently watched the movie The Queen which won Helen Miren an academy award and though the movie was a bit slow, it did give an interesting look into the mind of the royals though admittedly through the eyes of the director. They are portrayed as out of touch and stiffled by ceremony, circumstance, and self imposed self-importance.

Either way, I think the royals need a major make-over to keep in step.

I saw a documentary and I feel certain there were black people on staff. Now, I wouldn't venture to say that there is a representative number, but I do believe it wasn't all-'white'. But "relevant"? Depends on how you mean. The Royal Family certainly is relevant, in that it matters if one gets sent to Iraq, and they play a role (however small) in the government. Should they be relevant in those matters? I would probably say not. But they certainly are relevant to British tourism, and to no small degree. Without the Royal Family there'd certainly be far fewer Anglophiles, I would wager. So there'd be costs to getting rid of them; I wouldn't have any way of knowing if it would be worth it, though.

Americans have historically considered the concept of royalty to be irrelevant. My wife is German and has the Old World fascination with all things royal and I find it charming. She revered Diana and I can see why - she was royalty's last best hope at relevancy and purpose. I simply don't get what is supposed to be so awe-inspiring about the queen driving by slowly, doing her little hand-pivot wave.