Judge Yourself the BBC Stance on Royals

[Teddy Bear]

We haven't covered the usual kind of coverage the BBC has when Royals are involved. So here's a chance for you to test your own perceptions. Read the following article and see what you think, then you can compare your thoughts with those of a journalist at The Telegraph about it.

Feel free to comment below

Royal wedding: critics urge Windsors to fund ceremony
Prince William and Kate Middleton Prince William and Kate Middleton met while university students

Campaigners have called for the Royal Family to meet the full cost of Prince William's wedding to Kate Middleton.

Anti-monarchy group Republic said the couple's wedding next year was a "private matter" and that taxpayers should not be expected to pay for it.

Lobby group the Taxpayers' Alliance said a "lavish ceremony" during a time of austerity would be inappropriate.

A spokesman for St James's Palace said the couple would be "mindful of the economic situation".
Tightened belts

In a statement, Graham Smith, from Republic, said it was inevitable that the high-profile event would require considerable security but "it is not for the taxpayer to pay for any part of this event - the Windsors must cough up.

"If people are being told to tighten their belts, if the government is making thousands unemployed, if welfare payments are being slashed, it would be sickening for the government to allow a single penny more to be spent on the Royals at this time.

"Spending public money on this wedding or affording it any special status would be no more appropriate than if it were (Labour leader) Ed Miliband's wedding. This is a private occasion."

Emma Boon, campaign director for Taxpayers' Alliance, said it would be "an exciting occasion for the public" and she accepted taxpayers would carry some of the costs but that a lavish ceremony at a time of huge pressure on public finances would make the couple appear "out of touch".

She said: "Of course it should be an event for the whole nation to celebrate but ordinary taxpayers should not be left with a bill fit for a king."

In July it was revealed that it cost the taxpayer 62p per person to keep the Royal Family.

The total cost of keeping the monarchy was £38.2m during the 2009-10 financial year, a drop of 7.9% (£3.3m) on the previous year.

[steevo]

Normally I wouldn't comment on something like this as it's uniquely Brit but since you asked... my immediate impression is yeah, the Beeb are angling making the Royals look self-centered and elitist but, that's exactly what they have done with their tax-payed salaries, business practices etc. Typical leftists projecting/creating a reality in the hope of making their own the opposite. The peons really need them.

One more angle too in killing two birds with one stone. It's a play on some easy resentment against a blatant symbol of tradition while playing on easy resentment of the opposite against the Taxpayers' Alliance.

All told it's a perceived win win win with this one for your news makers.

[Teddy Bear]

I think your views as an American are especially pertinent Steevo as I would imagine you are not exposed to the usual coverage of the Royals by the BBC.

I would agree totally with your assessment, as have those too at The Telegraph.