THE ever-reliable Gerry Hassan hits the nail firmly on the head yet again when he explores just what the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee means to her apparent subjects in the UK ("Just what are we celebrating when it comes to the Queen’s Jubilee?", May 30).

As an avowed Republican, I must confess that, in my view, the Queen and her dysfunctional family represent an anachronistic, privileged and entitled picture of the UK. As the economy teeters on the brink of recession and ordinary people struggle to pay fuel bills, food bills and generally keep their heads above water, the celebration of the Platinum Jubilee does, as Mr Hassan observes, take on a dark, sinister and damaging guise.

The Westminster government will welcome the distraction to divert attention from its serial failings and the daily bungling of their mendacious and shameless leader through a frequently utilised “bread and circuses” strategy that a largely right-wing, xenophobic media is only to eager to support.

Of course there are still people here in Scotland who back the Queen and the royal family for misguided religious reasons, loyalty to the Union or due to historical ignorance. Their antediluvian, forelock tugging fealty to the Queen and her assorted panhandling hangers-on remains a mystery to me and many others, including, it would appear, Gerry Hassan and the witty Ms Shona Craven.

The comedian Mark Steel summed up this bewildering allegiance to the Crown by many who lived in poor circumstances or had the most challenging lives during the Second World War: “A bomb fell on my home in London and I was trapped under the rubble for hours with two broken legs and a shattered arm when the Queen came round visiting the area and spoke to me for five minutes. And you know, that was the happiest day of my life …”

This unquestioning subservience to the royal family appears to continue in all social classes to a degree, though it is clear that the monarchy forms the apex of the class system and all the transparently gross inequalities that lurk within it can never disguise that monarchy murders meritocracy. As Mr Hassan states, much is made of the queen’s so-called apolitical role, yet this must surely now be utterly discredited following the disclosure of the continued use and abuse of the arcane procedure of “Queen’s consent” that allows her to vet the contents of literally hundreds of bills to ensure that her personal wealth and private interests are protected, irrespective of the undemocratic implications and reality.

“Queen’s Consent” reeks of naked self-interest and breathtakingly hypocritical entitlement and, sadly, the Scottish Government has colluded in this charade to allow the royal family to abrogate responsibilities for environmental issues on their estates.

Yet, to criticise the avaricious behaviour and moral corruption of the royal family is completely taboo for many individuals and much of the mass media. Prince Charles’s recent “cash for honours” scandal was discreetly forgotten, Prince Andrew has been posted missing doubtless until he is publicly rehabilitated by his mother and extended family. The latest ersatz imperial visits by junior royals were excruciatingly embarrassing and overtly out of touch leading to requests for apologies for past empirical misconduct and anti-British protests.

The cost of maintaining “the Firm” is approximately £70 million annually and there are estimates of anything up to £30m to be spent on the Platinum Jubilee at a time of genuine privation for many UK households. This is morally unacceptable, totally inequitable and ethically obscene. As Gerry Hassan points out, a celebration of the Platinum Jubilee contains a deliberate sleight of hand that presents a very selective picture of the British Monarchy. Let’s hope that the days of unearned privilege and wealth are numbered as we move into a new age in an independent Scotland.
Owen Kelly
Stirling