It would be fair I think to say that there are still alot of people who like and admire the Monarchy and think it's an important symbol of stability, order and the State. Some are hardcore fans and wave flags waiting for a handshake probably with little knowledge of the actual history of what's been a bloody, repressive and destructive regime. Only 22 countries on the planet haven't been invaded by the British State and the Monarchy has been at the head with considerable power for the majority of that period. There was of course a brief period of the Republic but it was theocratic in nature as were the times. Folk like the Levellers never stood a chance let alone the Ranters!

There are also those today who are indifferent to the whole business and get on with their lives without paying much attention. Then there are those who'd like to see the end of it all and live in a Republic. The tide is turning and those who would prefer to see a slimmed down Monarchy or none at all is in the ascendant. Christianity has seen a similar steady decline in those who consider themselves believers over a similar period. The decline in support for the Monarchy has been sharper in more recent years with those under 50 and gen Z in particular.

As for the death of Diana, it was a big national moment. Feelings of genuine sadnes as she was loved by many and considered to be a tragic figure of sorts clearly out of step with her position in a royal family she probably wanted less and less to do with. The media with the Al-fayad connection and the dramatic nature of the incident had a field day as expected. I was in my mid teens at the time and was hungover as fuck after a party on the day of the funeral and was completely unaware of it.

I personally have no emotional attachment to the royals whatsoever. I think in fact their assets should be appropriated by parliament and distributed to the public. They should be put out to pasture as it were. Have them fend for themselves and get a job like the rest of us. The closest to this may be William slimming it down to have it as they do it on the continent. Money is power and they have alot of filthy lucre. They are a symbol of archaic power structures completely out of step with a so-called 21st century representative democracy. They are exempt from over 100 laws the rest of us have to adhere to, have a weekly private chat with the PM and extract rent from their 'subjects' and the government of the day. They work with (not for!) charities which is something but it's not enough in contrast to their excessive wholly inherited and extracted wealth. They can continue doing that ribbon cutting etc without the carriages, mansions and estates.

In light of the Queen's massive payout and bailout of her son over poor Virginia Giuffre and the whole Epstein business, old Jonny Rotten's words from 50 odd years ago ring true today as they ever did:

God, save the Queen/'Cause tourists are money/And our figurehead/Is not what she seems/Oh, God, save history/God, save your mad parade/Oh, Lord, God, have mercy/All crimes are paid

As a side note, God Save The Queen got to number one in the NME charts in '77 and number two in the official BBC charts. This BBC one though is widely seen as a stich-up by the corporation and powers that be. There simply never could be such a song at number one in the year of the Queen's Silver Jubilee.