So what is it with the British royals?

Among the most privileged people on the planet... but why? I'll admit I have no idea why this mega dysfunctional family is so elevated, in both the UK's media and - so we're told - in the hearts of the British people. Yesterday, at humungous expense, the newish King of Britain and the British Commonwealth, was crowned in Westminster Abbey. So what? I hear so many people say... or at least think. And I have to admit, I'm one of them.

From emails and phone calls I receive from friends in the UK, the crowning of King Charles the... whatever... seems to have been greeted, by the vast majority of the British public, with a shrug of disinterest. The days of declaring unwavering loyalty to the British monarch, whether by residents of Bognor or Barbados have long gone. Some folk in the UK and its dominions did, it's true, demonstrate a lingering affection for the old queen. I think more due to her longevity than anything else. She was still on the metaphoric throne well into her dotage - and that requires a great deal of dedication and - let's face it - stamina. But it really is stretching one's credibility to proffer the same degree of fondness for her eldest son and long-time heir.

Don't get me wrong, I've nothing against Charles... or his missis for that matter. I simply feel that the institution of the British monarchy has run its course. We are constantly being bombarded in the media by so-called royal correspondents trying to convince us that the British royals are hard-working slaves to their noble birthrights. Oh really?

I know a hell of a lot of far more hard-working Brits who would happily swap jobs with the royals any time they could. Furthermore the royals have had a pretty bad press recently. There's randy Andy who has rightly, in my opinion, been roundly castigated for his association with the late Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted paedo. Then there's the new king's younger son, Harry, and his wife who have bunked off to the States, to avoid having to work for a living. It must be so tough for the pair of them having to struggle to get by on a seven figure income... poor dears.

Last weekend on UK TV the Brits did something they do probably better than any other race; they sent up the royals and their coronation in, what the media described as, "a brilliantly observed and witty dismantling of the whole royal shebang". King Charles was played by English comedian Harry Enfield, sporting a pair of prehensile prosthetic ears. The other royals were also mercilessly parodied in a very funny and caustic programme naughtily entitled The Windsor's Coronation Special. I can't wait for it to come out on YouTube.

From what I have written above it may seem as though I would not have been glued to my TV set yesterday for the anointing of the British King... and indeed I was not. I was also, happily, a long way from the box when it came time for, what I heard described as, the British public pledging - aloud - an oath of loyalty to their king. For goodness sake! This is 2023, not 1623. What would happen if someone refuses? Will he/she be instantly transported to the Tower of London to await an axe job? No, it's all too silly for words.