one can argue all day about whether it’s appropriate to have a monarchy in the modern day

That was my main point, I wasn’t really talking about how expensive or otherwise they are (although admittedly it came from a misunderstanding of QE).

I’m from the UK, and it absolutely sickens me that we still have a monarchy, any monarchy (let alone this particular one). I’m opposed to monarchy in principle, and would be even if the specifics of our monarchy weren’t so repulsive.

Appreciate the detailed post, but the cost argument is just window-dressing for me. It’s the core concept I reject. Hopefully we can get shot of them one day.