Thanks for all the awesome comments! All sides are welcome here! I love that we can intelligently discuss and debate on my channel! Keep em coming - Muzz

I was expecting this to come, glad you made a video. I’m not even past the ads, but I’ll fall asleep to this tonight, thank you!

It was nice to hear your thoughts about this. I don't have much information myself, so it was nice to get some insights from someone more knowledgeable, and in a relaxing way to boot.

“You can just live in both worlds, you don’t always have to choose team A or team B. A bit of both is fine.” Man, I feel like every time I watch your videos I’m transformed. At the beginning when you said you supported Scottish Independence I felt like the Irish singing “Lizzie’s in a box” but by the end I asked myself what it would like to be a part of that club and how that might be nice. I love your thoughts always sir. Thanks for the wisdom.

Never thought as an English/Welsh Unionist I'd be agreeing with a Scottish nationalist but you have really opened my mind on how much fairer the Union could be and how unfair it's been so far in my heart of hearts I am a Unionist I love Scotland I get there's a lot of obnoxious English people who talk a lot of shit but really our union needs to be fairer I don't see it happening but I can live in hope You hit the nail straight on the head when talking about the capital cities and parliaments location I've been thinking for a few months now there should be 4 capital cities of the UK not just London

Very insightful video Muzz! I think for a lot of people in England it’s easy to ignore the troubling and oppressive history that the monarchy is so intertwined with. It’s also easy for people to view the monarchy through rose tinted glasses when the queen was careful not to abuse the large amount of influence the royals still have. Ik I’m not really qualified to say this but I think the queens death would have been a fitting end to the monarchy - I think it’s better to move forward without being caught up in the past.

Totally agree with you Muzz!! I think it’s very touching where she decided to spent her last few days

Great video! Very interesting perspective. As someone who lives in an independent and republican country I find odd the appeal monarchy still has on people given the controversial history.

Interesting and thoughtful video Muzz. I think there is often a conflation between the Queen and the Monarchy itself. Many people, particularly of my parent’s generation have a genuine affection for the queen but seem less committed to the idea of a monarchy. Polling earlier this year, before the queen died showed only 45% of people in Scotland wanted to keep the monarchy, with well over a third saying the end of the Queen's reign would be the right moment for Britain to become a republic.(British Future survey, reported in The National, 15/05/22). You are right that the SNP want to retain the monarchy as the head of state of an independent Scotland, however only 28% of SNP voters support this. More surprisingly only 70% of Scottish Conservative voters support the long term continuation of the monarchy! I think in Scotland, the influence of the Enlightenment remains strong and the idea of a ‘divine right to rule’ based on an accident of birth is instinctively troublesome. For me the monarchy are a jaded anachronism, at the apex of the class system and at best can only have a parasitic relationship with democracy.

I disagree with the idea that there is much value in people inheriting the right to have closed door conversations with world leaders and ministers. The harm far outweighs the good, and it simply goes beyond the most basic principles of fairness. The Queen was careful not to abuse her situation, but she certainly did so from time to time. She abused her privileges to have legislation altered to conceal her wealth. As you said, in 1975 a royal agent dismissed the Australian government (Charles was also involved in this). This was a coup. Nobody should have the power to do this based on inheritance. I agree that the monarch is a powerful and emotional symbol of continuity and tradition, but I generally think that these feelings also cause more harm than good. It does more to justify existing bad practices than it does to preserve things which are good. With regards to the pageantry of monarchy, I agree that it would not be replicated in a republic, but nonetheless it is completely unjustifiable to me to have the head of state decided by birthright, it is something that humanity must leave behind, eventually.

I listened to this one several times after it came out but had to come back to it today- My husband and I are on a vacation in the UK and landed in Edinburgh the day Charles and Camilla were here. The news has been flooded with several different opinions about independent Scotland and the monarchy and I knew I had to come relisten to this for your perspective

Yes omg love your opinion videos

Well said! 💕

Really enjoyed this. I’m British and like yourself emigrated, and currently living in Vancouver BC. I very much resonate with that feeling of being the black sheep in the UK. Like you I’m a big Trekkie and sort of subscribe to a lot of those progressive ideals a bit too literally for what British culture tolerates.

I agree with you on 90-95 % of what you are saying... the other 5-10% I'm not sure on purely because I haven't decided on Independance yet. Was against at last referendum(but couldn't vote as was resident in London at the time) But seeing how Nicola v Boris took control of covid changed my attitude to SNP. However, I'm not convinced Scotland as a nation can afford to stand alone or could have stood alone during the likes of covid. Let me see the books/ budget plans and I'll decide. And mow being home in Aberdeenshire I will vote next time. Also glad to have been hame here when Her Majesty left Balmoral. Met, no encountered, her at Loch Muick on Balmoral estate while hiking with the school at age 13 or 14. She was lovely. I feel that she and other royals show diplomats how it should be done, beyond politics and personal gain/ pop opinion.

I found this so interesting. I’m a Geordie and I’ve known alot of us that have moved up to Scotland, especially during these recent times. Most people I’ve spoken too support the snp to a degree, some even wish we could join you lol. But yeah the monarchy has kept us all in a class divide (in my opinion, will continue to do so) and is *very* controversial with it’s history. I share mixed feelings about it but since Charles has toke over, I’m very much inclined to not have one at all anymore tbh 🤷 Also I understand how you feel on the capital because London and the “posh” areas have always been known as important, which has internally made me & many others feel like we’re just not important enough and we’re just a far away afterthought not to be really noticed. It’s so obvious that the politics/money is so regionally unbalanced. I’m not really a big political person as a whole but I do roughly understand some of the basics & what the SNP stands for and know that I trust Nicola Sturgeon more than I ever will with any Tory. They’ve ruined my family enough. Labour does nothing to gain peoples attention or have strong leadership. Add to the fact the first time I heard about Nicola Sturgeon was about how she wanted an independent Scotland and for it to be treated fairly & that she actually wants to help strengthen the boarder between England & Scotland and to help cities in the north east/many other industrial cities in England. Yet a few people like to carry the narrative that she hates the “English” blah blah Blah …. Usual stuff. I do wish we had an option or vote to join you, it would be interesting lmao but I’ll be supporting Scotland like many others in Tyne & Wear until you get a true chance at freedom & democracy independently. I so do wish I could move somewhere different eg. Scotland/Canada/New Zealand, i’m starting to become really depressed and longing to move somewhere anywhere but England. Although I’m not really made out of money or middle class :/ Sorry this is soo long/ my thoughts and hopefully it makes sense grammatically 😆 but never the less, this was so interesting. Thank you for sharing ye thoughts though, it’s so nice to hear someone else’s opinions 🖤

‘Then for over a hundred years, England and Scotland were independent of each other - in terms of govt.’ Simply, no; not quite; it was not as loose as the personal Union between Britain and Hannover, say - not least because the phrase ‘Union of Crowns’ you know pertains to ours; nor was it as loose as the personal Union we have today with Australia or Canada; it was a much, and ever closer political Union that culminated in 1707, not least because Kings had more political power back then. King James was a raging unionist and pushed for, and enjoyed, effectively a diplomatic and military Union. [i.e the Scots guards in London predating 1707] That sounds to me more like Devo max.

I'm late to this video. I don't think indy supporters really hate the union, they hate the ignorance of the government. None of them speak for us. I'd call myself a unionist as we are stronger together, but somehow the "unionist" politicians drive our union apart. These 5 nations should be together and treated as equals instead of drove apart by the ignorant ruling class. Peace and love to my Scottish brothers, Welsh cousins and Irish forefathers.

Wait you live in Canada!? lol

It will come again (the vote), I hope the Scots fail the 2nd time (apologies). I'm of the mindset we stand stronger united, given how much NHS England currently support the Scottish NHS. Drone deliveries (England to Scotland) of cancer treatments etc being a recent thing. I feel Scotland needs to stand on its own two feet before fleeing the UK, there's plenty of social/economic issues that could be addressed but are being ignored in Scotland currently and the union isn't to blame, although it's an easy target. The middle class/upper class will be fine, as they always are, but I worry for the unwell and elderly in such a circumstance, the transition period would be brutal and unnecessary, especially right now. I worry sometimes that Nicola is dragging the place to its knees as an easy exercise to say "this is what they are doing to us" rather than dealing with said issues. It's not like things are going great in England after all (tories and all that). I work with plenty of Scots (hi Glasgow office) and none of them want independence, in fact it scares most of them. We're a connected landmass island, it's illogical to create divides. Not meaning any disrespect, I'm an Englishman after all but I don't think the fantasy will be what Scots think it'll be. You weren't here for Brexit or suffer the consequences of "going alone". That should be the biggest lesson to most. Probably gonna catch some hate for this comment and I could expand on my opinions but this is already dragging on, no hate from yourself I'm sure. Regardless, I found your perspective interesting and insightful and you hit a lot of nails on the head about the monarchy, it is pointless but also sort of cool lol. I do wonder how this conversation would go if we had a more left wing party in place for the last 12 years. But already typed enough speil, so I'll avoid more added speculation haha.

As a French person, I feel obligated to say eff the monarchy :P Jokes asides, I feel it's a lot of money wasted on maintaining some people's royal lifestyle... 'Same thing for politicians', true, but I'd say 1) they are not automatically born into a position of power and 2) lower their salaries too... And it enables some political structures that are plain archaic. Australian laws still have to get the approval of the British Crown to be passed. Is it now largely a symbolical formality? Yes. But how weird is it, to ask the queen or king of another faraway country for permission to enable your laws? Why keep a check on self-governing, if only a symbolical one? And the thought of old Balmoral Castle being used as a private residence by the English royal family instead of being a museum is just sad, in my opinion. I can't help it, I think it's unfair. I can't imagine Versailles castle being squatted by the Swedish royal family for over a century, for example, without any possibility for the French government to offer to buy it from them, negotiate the castle being open to visitors, or even ask the royal family to pay taxes on the castle if they intend to keep it. Maybe I'm being too passionate about this lol, but I grew up being taught about the royal family as generally harmless and benevolent, and the more I learned about the English-speaking world, the more I realised that... Not really 😅 It's a lot more complicated

English social democrat here. Honestly despite being more left wing idrc about the monarchy. My main issue with Britain is the economy, the ancienttt traditions (as a trans girl, hearing that there are TWO trans clinics in the entire UK was crazy but kind of expected to be honest), the corruption, and mostly importantly the two party system we have that destroys any political competition in the country. If we had competition in the government, most of our issues like Scottish negligence would likely be solved. This country is lovely but it is ruining itself. And on my thoughts of Scottish independence, if the people want it, give it to them. Maybe we can tag along with them back into the EU again 😅

Come on Muzz do you really expect the Royals will act in our interests when our elected representatives don’t? The bottom line is you can expect the monarchy to act in its own best interests and for them, you and I are subjects, not citizens.