REGARDING your Friday Jury article about the monarchy (LET, April 5), it is not really a fair argument to have two supporters of so-called "royals" arguing for and against the popularity or not of the royals.

According to the media, we are all in mourning for "our beloved Queen Mum." I'm not, although I am sorry that Elizabeth Windsor has recently lost her mother.

But if the royals were never mentioned again, it would be too soon for me. Why anybody can think they are relevant in a modern democracy beats me. They are an unnecessary leftover from a medieval feudal society.

This year is the Queen's so-called Golden Jubilee. What is a jubilee? It was supposed to be a resoration of property, a freeing of slaves, held every 50 years. It was a redistribution of wealth. It was supposed to prevent the wealthy from exploiting the poor. It still seems a jolly good idea. Whatever happened to cancelling Third World Debt? That could have been a real jubilee, unlike this farce we are supposed to want to celebrate by having street parties. No thanks, not for me.

It is an insult to a social democracy that one family is alleged to be of more worth than the rest of us. It is an insult to humanity that the monarchy can have so much property and wealth while some of their supposed subjects live in utter poverty and misery.

Declare a jubilee; abolish the monarchy; eradicate poverty and injustice. We need neither princes or paupers. We want a socially just and equal society. Well, that's what I want.

JOE BEARDSWORTH, Falcon Avenue, Darwen.