michael,

what you say has merit. i still think that it's a dangerous thing for anyone to have property confiscated as it creates a dangerous precedent. would it stop with the royal family? were they the only old family to seize property they still own in the middle ages? the answer is no, should these other families have their property siezed, and if not why not when another family has had their property taken? it's a complex issue that seems to be getting little thought, that's all i'm saying.

as for rejecting progress, perhaps my stance is a little extreme but i was countering the sentiment expressed earlier that everything learnt from the past should be rejected as out of date and forgotten (that was my point of making the salem reference as the monarchy seems to be the victim of a witch hunt in this thread).

any country is a product of it's past deeds, hopefully that country learns from them adds new thought to the problem and construes a better future - that's really progress.

cheers

julian