Do you pay monthly for Lord of the Rings Online

The game is basically free to play, so you don't have to pay for it.
But you only get part of the quests for free - if you want to continue playing in higher level zones you need to buy quest bundles from the store. They cost about 15 Euros each.
If you pay the monthly fee you become a "VIP" and get those quests for free plus you have some other advantages like free shop points each month, more storage room etc.

I had a lifetime subscription before it became free2play, so I was automatically set to having a lifetime VIP subscription.