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Post by Kimby on Mar 1, 2011 7:18:44 GMT
Seems the Queen is going to live forever. (Must be all those Brits shouting "Long live the Queen!")
She was so young when she was crowned, it's rather unfair that Charles will be old if and when he ever takes the throne. William seems a bit callow to be King just yet, though. But if it's a choice between Camilla and Kate/Catherine as Queen/Princess consort, I'd guess the people would prefer Kate.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Mar 1, 2011 15:46:18 GMT
I think that it's largely the British Press causing the fuss about Camilla...tbh we Brits are quite fond of old Charlie...and if his missis makes him happy then where's the harm in her becoming a Princess Consort? I do think that it's strange that we still feel the need to have a Royal Family...it's almost as if we're too embarassed to get rid of them...(by 'get rid' I mean stop funding them...not suggesting a guillotine or owt)...and if we don't have the Queen as head of state we might end up with a Politician...eek....
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Post by bjd on Mar 1, 2011 16:09:36 GMT
Poor old Cholls is never going to be crowned, innit? There is no tradition of kings or queens abdicating to let their heirs take over just because they are getting old, is there? It must be quite rare. I guess even constitutional monarchs like the power that comes with being king or queen so are in no hurry to leave.
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Post by joanne28 on Mar 5, 2011 19:55:09 GMT
K, I was just thinking about your statement that the American "royal" families don't cost the American taxpayer. Tell me, I've often wondered who paid the costs of retrieving JFK Jr & co. out of the briny deeps, only to toss him back in afterwards. They used warships, for God's sakes. I find that ludicrous - why bother with the cost and nonsense? Just leave him there and toss some flowers in.
What really pisses me off is that I'm certain the average Joe Citizen would never have received such intensive services.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 5, 2011 20:05:25 GMT
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Post by joanne28 on Mar 5, 2011 20:18:16 GMT
I agree about the Coast Guard but there were U.S. Navy warships assisting in the search, which Clinton sent out. Plus the memorial service was held on the USS Briscoe. I don't think the average citizen would get that. I suppose the rationale was that they weren't doing anything else at the time but to me it's part of the whole Kennedy worship thing which I find annoying. Also, why the hell pull them out only to throw them back in the sea? Sheer stupidity. I am a curmudgeon - I also find the Lady Diana canonization incredibly irritating.
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Post by Kimby on Mar 11, 2011 18:07:42 GMT
What does cost the American taxpayer is the enormous amount of security tendered en perpetuity to former presidents and their families, plus other doo-dads. At least they pay for their shrines libraries with private funds. Also, why the hell pull them out only to throw them back in the sea? Sheer stupidity. I believe the rationale was that the only way to avoid creating a shrine that would attract multitudes of tourists was to do a "burial at sea". Too bad they didn't decide to do that right from the start.
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Post by bjd on Apr 22, 2011 18:49:08 GMT
A royal wedding preview
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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2011 19:19:23 GMT
I might even watch it for a few minutes if they really did it that way.
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Post by hwinpp on Apr 23, 2011 7:06:45 GMT
King of Cambodia snubs Wills and Kate's wedding PRINCE William and his fiancée Kate have been sensationally snubbed by the King of Cambodia. King Norodom Sihamoni has not replied to the couple's wedding invitation. He is the only Royal out of dozens worldwide who has failed to respond. Sihamoni, 57, a shaven-headed former ballet dancer and instructor, is not the first Cambodian king to snub a British royal wedding. In 1963 his dad Sihanouk refused to attend Princess Alexandra's wedding after being told he would not get a guard of honour and could not stay at Windsor Castle. Sihamoni, who took the throne in 2004, lived under house arrest with his dad in the 1970s while the Khmer Rouge regime murdered 1.5 million Cambodians. www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/royalwedding/3541193/King-of-Cambodia-snubs-Prince-William-and-Kate-Middleton-wedding.html
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 27, 2011 16:06:28 GMT
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 27, 2011 16:10:04 GMT
I will be watching it all on tv....quite a few street parties going on, bunting everywhere...it's bonkers. I did think about going up to the capital for the day, but I'll probably see more on the tv...in the comfort of my own home....I am not a royalist and don't really understand the reason that I want to watch it! Something about tradition, pomp and ceremony I spose. Might get bored....
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Post by spindrift on Apr 28, 2011 14:01:57 GMT
A Facebook friend has suggested that the Queen and Prince Philip vacate all palaces and castles apart from Windsor; that they should live out their days at Windsor to provide tourist revenue from all former royal properties. When they die then it is proposed that the english monarchy comes to an end.
I am inclined to agree with him.
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Post by lola on Apr 28, 2011 14:21:36 GMT
I am giving the wedding as much of a miss as possible, though unavoidably afflicted with it from waiting room TVs. Maybe I'll stumble upon a quick clip of it in a few years and find it delightful.
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Post by lola on Apr 28, 2011 14:50:50 GMT
But please don't go dismantling the monarchy. Surely it's not only American tourists who find their spirits lifted with a glimpse of the Queen. Nurses' aides and clerks must surely love it when she comes to open the new wing of their hospital.
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Post by lola on Apr 28, 2011 14:51:19 GMT
Or even a mere Princess.
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Post by mich64 on Apr 28, 2011 15:33:22 GMT
I am eagerly awaiting the Royal Wedding. I am a fascinator of romance, history, customs and weddings. So this is all of that combined. However, I will record it and watch it after I get up and have had my tea and toast! Cheers! Mich
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Post by Kimby on Apr 28, 2011 15:53:09 GMT
Aren't all little girls enchanted by princesses? So they grow up to be (closet) royal watchers.
(Even those who publicly scorn the monarchy, most likely.)
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 28, 2011 16:28:07 GMT
A few years ago HRH the Queen came to open some new buildings at the hospital where I work. For days beforehand my colleagues were grumbling, anarchy and republicanism ruled...but come the day when she turns up in her big car with flags on, the excitement was palpable. WhenI said that I didn't mind staying in the lab if people wanted to go and watch her mingle with the adoring flag wavers, I was almost trampled in the rush! Bonkers.... My MiL met several members of the royal family over the years as she did a lot of charity work. I always found her a pretty accurate judge of character. She thought the Queen was OK, Prince Philip a very odd but funny chap and Prince Charles a 'lovely bloke'. Princess Dianna was sweet, but Princess Anne was her favourite. Hard working, direct, no-nonsense and genuine. I've never met one of the royals...certainly wouldn't courtsey or bow and don't know that I'd call any one of them 'Sir' or 'Ma'am'... but then my chances of bumping into any of them in a garden centre or the supermarket are pretty slim....
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 28, 2011 16:28:42 GMT
...and when I was about 10 years old I wanted to marry Charles when I grew up.....
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Post by Kimby on Apr 28, 2011 16:37:43 GMT
Princess Diana was scheduled to be in Missoula, Montana, for the dedication of a heart surgery unit the summer she died. She cancelled to be with Dodi on his boat. And the rest is history. If she had come here, she might still be alive....
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Post by mich64 on Apr 28, 2011 17:38:47 GMT
I would not put any effort into meeting them as they have no reason to have interest in meeting me. Princess William and Kate will be coming to Canada this summer, I have opportunity to stand in the crowd to see them, but I have no plan or want to do that. I will however read or watch events when they are being reported on with interest. Cheers, Mich
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Post by Kimby on Apr 28, 2011 17:42:40 GMT
The media are building Kate Katherine up to be the perfect princess. Reminds me of when Lady Diana was about to become Princess Diana.
Hopefully, being 10 years older at her marriage to a prince, Kate will be more able to live up to expectations. I don't envy her. She must really LOVE William to sign on for this, she's certainly too old - and known him too long - to be starry-eyed blind in love. (Plus he is starting to go bald like his dad!)
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Post by spindrift on Apr 28, 2011 20:56:39 GMT
Well, actually, my husband and I were invited to Afternoon Tea at Buckingham Palace about twelve years ago. It is a great honour to be asked. I very much enjoyed the afternoon in the palace gardens. These were exceedingly large and beautifully set out. I was amazed that traffic noise (so loud outside the walls) scarcely seemed to be noticed. Of course we had at least a couple of bands playing, lots of marquees, people lining up to be introduced to her Majesty and a delicious tea set out in the tents. When we arrived we walked through the palace into the large courtyard (where you see them all drawing up in their coaches at a huge entrance). I loved it. We were not allowed to linger on our way through the palace, we had to keep on moving. I wore a hat of course. It was a great afternoon. One thing perhaps you might not know. It is absolutely forbidden to address the Queen ...you have to wait to be spoken to. And, of course, one must never ever touch her.
After this I was engaged for some time to a well-born gentleman (I'm not snobbish, I am only saying how it was) whose 2nd wife was, at the time, a Lady of the Bedchamber to the Queen. She has four of these Ladies. They are all from the highest families in the land. Judging by this 'lady' who had been married to my future husband, I was shocked when she acted in a very grand and high-faluting way towards me. I hadn't even opened my mouth and spoken but it was obvious to me that she was far too GRAND to shake my hand. I don't know whether this woman felt abominated by my very presence so near to her or whether she was plain jealous that I was about to marry him (and join the family LOL). It is generally know in england where a lady comes from as soon as she opens her mouth. She is instantly labelled. I hadn't even opened mine. In fact I had not spoken a word so it cant be that she thought be far beneath her in rank since she hadn't heard my accent. In fact I have a nice non-comittal accent but it's not exaggerated like most uppity class people like to speak. It is generally recognised that the aristocracy need to import new blood into their blue blood veins from time to time especially in order to breed beauty instead of horse-like people. So long as you've been educated in a public school, have the reqisite manners and of course, good table manners (SO important), then you're accepted IN. Needless to say it is very difficult to set out to meet the Upper Classes. They don't want to know. Not at all. Chance has to favour you as it favoured me several times. All interesting but in the end I didn't pursue it.
oh yes, I also met Princess Pushy (princess Michael of Kent) at a banquet. I thought she was fabulous but she moved about the room like a steam roller. I reckon it pleased her that as she moved, people had to stop, stand still and curtsey or bow to her ....I thought she was somewhat overbearing.
On another occasion the Duke of Kent was in our little mountain rack-rail train climbing up the steep hills to Zermatt. His and our favourite ski resort. He was alone, absorbed in a newspaper and didn't smile.
More some other time.
I thought I'd better edit some of that!
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Post by lola on Apr 29, 2011 2:49:00 GMT
Speaking of table manners and royalty, I wonder why the fuss deciding whether the woman who claimed to be Princess Anastasia was genuine.
All they had to do was invite her to eat some complicated sort of a meal and then secretly observe her as she ate.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2011 6:15:41 GMT
My colleague's husband had to go skiing with quite a few of the (back then) younger members of the British royal family. He was a member of the 'foreign VIP visitor' security team for the Elysée. He said that Diana was nice but his favourite was Fergie -- the only totally natural person at the time.
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Post by auntieannie on Apr 29, 2011 7:46:35 GMT
As far as the French / Italian thing goes...I always understood the affairs were understood / expected / not a secret in the same sense. Not that they're taking out a billboard, but they wouldn't lie about it. Or at least that is the attitude my French and Italian friends took. I've got no problem with people having open marriages. If all parties know the score and agree to it, then yes, fine, all their affair, perfectly acceptable. My objection is to the lying. Sorry to disillusion you, Gertie... Italy is an extremely machist country. To this day, women have the choice of saying nothing and smile or saying nothing and cry.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 29, 2011 7:48:46 GMT
I've never met one of the royals...certainly wouldn't courtsey or bow and don't know that I'd call any one of them 'Sir' or 'Ma'am'... I guess if I were invited to the palace to meet the queen, I'd follow protocol, but I'd certainly never bob in front of another human being otherwise. I would address PrinceP or the queen as sir or ma'am, but that's only because I'm a good little southern girl and they're much older than me. I.e., I do that for anyone of the previous generation. I may peek at the wedding because I need to see what everyone is wearing.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 29, 2011 9:05:55 GMT
I think that people from outside the UK are much more polite than us Brits. One of my colleagues is from South Africa and he calls ME ma'am...I hace tried soooo hard to get him to call me by my name and he does occasionally...he is the nicest man you could ever wish to meet.
I'm a bit disappointed that the Queen has decided to convey the title of Duchess on Catherine and not Princess (Diana became a Princess on her wedding day) . Diana was an aristocrat and Catherine is a 'commoner' (altho she comes from a very affluent family, no blue blood there) I spose that is partly because Charles was the Prince of Wales...a title that William will inherit when his father becomes the next King.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 29, 2011 10:18:43 GMT
Well it's a lovely frock.....
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