The Queen is Dead

[Dod101]

I wasn't to sure about a thousand years of tradition

The problem with this impression is that it’s nonsense. It’s true that the British monarchy stretches back to the 9th century. It’s also true that royal ceremonies make as much play as they can with “ancient traditions.” But that’s as far as it goes.

For much of its history, the British royal family was a flop when it came to the ceremonial side of things — clumsy amateurs compared with the French kings or the Habsburg emperors. The country’s ceremonial monarchy didn’t really come onto the scene until the early 20th century. Far from being the product of conservative tradition, it was the synthesized invention of three men: a journalist who dreamed up the underlying philosophy, a civil servant with a talent for theater and a king who spent most of his life waiting to ascend the throne.

How a Journalist, a Bureaucrat and a King Invented British Majesty

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/artic ... ible-at-it

I am not getting at you, but Bloomberg often has anti British articles. This is just another one.

Dod

[Arborbridge]

I wasn't to sure about a thousand years of tradition

The problem with this impression is that it’s nonsense. It’s true that the British monarchy stretches back to the 9th century. It’s also true that royal ceremonies make as much play as they can with “ancient traditions.” But that’s as far as it goes.

For much of its history, the British royal family was a flop when it came to the ceremonial side of things — clumsy amateurs compared with the French kings or the Habsburg emperors. The country’s ceremonial monarchy didn’t really come onto the scene until the early 20th century. Far from being the product of conservative tradition, it was the synthesized invention of three men: a journalist who dreamed up the underlying philosophy, a civil servant with a talent for theater and a king who spent most of his life waiting to ascend the throne.

How a Journalist, a Bureaucrat and a King Invented British Majesty

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/artic ... ible-at-it

I was allowing some poetic licence to contrast the silliness of Paddington Bear with the solemnity of the event.

And in any case, the thousand years of history did not refer to ceremony, but the monarchy and its development down those years.

Arb.

[Arborbridge]

For a bit of perspective, sometimes you just need to read something different from the relentless flag waving 'a thousand years of tradition' BS.

Not entirely BS, but we all nations have a pride in their fibs - one of ours being that we haven't been invaded since the Norman Conquest. We've been invaded, but not conquered in that time unless you count inviting William and Mary to take over.

The other famous invasion was when the forces of William the Marshal defeated the French. Somehow, that tends to be forgotten about, but it was quite a heroic period so I am not sure why we don't play it up more. I would have thought one man's determination to unite the kingdon and drive out the French invader would have been quite an attractive event - especially during these Brexity times.


Arb.

[Arborbridge]

You didn't say 1000 years of history. You said 1000 years of tradition. Which is BS

Thank you for the correction. I meant history.

[nimnarb]

We all have our opinions. Right or wrong. BS or not, and it's all somewhat irrelevant, as really gets us nowhere apart from at times heated. What's the point! Time to move on now perhaps?
Long live the King and Godspeed to our Queen.

[bungeejumper]

You didn't say 1000 years of history. You said 1000 years of tradition. Which is BS

In principle, yes I agree. "1000 years of tradition" is the kind of tribal spin and hyperbole that people tend to come up with when they're talking about something lost that their particular tribe is sentimentally attached to.

But then, the same sort of thing happens north of the border, where you Pictish types talk so fondly about the glorious highland heritage of what was actually two thousand continuous years of conspiracy, betrayal, fratricide, tribal mass murder and sheer bloody terror - some of it in favour of a French-backed regime that didn't hang around for a single week longer than it took to find out whether its puppet Charlie would live or die. (They ran away. He survived long enough to die in Rome, which was actually quite good going under the circumstances.) Some heritage.

But hey, that's all water under the bridge now. Here at Bungee Towers, we drew up the drawbridge whenever the news came on and got some early nights, because there was no chance of finding out what was going on in the world of war, typhoons, economic crisis and disasters where everyone else lives.

I am a royal agnostic, neither monarchist nor republican. And obviously I lack a sense of theatre (or something?). Because, in my book, (a) 96 is a pretty good innings which I personally don't expect to match, and (b) the late Queen had 900 personal staff who probably managed to cushion her from most of the day-to-day burdens that life tends to throw at the rest of us.

The exception being the ongoing crisis in her own dysfunctional family, which has kept the media happy for many decades now, and which looks like moving from sequel to Hollywood prequel any day now. But like I say, that's for the future. Can't wait for the feeding frenzy among the TV interviewers to die down a bit. Who knows, maybe we'll even get the weather forecasts back?

BJ

[UncleEbenezer]

I don't disagree with any of that. I'm just glad the Queen didn't have her 100th birthday 2 weeks before she died.

Would that have been any worse than the 69th anniversary nonsense just three months earlier?

[bungeejumper]

I'm just glad the Queen didn't have her 100th birthday 2 weeks before she died.

Oh, I don't know. There's something rather mythic about ringing the big bell and then expiring with a sense of having ticked something pretty impressive off your bucket list. She missed that one, although she did get get shot of lying Alexander, which must have been at least a bit satisfying.

If she'd made it to the ton, d'you think she'd have sent herself a centenary telegram?

BJ

[brightncheerful]

Mrs Bnc and myself and puppy started watching the events on tv until puppy became restless so leaving her alone to sleep we went our separate ways to watch it alone.

At 16:54 sitting in my office chair I decided to participate rather than observe. I stood up to sing the National Anthem but accustomed to saying "God Save the Queen" I heard myself mouthing "God Save the Quink."

[brightncheerful]

I'm just glad the Queen didn't have her 100th birthday 2 weeks before she died.

Oh, I don't know. There's something rather mythic about ringing the big bell and then expiring with a sense of having ticked something pretty impressive off your bucket list. She missed that one, although she did get get shot of lying Alexander, which must have been at least a bit satisfying.

If she'd made it to the ton, d'you think she'd have sent herself a centenary telegram?

BJ

… a centenary telegram? Yes. she presented herself with a cup for her horse winning a race.

[bungeejumper]

I heard myself mouthing "God Save the Quink."

Quink, as I recall it, was a brand of fountain pen ink. Used to leak all over me as well.

BJ

[swill453]

Mrs Bnc and myself and puppy started watching the events on tv until puppy became restless so leaving her alone to sleep we went our separate ways to watch it alone.

At 16:54 sitting in my office chair I decided to participate rather than observe. I stood up to sing the National Anthem but accustomed to saying "God Save the Queen" I heard myself mouthing "God Save the Quink."

It seemed to me that for the anthem at the funeral, half the congregation were singing "king" and half were singing "queen".

Scott.

[XFool]

At 16:54 sitting in my office chair I decided to participate rather than observe. I stood up to sing the National Anthem but accustomed to saying "God Save the Queen" I heard myself mouthing "God Save the Quink."

It seemed to me that for the anthem at the funeral, half the congregation were singing "king" and half were singing "queen".

I thought I noticed that too. Of course it should have been "God Save the Queen" - for the final time.

[swill453]

It seemed to me that for the anthem at the funeral, half the congregation were singing "king" and half were singing "queen".

I thought I noticed that too. Of course it should have been "God Save the Queen" - for the final time.

Was that the official line? I could see arguments both ways.

Scott.

[UncleEbenezer]

We had a concert on Saturday: a local "last night of the proms" thing, with a lot of the same repertoire - at least in the second half - as the Albert Hall event should've been.

On Friday came email with some last-minute changes. Formal (tux for us, black for the ladies) rather than festive dress. And a couple of substitutions in the music: I don't really think battle hymn of the republic is anti-royalist, but we lost it anyway.

And unsurprisingly, we opened the concert with an unplanned Gawd 'elp the King. Definitely the king, and the male pronoun. A definite novelty, but it felt less odd than I had expected.

[edit to add] that being Saturday 10th!

[kiloran]

I thought I noticed that too. Of course it should have been "God Save the Queen" - for the final time.

Was that the official line? I could see arguments both ways.

Scott.

The official Order of Service has God Save The King
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-famil ... y-details/

--kiloran

[XFool]

Was that the official line? I could see arguments both ways.

The official Order of Service has God Save The King
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-famil ... y-details/

Interesting. I remember it being reported that it would be "God Save the Queen" in Westminster, for the last time, and then "God Save the King" at the end of the service at Windsor.

So there is certainly a certain amount of uncertainty about!

[didds]

Ah well.

Back to reality tomorrow for the masses.

Is that a promise?

[csearle]

Moderator Message:
RIP Queen Elizabeth II