Very unusual that the Palace would issue a notification about the Queen's health. I was surprised to hear that she wasn't able to travel to London for what is her single most important constitutional duty this week.
I'm sorry to say that we may be entering the last days of the Queen's very long stint as our head of state. Will be an absolutely huge news event.
All of the Queen's children are either at Balmoral, or on their way there. Very sombre mood in the news reports.
Quote from: Slim on September 08, 2022, 02:07:39 PMAll of the Queen's children are either at Balmoral, or on their way there.
Also Harry and Meghan..........awks ;D
Tory MPs have been briefed to bring black clothing with them to the House tomorrow. There's some speculation, not from informed sources I should add, that she's already died and the public are being gently prepared for news that has already happened.
Apparently this was common practice when popes died, at one time.
Operation London Bridge and Operation Spring Tide...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_London_Bridge#:~:text=Operation%20London%20Bridge%20(also%20known,details%20of%20her%20state%20funeral.
Soviet State tv used to play days of ceremonial music whenever one of its leaders died. Probably an improvement on the usual programmes!
I'm ambivalent about the royal family but can't help but love the Queen.
My admiration for the Queen is such that it allows me to block my feelings of resentment with regards to the discrimination which forms part of the foundations of the monarchy. Sad to think that the tense of this post will be incorrect quite soon it would appear.
Quote from: captainkurtz on September 08, 2022, 03:37:47 PMI'm ambivalent about the royal family but can't help but love the Queen.
I'm very anti-royal family but fair play to the Queen, she always had a classy, graceful stoicism and dignity that's sorely lacking further down the lineage.
(Sadly, I had to change the tense of that sentence literally as I wrote it).
Quote from: dom on September 08, 2022, 03:37:33 PMSoviet State tv used to play days of ceremonial music whenever one of its leaders died. Probably an improvement on the usual programmes!
Many years ago, some time in the early '80s probably, I had a discussion with my girlfriend's mum about what would happen when the Queen died. I can't even imagine what prompted this conversation, perhaps we thought that she was getting on a bit now she was in her mid 50s.
My girlfriend's mum was adamant that the TV channels (all three, or possibly four of them) would go off the air for 24 hours, or just display an image of the Queen accompanied by funeral music.
I don't think that will happen now but I suppose the death of Philip a couple of .. ah and she's gone.
It is now official.
God save the King. How strange it will be singing that after so many years.
Quote from: pdw1 on September 08, 2022, 06:42:35 PMIt is now official.
God save the King. How strange it will be singing that after so many years.
Count me out - two authority figures that are, in their own way, both bogus.
I'm not a monarchist either but you can only admire the total and absolute commitment she had to the position.
Wonder how the reign of Charles III will go. Certainly won't be as long. He'll almost need to reach his mum's age to even get a Silver Jubilee
That moment when you hear Charles referred to as "the King" on the news for the first time. I genuinely shuddered.
A farewell to Queen... sad day, she's been such a focal point for us.
I think it's time to draw a line under the Monarchy now. What the Queen had going for her was we didn't really know her.
The shower below her we know too much about.
God bless her and may she rest in eternal peace.
Such sad sad news. I truly think she'll be sorely missed; and now we have a new King - King Charles III. Rest in Peace.
I'm really not keen on Charlie. William seems a decent chap though. I think he's more in touch with your average Joe.....and Kate too
Interesting that the PM was informed of the Queen's death at 4:30pm, so some of that speculation that she'd already passed was actually true.
Quote from: David L on September 08, 2022, 09:30:59 PMI'm really not keen on Charlie.
We now have a perma-befuddled, woo medicine-endorsing crank as a ruler.
Thank goodness his role is merely ceremonial and ritualistic - though there's huge suspicions of occasional royal political interventions on the quiet.
Which all begs the question what actual legitimate purpose the monarchy has - and that will only loom ever larger now the Queen's era is over.
Quote from: Slim on September 08, 2022, 10:06:19 PMInteresting that the PM was informed of the Queen's death at 4:30pm, so some of that speculation that she'd already passed was actually true.
I've seen completely anecdotal evidence that she'd gone by 3pm. The fact that Bargain Hunt had been taken off the telly shows that things were very much imminent.
Mrs S was supposed to be going out on a jolly tonight with the school she works at, but the Headmistress has cancelled it as she thinks it would reflect badly on the school. Why? Life goes on. It's a Catholic school and they ought to be celebrating!
Our wine tasting event tomorrow just got cancelled .. madness...
Quote from: Matt2112 on September 09, 2022, 08:34:42 AMWe now have a perma-befuddled, woo medicine-endorsing crank as a ruler.
I think this is correct, unfortunately. Personally I will never refer to Charles as "the King", for several reasons. Firstly irrespective of who the monarch is, it sounds ridiculously old-fashioned. Secondly, whereas Elizabeth was generally known as the Queen my whole life, Charles certainly hasn't been known as the King.
Perhaps the above reasons are a bit irrational, but I don't think this one is: the man is an imbecile and I won't use a term that implies respect and authority to refer to him.
Criticism of the Queen was always something akin to blasphemy, wasn't it? Partly because she did, to be fair, conduct her business with a degree of dignity. She was too young when she ascended to the throne to have been embroiled in, or associated with controversy. And partly because the sort of reverence that set the tone for her period as Head of State seventy years ago was much more the norm than it is today. Most people didn't even have a telly, let alone a social media account. She did nothing to deserve the laughable sycophancy that followed her everywhere of course. But she mostly just kept her head down and got on with it.
All that died yesterday afternoon, and it will be interesting to see what happens to the institution of the monarchy now.
For me there was always something faintly ridiculous referring to the Queen as, 'Her "Majesty"', but in fairness she actually wore that title quite well; whereas, of course, referring to Charles as 'His "Majesty"' doesn't just strike me as colossally ludicrous and laughable, but gross obsequiousness to the point of obscenity.
The Queen assuming her position at such a young age meant that there was no chance of her personality being on display in the public eye. She never had any causes that she made people aware of unlike her son.
It was always about the role for her, the embodiment of the country and the Commenwealth and her own personal opinions were always cast aside.
Charles has been under no such restriction and people's attitude to him have been coloured due to that.
The question is if he can assume the role of monarch in the same way as his mum and discard his personality, opinions, beliefs etc. Dependent on how well he manages to do that will determine how successful his reign will be.
The fact that he has spouted so much over the last number of decades means that it may be a little tricky for him. His mum's longevity could end up costing him.
Bloody last three stages of the Tour of Britain have been cancelled.
It's like living in North Korea!
Quote from: Nickslikk2112 on September 09, 2022, 02:50:28 PMBloody last three stages of the Tour of Britain have been cancelled.
It's like living in North Korea!
It has crossed my mind that the Taylor Hawkins gig might have been cancelled if the Queen had died a week earlier..
Football games cancelled what the fuck is going on nowadays ...
Test match starts again tomorrow :D Or, more likely :(
Well the most recent precedent for the death of our monarch is 1952 of course, and apparently this is what happens - national mourning and lots of stuff called off.
Personally though I just think times have moved on since the early '50s, and it feels a bit excessive.
I suppose though that monarch changeovers will become a bit more frequent for a while. If Charles dies in his late 80s, William will take over in his mid 50s, then he'll presumably get 30 years or so, by which time George will be in his 50s.
Quote from: Nickslikk2112 on September 09, 2022, 07:39:16 PMTest match starts again tomorrow :D Or, more likely :(
:( Fancy Dress has been banned for the final three days.
Looks like we're getting a bank holiday.
It's all the royals are useful for nowadays, but I'll take it.
I wonder if we could get a yearly one, Elizabeth Day or something. I've always thought that there's an unhealthy span of uninterrupted work days between the last August Bank Holiday and Christmas.
I'll mention it to Suella next time we exchange WhatsApp messages. Can't promise anything but I'll see what I can do.
The professional clerics of our establishment are absolutely loving the media exposure that makes them look like they have a useful purpose in all this - or anything at all - aren't they?
I'm afraid they and Chuck are as deluded and as useless as each other - and thinking, rational people who have to endeavour to earn a decent crust no matter what challenges they go through can see right through it.
Time to disestablish the whole wretched lot of it.
I always have that thought when there's a royal occasion and certainly, I've been pondering it these last few days. Was going to start a thread partly about that in the Religion section, I'll do that later unless someone wants to beat me to it.
I keep thinking we're going to go through it all again soon, whenever I see Charles III I read it as Charles Ill
Just a note to mention that a brief conversation about a Guardian article was moved to a new thread in the Politics section; some will enjoy the piece I'm sure so don't miss it!
http://betweenthewheels.net/index.php?topic=290.0
I wonder if the Queen was humanely euthanised last Wednesday, to ensure her death could be reported on the evening news?
It wouldn't be without precedent. Her grandfather, King George V was given a lethal injection of morphine and cocaine at 11pm on January 20th 1936 so that his death could be reported in the morning papers.
This was a closely guarded secret for 50 years. I remember watching the news in 1986 when it finally came out; my mum couldn't believe it. She was old enough to remember when George was King.
George's last words were "God damn you".
I keep wondering what they've treated the body with.. we're almost a week in with still a few to go.. any undertakers on the forum? Not trying to be funny .. genuinely interested .. wish they d tell you this sort of detail on the news...
The coffin is lead lined and therefore sealed. This is because it is an above ground burial. The lead lining prevents the ingress of air and moisture thus slowing decomposition. Not a very nice subject but widely reported and explained in the news sites online.
Quote from: Slim on September 14, 2022, 01:00:19 PMI wonder if the Queen was humanely euthanised last Wednesday, to ensure her death could be reported on the evening news?
It wouldn't be without precedent. Her grandfather, King George V was given a lethal injection of morphine and cocaine at 11pm on January 20th 1936 so that his death could be reported in the morning papers.
This was a closely guarded secret for 50 years. I remember watching the news in 1986 when it finally came out; my mum couldn't believe it. She was old enough to remember when George was King.
George's last words were "God damn you".
Will her cause of death be publicly revealed?
A 22 hr wait... quite unbelievable.... Maybe it's worth it's own topic .. but who would you wait that long for ...
Quote from: Fishy on September 16, 2022, 07:42:26 PMA 22 hr wait... quite unbelievable.... Maybe it's worth it's own topic .. but who would you wait that long for ...
Godot?
"Far away across the the field
The tolling of the iron bell
Calls the faithful to their knees
To hear the softly spoken magic spells..."
Magnificent pageantry all the same
Quote from: dom on September 19, 2022, 12:38:41 PMMagnificent pageantry all the same
Oh I can only agree with that.
The precision clockwork that's always a central feature of major royal events will never cease to impress me.
Quote from: dom on September 19, 2022, 12:38:41 PMMagnificent pageantry all the same
And completely pointless.
too many bagpipes
So i ask again.. how much did all that cost us...??££££
Quote from: Fishy on September 19, 2022, 07:50:13 PMSo i ask again.. how much did all that cost us...??££££
Far too much.
And all that guff about the amount they "bring in" is a load of bollocks as well - in the context of total U.K. tourism revenue it barely registers above the margin of error.
Quote from: Matt2112 on September 19, 2022, 08:27:56 PMQuote from: Fishy on September 19, 2022, 07:50:13 PMSo i ask again.. how much did all that cost us...??££££
Far too much.
And all that guff about the amount they "bring in" is a load of bollocks as well - in the context of total U.K. tourism revenue it barely registers above the margin of error.
How many food banks could have been filled with stuff for the cost of all the last ten days or so.. what a waste of time and money... although shops specialising in black ties and suits are probably sorted for the next few years...
Quote from: dom on September 19, 2022, 03:25:19 PMQuote from: Nickslikk2112 on September 19, 2022, 03:23:54 PMQuote from: dom on September 19, 2022, 12:38:41 PMMagnificent pageantry all the same
And completely pointless.
What else would they all be doing?
I was going to say Bum-sex and bullying, but thought better of it...
Quote from: Slim on September 08, 2022, 03:06:57 PMTory MPs have been briefed to bring black clothing with them to the House tomorrow. There's some speculation, not from informed sources I should add, that she's already died and the public are being gently prepared for news that has already happened.
Apparently this was common practice when popes died, at one time.
The Queen is reported to have died about three minutes after I posted this; cause of death given as "old age".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-63078676