Queen Elizabeth II

[Nickslikk2112]

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.

[David L]

God bless her and may she rest in eternal peace.

[pxr5]

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.

[David L]

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

[Slim]

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.

[Matt2112]

I'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.

[Nickslikk2112]

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.

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!

[Fishy]

Our wine tasting event tomorrow just got cancelled .. madness...

[Slim]

We 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.

[Matt2112]

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.

[dom]

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.

[Nickslikk2112]

Bloody last three stages of the Tour of Britain have been cancelled.
It's like living in North Korea!

[captainkurtz]

Bloody 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..

[Fishy]

Football games cancelled what the fuck is going on nowadays ...

[Nickslikk2112]

Test match starts again tomorrow Or, more likely