Queen Elizabeth II 1926-2022

[Totem Polar]

I was shopping yesterday, and my car radio is almost always on talk stations. Bongino was on as I pulled into the local Sam Walton joint.
Skip to 5:20 for the intro and 5:30 for the actual video/story.

https://rumble.com/embed/v1gr7pc/?pub=4


Worth the watch, I promise.

That is a good story.

[wvincent]

@UNM1136, That was the best laugh I have had in a very long time. Thank you for that.
For those in this thread who have had less then glowing opinions on the Queen Mother and the Monarchy, whether you are a subject of the Crown or not, whether or not you recognize or support the Crown as possibly our greatest ally matters naught.

For the simple fact is, SHE DID HER DUTY.

You simply can not take that away from her. She pledged her life to service, and fulfilled that pledge right to her last days.

If you understand what duty means, then you are able to respect and appreciate her life.

[Joe in PNG]

One can argue that one of the dumber things the USA ever did historically was their WWI era instance that nations discard their monarchs. Note that a lot of nations that did wound up with civil wars and tyrants not long after. Germany, Spain, Russia, and China come to mind.

Note that we didn't make the same mistake with post WWII Japan.

A monarch in a democratic government might be just a figurehead, but they might prevent a tyrant from stepping into that top spot.

[Wondering Beard]

One can argue that one of the dumber things the USA ever did historically was their WWI era instance that nations discard their monarchs. Note that a lot of nations that did wound up with civil wars and tyrants not long after. Germany, Spain, Russia, and China come to mind.

Note that we didn't make the same mistake with post WWII Japan.

A monarch in a democratic government might be just a figurehead, but they might prevent a tyrant from stepping into that top spot.

Didn't work for Italy.

[Joe in PNG]

Didn't work for Italy.

Fair enough... then again, it's Italy.

[Wondering Beard]

One can argue that one of the dumber things the USA ever did historically was their WWI era instance that nations discard their monarchs. Note that a lot of nations that did wound up with civil wars and tyrants not long after. Germany, Spain, Russia, and China come to mind.

Note that we didn't make the same mistake with post WWII Japan.

A monarch in a democratic government might be just a figurehead, but they might prevent a tyrant from stepping into that top spot.

Didn't work for Italy.

Fair enough... then again, it's Italy.

To be fair, Italy hadn't had a monarch since Ancient Rome and the imposition of Victor Emanuel by, primarily, the French, didn't play that well in most of Italy.

Most countries with constitutional monarchies nowadays have had a monarchy long before. The traditions and rituals mattered to the respective nations.

[Doc_Glock]

Many here have admirably shown the ability to separate the person from the office/position/status which she had not sought. Campaigned for. Earned. Whatever.

But she was a truly remarkable person. And all personal accounts I have read have supported that.

"Duncan Falconer" in the last few chapters of his autobiography tells a very amusing story of two SBS snipers being picked up by a helo pilot who took them to tea. (Hint, Prince Andrew was a RAF Helo pilot..) Also some very good stories from 14 Int.


I was shopping yesterday, and my car radio is almost always on talk stations. Bongino was on as I pulled into the local Sam Walton joint.
Skip to 5:20 for the intro and 5:30 for the actual video/story.

https://rumble.com/embed/v1gr7pc/?pub=4

pat

ETA: dunno why it didn't embed. The two things I tried to fix it failed. @LittleLebowski. Worth the watch, I promise.

That was brilliant! Thank you for that.

[TiroFijo]

Didn't work for Italy.

Didn't work for pre WWII Japan either...

[Stephanie B]

One can argue that one of the dumber things the USA ever did historically was their WWI era instance that nations discard their monarchs. Note that a lot of nations that did wound up with civil wars and tyrants not long after. Germany, Spain, Russia, and China come to mind.

Note that we didn't make the same mistake with post WWII Japan.

A monarch in a democratic government might be just a figurehead, but they might prevent a tyrant from stepping into that top spot.

I think that is inaccurate. The Russians got rid of their monarchy on their own. So did the Germans. The Spanish did in the early 1930s, until Franco sought to gain legitimacy by restoring it (and essentially acting as king until he croaked). The last Chinese emperor abdicated before the First World War.

[Joe in PNG]

I think that is inaccurate. The Russians got rid of their monarchy on their own. So did the Germans. The Spanish did in the early 1930s, until Franco sought to gain legitimacy by restoring it (and essentially acting as king until he croaked). The last Chinese emperor abdicated before the First World War.

It's less "you must get rid of your king" and kind of more of a "if you skip the whole king thing, we'll be your best friend" sort of thing that Wilson and other American leaders were into at the time.