[OT] Queen Mother Dies
- Thread starter Welrain
- Start date
Daniel Knight
First Post
I must admit that I am finding it rather peculiar that it appears to be the Americans (who as far as I’m aware have utterly nothing to do with the UK monarchy) to be the ones who seem to be the hardest hit by this news. This is fair enough. They are viewing the monarchy as something akin to their own mighty empire – as something to be defended, upheld, and blindly followed. I have no problem with this. In fact I envy the pride American’s have for their own country. I’m sure a little bit of flag waving is great for the old loyalty muscles. I have the same love for my country, but certainly not for its leaders though. I think I can promise you that there wouldn’t be too many wet eyes if little Johnny Howard kicked the proverbial bucket on the morrow.
Now I can’t speak for the UK on this matter, but I’m certainly not going to stop anyone from that location from bagging someone who as far as I’m aware, was nothing more then the mother of a figurehead anyway. To suggest that her death holds any more grief then the death of child you’ve never heard of in some third would country, would not only be ignorant, but also ridiculous.
To further suggest (as one poster did indeed do), that the UK would be diminished without the Royal Family, would be to insult every single person living their.
But then again, maybe your right!? After all, England is just chock full of monarchists and people spouting Monty Python, isn’t it? What more could they possibly provide the world with?
Now I can’t speak for the UK on this matter, but I’m certainly not going to stop anyone from that location from bagging someone who as far as I’m aware, was nothing more then the mother of a figurehead anyway. To suggest that her death holds any more grief then the death of child you’ve never heard of in some third would country, would not only be ignorant, but also ridiculous.
To further suggest (as one poster did indeed do), that the UK would be diminished without the Royal Family, would be to insult every single person living their.
But then again, maybe your right!? After all, England is just chock full of monarchists and people spouting Monty Python, isn’t it? What more could they possibly provide the world with?
Welrain
First Post
Hi,
Im saddened by the turn this thread has taken especially the comments of UD. I had hoped that the posters would take the time to honour a great woman rather than "bag" the royal family.
To suggest that the Queen Mother was nothing more than the mother of a figurehead is quite frankly disgusting. She was Queen..
"She had never expected to be Queen. The abdication thrust her and her husband, unprepared, onto the national stage. From the day of her accession as George VI's Queen, she dedicated her life and that of her family to serving the nation and to supporting the shy and retiring King in his onerous duties as sovereign.
Testing times were ahead. World War II brought the terrors of the Blitz to Britain also saw the King and Queen bringing comfort to those left homeless, and worse, by the Luftwaffe's bombs. The Royal Family, including the young Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, stayed in London.
Many others had taken the easy option and moved to safety in the country, even to Canada, but the then Queen sat out the war in the front line with her people. And the people did not forget."
She was truly amazing woman and was loved universally . IMHO she exemplified what a "Queen" shoud be and do.
If you wish to comment on the Royal Family please do it elsewhere.
Im saddened by the turn this thread has taken especially the comments of UD. I had hoped that the posters would take the time to honour a great woman rather than "bag" the royal family.
To suggest that the Queen Mother was nothing more than the mother of a figurehead is quite frankly disgusting. She was Queen..
"She had never expected to be Queen. The abdication thrust her and her husband, unprepared, onto the national stage. From the day of her accession as George VI's Queen, she dedicated her life and that of her family to serving the nation and to supporting the shy and retiring King in his onerous duties as sovereign.
Testing times were ahead. World War II brought the terrors of the Blitz to Britain also saw the King and Queen bringing comfort to those left homeless, and worse, by the Luftwaffe's bombs. The Royal Family, including the young Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, stayed in London.
Many others had taken the easy option and moved to safety in the country, even to Canada, but the then Queen sat out the war in the front line with her people. And the people did not forget."
She was truly amazing woman and was loved universally . IMHO she exemplified what a "Queen" shoud be and do.
If you wish to comment on the Royal Family please do it elsewhere.
RogueJK
It's not "Rouge"... That's makeup.
Daniel Knight said:
Empire? We have an empire?! Since when...? I wish somebody had told me earlier.
(An empire... right...
)[Edit] And I'm sure that many Americans would disagree with you that we blindly follow the leaders of our "empire"... [/Edit]
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Green Knight
First Post
No, not hard hit. Just offering my condolences to Brits who do feel the loss. And unlike some here, feel no need to piss on the Queen Mother's grave. That's called good taste.
So you have a degree in pop psychology, huh? Oh please. Well, everyone's got a right to their opinion, even if it is mind-numbingly stupid.
Perhaps because John Howard never displayed any courage or honor (I don't know, but I'm assuming as much, by your comment that he's not well loved)? Had he, then you may be singing a different tune about him. As Welrain pointed out, she was queen during the blitz. And rather than run, as she was more than capable of doing due to her wealth and position, she stayed. She was one of the things that bolstered the morale of the British during WWII.
How many third world children strengthen the resolve of a nation in the face of a terrible onslaught? Sounds to me like you're the one speaking out of ignorance.
Well, I don't know about that. Personally I don't care for the royal family, or the idea of royalty. But I DO recognize greatness when I see it. And she had it. I know I'd like to live under a royal family if that were something that could be passed on genetically. But as Prince Charles and countless tyrants born to good kings throughout the ages proves, it isn't something genetic.
The guy who said that was a Brit. You're an Aussie. Something tells me he knows a bit more about Brits than you.
Daniel Knight
First Post
Green Knight said:
Apparently not. I unfortunately made that statement based on the way the American culture represents itself in my country. It was both wrong and irrelevant to the discussion at hand. For that I apologise for making that broad sweeping stereotype. I guess the same can be said that all Australian’s living in the outback, drinking beer right? Or that they have a fetish for chasing after dangerous animals.
Green Knight said:
Once again, you’re utterly correct. I, myself, blame your media for the way it represents your country. More fool me, for falling for the American propaganda that is constantly rammed down the Australian throats.
You are correct on most of what you wrote in fact. My knowledge of the Queen Mother is little at best, and I shouldn’t have made any comments about her personally before educating myself further on the subject. I unfortunately jumped to the conclusion that she was like the rest of her family, of which I do have some knowledge of – all of which not very pleasant. Maybe I speak too much as an Aussie who is blindly following the large movement here at the moment pushing for a Republic. Oh yes, the British Monarchy is still currently as much theirs as it is ours. I’m reminded of this every time I see Queen Elizabeth II’s face emblazing our coinage. That’s not to say that the same movement thinks that the Queen or her family are bad people… it’s just that maybe they’re a little bit irrelevant now days. And from what I’ve gathered, the British are also starting to feel the same way.
So with all the errors I have made tonight, and the people who have been insulted by what I have said, I offer you my apology. My intentions were far removed from what I have achieved. My main purpose was to defend the rights of the British to say what they like about their Monarchy. That is all. Along the line I got wrapped up in clever wordplay, and letting my argument get shaded by my own personal biases. That was a mistake.
To get back onto topic, I now offer my own condolences for the Queen Mother. She sounds like one heck of a woman, and it is indeed sad to see such strength vanish from our planet once and for all.
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Yes..
You know Greatness when you see it, huh Green Knight? Not that the exposure the Queen Mum had nor her upbringing and the role she associated with herself were in any way CONSTRUCTED for pragmatic reasons. I really find the notion that any institution, especially a politically irrelevant one such as the monarchy would be assigned anything approaching virtue.
Oh, i'm also taken aback by the inability of the Old Tories in the Uk as well as (apparently) the New Right here (am i correct GK?) to note the simple economic logic of the EU, but oh well.....
You know Greatness when you see it, huh Green Knight? Not that the exposure the Queen Mum had nor her upbringing and the role she associated with herself were in any way CONSTRUCTED for pragmatic reasons. I really find the notion that any institution, especially a politically irrelevant one such as the monarchy would be assigned anything approaching virtue.
Oh, i'm also taken aback by the inability of the Old Tories in the Uk as well as (apparently) the New Right here (am i correct GK?) to note the simple economic logic of the EU, but oh well.....
Welrain
First Post
*sigh*
If any moderators pass by..please feel free to lock, if not delete, this thread.
This wasnt supposed to be a thread bashing the Monarchy or citing Political Opinion, something that is frowned upon at ENworld anyway.
It was meant to celebrate the life and mourn the death of a very important and respected woman. I'm very disappointed in the attitude displayed and downright horrified at some of the comments made.
If any moderators pass by..please feel free to lock, if not delete, this thread.
This wasnt supposed to be a thread bashing the Monarchy or citing Political Opinion, something that is frowned upon at ENworld anyway.
It was meant to celebrate the life and mourn the death of a very important and respected woman. I'm very disappointed in the attitude displayed and downright horrified at some of the comments made.
GreyOne
Explorer
This is BS. Why are people arguing about the friggin' monarchy? Is this the place?
Why would any country that has a lasting connection to its history that the monarchy provides, toss it in the wastbin?
I wonder how much tourist revenue the UK would lose should it do away with the monarchy?
The British monarchy provides a connection to the past. It provides Britain with a great deal of revenue.
So yes, if it were done away with, the country would be diminished in a concrete and a symbolic way.
This thread is about condolences isn't it?
Well they have mine. I'm Canadian, and I'm glad that my country has that connection too.
Why would any country that has a lasting connection to its history that the monarchy provides, toss it in the wastbin?
I wonder how much tourist revenue the UK would lose should it do away with the monarchy?
The British monarchy provides a connection to the past. It provides Britain with a great deal of revenue.
So yes, if it were done away with, the country would be diminished in a concrete and a symbolic way.
This thread is about condolences isn't it?
Well they have mine. I'm Canadian, and I'm glad that my country has that connection too.
Stormprince
First Post
The world has truly lost a great and noble woman, one who exemplified everything that one thinks of when they think of a blueblooded British Lady.
I'm an American, but as a child I grew up in England. My fiance was born in Scotland, and still currently lives there, so yes, this news came as something of a blow to me, since I was on the phone with my fiance when the news reported she had died.
We then spent the next three hours talking about the Queen Mum, who at 101 years of age had lived through seeing the first cars in England, both World Wars, the effects of the full Industrial Revolution, the Depression, the beginning of the Computer Age...and she always lived for the present. Unlike many people, particularly those her age, she didn't want to live in the past, she sincerely involved herself in the present, having a cellphone, surfing the net (who knows, you might have anonymously talked to the Queen Mum in a chat room some time, and never realized it!)... she was personally involved, and donated time and money, to more than 350 some-odd charities, more than half of which were aimed at helping children, who were the ones she truly focused her energies on.
She walked the streets during the German "Blitz" of London... and commented that she could know relate with the East Enders, because her home had also been bombed.
Every time a city is wracked by bombings, she was there to offer support.
More than a decade ago, when a reporter asked her what kept her going, she replied that she wanted to receive a telegram from Buckingham Palace congratulating her on her 100th birthday... and sure enough, she got her telegram!
She was truly an incredible woman...a better human than most, a true Queen in every sense of the word.
You can disrespect the monarchy, but the Queen Mum has done so much more in her lifetime than many of us ever shall... and she deserves at least some honor.
- Christopher
EDIT: Fixed the bold-tag around deserves.
I'm an American, but as a child I grew up in England. My fiance was born in Scotland, and still currently lives there, so yes, this news came as something of a blow to me, since I was on the phone with my fiance when the news reported she had died.
We then spent the next three hours talking about the Queen Mum, who at 101 years of age had lived through seeing the first cars in England, both World Wars, the effects of the full Industrial Revolution, the Depression, the beginning of the Computer Age...and she always lived for the present. Unlike many people, particularly those her age, she didn't want to live in the past, she sincerely involved herself in the present, having a cellphone, surfing the net (who knows, you might have anonymously talked to the Queen Mum in a chat room some time, and never realized it!)... she was personally involved, and donated time and money, to more than 350 some-odd charities, more than half of which were aimed at helping children, who were the ones she truly focused her energies on.
She walked the streets during the German "Blitz" of London... and commented that she could know relate with the East Enders, because her home had also been bombed.
Every time a city is wracked by bombings, she was there to offer support.
More than a decade ago, when a reporter asked her what kept her going, she replied that she wanted to receive a telegram from Buckingham Palace congratulating her on her 100th birthday... and sure enough, she got her telegram!
She was truly an incredible woman...a better human than most, a true Queen in every sense of the word.
You can disrespect the monarchy, but the Queen Mum has done so much more in her lifetime than many of us ever shall... and she deserves at least some honor.
- Christopher
EDIT: Fixed the bold-tag around deserves.
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