Live data from Hacker News

Prince Philip has died

royal.uk

211–220 of 553 posts

Re: Prince Philip has died

#211

I really wish we could just do away with all this royal family nonsense. You guys are somehow special because what? Useless social fiction from antiquity.

That's a bit of a childish remark. The celebrity stuff exists in every culture and every country, so there's nothing particular to monarchy in this regard. The British monarchy, is, of course, a castrated monarchy in the sense that it has little power, but it still functions as a unifying force for the UK. Some argue that monarchies are generally more tolerant than republics. Monarchy can be argued to be a more natural or default form of government in principle than republicanism because the monarch (the king) is a kind of paternal role. The dynastic component adds continuity, responsibility (you don't want your heir to bear the burden of your bad policies, do you?), and hedges against both short-term thinking (like we see among elected officials) and the dangers of meritocratic ambition ("I EARNED my power!" vs. "I am saddled with this responsibility to serve."). Of course, in practice, republicanism can become more attractive because of royal corruption and abuse of power, but the notion that republicanism is immune to these just because it takes different forms is absurd.

Remarks like "useless social fiction from antiquity" come across as uninformed, provincial snobbery motivated by some kind of superficial progressive mythology. There are forms of government that are objectively bad, others that are poorly suited to time and place, but the notion that the best form of government is the democratic republic, everywhere and in all times and places, is silly.

Re: Prince Philip has died

#212

Because Prince Charles is heir to the throne (and has been portrayed more negatively in the news media than any other living person), some in the HN community may be surprised to know that he wrote a book on philosophy . https://www.amazon.com/Harmony-New-Way-Looking-World/dp/0061... I found the book to be astonishingly good. It takes a design approach to Platonism and western esotericism. It goes deep into "sacred g…

As the next head of a big church, some philosohical work is probably expected from him.

Re: Prince Philip has died

#213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Queen holds a weekly audience with the Prime Minister. It's unlikely they make chitchat about the weather. The monarch also vets laws while they're being drafted and can make suggestions for changes if they affect their interests. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/feb/08/royals-vette... The Queen isn't just the head of the armed forces - they swear an oath of loyalty directly to the Monarch, not to the peo…

The Queen isn't just the head of the armed forces - they swear an oath of loyalty directly to the Monarch... Interestingly (to me, anyways) is the oath is made directly to Queen Elizabeth by name, not to the crown in general. And isn't made by officers in the Royal Navy, because the navy wasn't created by act of Parliament, but by royal prerogative, so their fealty is assumed.

That's very the definition of a regent: no institution is above it. The current Queen of England _is_ the crown. They are one and the same.

Re: Prince Philip has died

#214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have never heard about this, do you have a link that elaborates? I love weird succession lines.

If Charles abdicates, his children receive the baton. But Harry's, and William's succession is under question with both being known not to have that much enthusiasm with the royal business. If they too decline, line goes to their children below the age of majority, and the icky question of regency appears. The regency in question notionally gives quite a lot of power, as the crown itself. If regency goes to the execu…

Is there any law that speaks to regency? Does Parliament pick the regent? Or Kate? Or somebody else?

Re: Prince Philip has died

#215
post #176
post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it’s interesting that you’d blame this family for the horrors of colonialism. They haven’t had a say in British policy for around 2 centuries. Although the monarch meets the Prime Minister every week, they cannot tell the PM what to do, unless it affects the royal family personally. The PM listens to what they have to say but charts their own course. If you’re looking for someone to blame, Churchill deserves…

“India is Indira and Indira is India” is just a sign of the tendency towards personality cults that the polity suffer from. In fact, it was not Indira who coined the slogan, but rather a particularly oily sycophant, D. K. Barooah [1]. In fact, in some sense, there is an attempt to try to deify/lionize the PM as a royal. I don't think that it is a symptom of the failure of parliamentary democracy, rather it is a tende…

Nothing you’ve said contradicts my comment. It’s definitely a problem with people that is solved by having a separate non political head of state.

Re: Prince Philip has died

#216

The codename for his death is : "Operation Forth Bridge"

What does this mean?

Operation London Bridge is the codename for the plan for what happens when the Queen dies.

Philip had the title of Duke of Edinburgh and the Forth Bridge is a large bridge near Edinburgh.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_London_Bridge

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forth_Bridge

Edinburgh sits on the south side of the Firth of Forth:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firth_of_Forth

Re: Prince Philip has died

#217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Queen holds a weekly audience with the Prime Minister. It's unlikely they make chitchat about the weather. The monarch also vets laws while they're being drafted and can make suggestions for changes if they affect their interests. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/feb/08/royals-vette... The Queen isn't just the head of the armed forces - they swear an oath of loyalty directly to the Monarch, not to the peo…

The Queen is the disabled root user of the constitution. The government are the sudoers. She doesn’t get to ‘vet’ laws in any meaningful way. She rubber-stamps them. The fact that the armed forces swear an oath of loyalty to the Queen is simply because she is head of state. Nothing in your comment actually demonstrates politicality.

If you had read the article the parent comment linked you would know she does actually get some say in how some laws are drafted. She doesn’t, practically, have a veto once both houses of parliament have approved the law but she is sometimes consulted by the government on laws it is drafting to submit to parliament and she does make suggestions that are sometimes incorporated

Re: Prince Philip has died

#218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If Charles abdicates, his children receive the baton. But Harry's, and William's succession is under question with both being known not to have that much enthusiasm with the royal business. If they too decline, line goes to their children below the age of majority, and the icky question of regency appears. The regency in question notionally gives quite a lot of power, as the crown itself. If regency goes to the execu…

Is there any law that speaks to regency? Does Parliament pick the regent? Or Kate? Or somebody else?

Yes, the parliament will appoint one as per historical precedent.

Re: Prince Philip has died

#220

The codename for his death is : "Operation Forth Bridge"

What does this mean?

The Forth Bridge is a very long bridge that is permanently being painted. "Like painting the Forth Bridge" is a job that (feels like it) will never end.

https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/be+like+painting+the+Fo...

Post reply on HN