To everyone who feels sad by these news, my condolences. I respect your pain. However, I have to confess that to whenever I hear that someone aged 90+ (80+, even) died, I don't really feel sad. Actually, I feel an urge to praise this person's achievements, as I'm aware we are all mortals, and death is unavoidable. I prefer to rejoice in how much this person has witnessed throughout her life, how she had enough health…
> What else can we humans aspire? Living forever is out of question. As soon as we are born, we are bound to die. I don't know, living to anywhere between 1'000 to 1'000'000 years of age would surely be quite the interesting experience, lots of things to learn, lots of things to experience. Such numbers might seem humorous but in the grand scheme of things that's still nothing, given the age of Earth and all that. I…
Queen Elizabeth II has died
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Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#512Winston Churchill (1951–55) Anthony Eden (1955–57) Harold Macmillan (1957–63) Alec Douglas-Home (1963–64) Harold Wilson (1964–70) Edward Heath (1970–74) Harold Wilson (1974–76) James Callaghan (1976–79) Margaret Thatcher (1979–90) John Major (1990–97) Tony Blair (1997–07) Gordon Brown (2007–10) David Cameron (2010–16) Theresa May (2016–19) Boris Johnson (2019–22) Liz Truss (2022 (two days ago) - current) Quite the re…
I feel slightly bad for Liz Truss, since I imagine that one of the things she will be remembered is that the Queen died less than 48 hours into her government.
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#513“I declare before you all, that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service” Rest in peace.
Quoted post unavailable.
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#514I believe that she could have handed off power to her son sooner, but I understand that she was probably torn on that. She's probably the best monarch we could have hoped for, and any future monarch won't be able to live up to her standard.
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#515FYI: When people are this age, they can die suddenly without much warning. I saw a headline a few hours ago about her family coming to visit, and I thought we'd have a few days. Both of my grandmothers died at 91 without much warning. Cherish your time with your elders, and don't procrastinate a visit.
Do we understand what makes it sudden yet? The point has been made many times about Biden, Bernie and Trumps age, but I guess that suddenness doesn’t quite kick in until 85+?
With my grandfather, who was 101, someone did a blood test and told us he was going to die very soon. A few hours later, when I visited, he was pushing his wheelchair around and pestering the social worker about all of his funeral plans. It honestly reminds me of the end of the movie Zardoz. (He had his funeral planned for years.)
He died four days later.
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#516Fun facts: - She ruled for 30% of the time since the American Revolution - She oversaw the largest reduction of landholdings of any empire in the history of the world. Notable because it was also one of the most peaceful transitions in history -- Australia, Canada, South Africa, Israel, Egypt, etc. - She oversaw the loss of Sterling the world reserve currency and the rise of another (the USD, EU).
- At least in the US, Canadian diplomatic residences are owned by her. Where I live, the owner of the consulate general's home is listed in public records as "Her Majesty the Queen Right Canada".
Here's another example from a few years ago:
> Charlie Zelle confirmed Wednesday he has purchased a five-bedroom, five-bathroom Minneapolis lakeshore home that has been the official residence of the Canadian consulate general.
> Records show Charles and Julie Zelle paid $1.65 million US for the property, with the seller listed as "Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/canada-diplomatic-residence-so...
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#517Quoted post unavailable.
I'm not at all invested in the royal family, but I think this question actually makes the point of why it's a big deal: she's been the queen for such a long time that very few people alive can remember a time when she wasn't the queen. It marks the end of a long era.
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#518Earlier quoted context omitted.
Apparently, when I was little, I got excited one Christmas when the Queen’s speech was on tv, because I thought it was my Grandmother… I used to take comfort in the idea that all things pass in time, now not so much. Probably because I realised that includes everyone I love, and myself! I’ve no great love for the monarchy, but this is certainly the end of an era in British public life and likely in UK international r…
What is the sentiment like in the UK about Charles vs William? Heard lots of people calling for him to just hand it over to William straight away.
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#519Winston Churchill (1951–55) Anthony Eden (1955–57) Harold Macmillan (1957–63) Alec Douglas-Home (1963–64) Harold Wilson (1964–70) Edward Heath (1970–74) Harold Wilson (1974–76) James Callaghan (1976–79) Margaret Thatcher (1979–90) John Major (1990–97) Tony Blair (1997–07) Gordon Brown (2007–10) David Cameron (2010–16) Theresa May (2016–19) Boris Johnson (2019–22) Liz Truss (2022 (two days ago) - current) Quite the re…
I feel slightly bad for Liz Truss, since I imagine that one of the things she will be remembered is that the Queen died less than 48 hours into her government.
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#520This is an interesting world event, but I'm confused that it is considered on-topic here on HN. I had thought that non-technical news did not belong on HN. Can somebody please clarify the guidelines as to what is considered topical?