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Queen Elizabeth II has died

bbc.com

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Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died

#671

Post by karlzt »

koheripbal wrote: post #667
simonswords82 wrote: post #48

Winston 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…

You're illustrating the difference between a monarchy and a democracy. The regular rotation of power is a feature, not a bug.

Features are bugs with clothes on.

Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died

#673

Post by xg15 »

For some reason it seems extremely surreal to me that England now will have a king again. "The King of Great Britain" sounds like something out of a history movie, not present.

Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died

#674

Post by xg15 »

badcppdev wrote: post #647

I am sad for her passing. Was tuned into the news all afternoon waiting for the announcement even thought the writing was clearly on the wall and the announcement still made me tear up. But for all the talk of duty, morals, and leadership I saw none of that in the Queen. I saw a figurehead. Shaking hands and listening but what did she contribute? Definitely not morals or direction. People talk of her speech in 2020 d…

I honestly wonder how much actual options she had in her position. The office of king/queen in the UK is both a cornerstone of the country and severely restricted by centuries of history. It might be that her taking any specific kind of political position might have been seen as damage to the democratic system of the uk.

Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died

#675

Post by avidphantasm »

As an American watching with dismay over the past five years or so, I can see some virtue in having a non-partisan head of state (realizing that that does not mean the Royal Family is beyond ideology). Not sure how that would work in our republic, but I feel like it would help with national unity during divisive political times.

Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died

#676

Post by oynqr »

petesergeant wrote: post #386
BonoboIO wrote: post #261

I feel sad for the british empire, she was like the figure that represented the whole Great Britain. I think it’s the start of a Long way down. Brexit is a disaster, Prince Charles is not really a charming person, Scotland wants to leave Great Britain and join the EU, Northern Ireland is split as ever. God save the king.

> Scotland wants to leave Great Britain I'm not sure that's geologically feasible

Anything is with enough nukes.

Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died

#677

Post by [deleted] »

dfraser992 wrote: post #630
orobinson wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel the same. I think it’s because it really represents the end of an era. The 20th and early 21st century ushered in unprecedented improvements to quality of life in Britain but it has felt of late that that has peaked and the country is facing a serious decline: Brexit, the increasingly visible effects of climate change, the aftermath of covid, the possible break up of the union, rising costs of living, recessio…

An upvote for you (if I could). I'm American but have lived in the UK for near 20 years. My great-whatever grandfather signed the Declaration of Independence so I'm hardly a royalist... So WTF am I doing living in the UK??? (the NHS etc...) My general sense is that of respect for the Queen as a symbol. She did it right and wasn't a useless numpty like ... oh... all of the rest of them. Primarily nothing but B list ce…

[deleted]

Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died

#678

Post by dang »

marricks wrote: post #487
dang wrote: post #329

All: please don't post flamebait, including ranting against monarchy or railing against "the nobility" like it's 1770. Such reflexive comments are not on topic here. We want curious conversation. Please review https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html . This story is on topic because it's a major historical event and history has always been on topic here. If it doesn't produce an intellectually curious respons…

> please don't post flamebait, including ranting against monarchy or railing against "the nobility" like it's 1770 > Positive-empty comments aren't substantive either, but as pg pointed out way back when HN was getting started ( https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html ), those are benign Pro status-quo bias. Monarchy isn't as relevant as it used to be but trusting the judgment and leadership of the elite is as…

I just meant that if people post things like "RIP" or "That's sad", it's void of information and therefore unsubstantive, but doesn't contribute to destroying the site. I just meant to repeat the point pg was making 15 years ago about "empty comments", and I'm sure the queen was the last thing he had in mind (https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html).

I was not making a case for royalism! just a case against tedious internet battles, and boy is monarchism one of those. (I mean, "Good riddance. The world is rid of a horrible person who has done horrible things" - ? Good grief. At least give us something amusing.) (that was a random example I just ran across)

More at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32771818 if anyone cares.

Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died

#679

Post by gizajob »

TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #537
throwawayacc2 wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I share your feeling. I was struck by a deep sense of sadness as well. Maybe it’s silly, I don’t know, I sort of felt she was the grandma of the nation. It was a nice feeling knowing she’s there and a sad one knowing she no longer is. One thing is for sure. She did leave a mark. Winston God damn Churchill was her first time minister! When I will be old and have grandchildren, I will tell my grandchildren how I became…

The most useful Twitter comment I saw today described the Queen as "iconic". And I realised that's exactly what she was. She was iconic in the religious sense - an embodied icon of a nationalist religion. This suddenly made a lot of things about the current state of the UK much clearer. There is no practical sense in which she was genuinely "grandma of the nation." That personification goes one way only - from the po…

She's iconic, unbelievably so due to the duration of her reign and all the changes she's overseen. But...Charles III and then William and Louis will become as iconic. Although she's filled the job magnificently, Elizabeth was Elizabeth at the end of the day, but the British King/Queen is immortal.

Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died

#680

Post by dang »

basedgod wrote: post #544

Good riddance. The world is rid of a horrible person who has done horrible things, and who has never once tried to do the right thing in the face of adversity. She could have done so much more, spoken out against so many atrocities, in her own family and Britain's role in the world in general. She could have attempted to use the last vestiges of monarchical power - likely ending the monarchy in the process - and stop…

We've banned this account for posting flamewar comments. That's not allowed here, and you've been doing it repeatedly (e.g. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32574659).

If you don't want to be banned, you're welcome to email hn@ycombinator.com and give us reason to believe that you'll follow the rules in the future. They're here: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html.

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