The Queen is dead, long live the ... King? Queen? What?
Queen Elizabeth II has died
501–510 of 1001 posts
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#502As a Brit I'm not a huge fan of the royal family on principle, but Queen Elizabeth has been such an excellent head of state for us you really can't fault her. People like to make out her life was easy and that it's not fair that she inherited such a privileged position, but I think the exact opposite. Her life seemed like living hell to me. Every day for the last 70 years she's had to serve this largely ungrateful co…
I do not approve of concepts like a ruling family, and favor mobility- but I have slowly come to appreciate the value of being groomed for a responsibility your entire life. I am not sure such dedicated & devout public servants come about naturally.
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#503Quoted post unavailable.
She succeeded her father, George VI, if that's what you meant.
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#504All: 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…
Positivity does not need to be empty, nor does disallowing a certain amount of negativity imply an encouragement of emptiness.
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#505All: 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…
Quoted post unavailable.
this seems like quite a contradictory position to take. royalty is undemocratic, but you lost respect for them when they chose not to use their unearned power to interfere with the actions of democratically elected officials?
are there not better reasons to not respect the monarchy?
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#506It's weird, I've never considered myself a "royalist" but this news has affected me quite strongly. I just burst into tears unexpectedly on hearing this news and I don't quite understand why I feel so very sad. I guess I have grown up and lived my whole life (as a Brit) seeing and hearing the Queen, singing "God save the Queen" etc, and this news made me suddenly feel very old, very nostalgic, with the sense that all…
there is something that harkens to our mortality when we witness something come to an end. I remember having some reactions to businesses failing and closing shop that I encountered as a youth. They always seemed and appeared so permanent. A place we'd always go to or pass by. Then the years go by and after encountering enough mainstays that had their heyday go under you realize that sentiment of durability and a perpetual landmark were never warranted in the first place and its kind of jarring and unsettling to realize how much flux there is in life.
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#507This is probably the only death of a public figure that has really hit me hard. The Queen was a constant all of my life, all of my parents' lives and, indeed, a good deal of my grandparents' lives. The comfort she could bring to many is not to be underestimated in my view. When Covid-19 was kicking off in the UK, and our lives were changing in ways we couldn't predict, I remember being immensely comforted by her spee…
Her speech early in the Covid-19 era was one for the ages[1]: Short, personal, reflective of history yet with a clear call-to-action for her country. I'm not British and also found it exceptional. [1] https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-britain-q...
"It reminds me of the very first broadcast I made, in 1940, helped by my sister. We, as children, spoke from here at Windsor to children who had been evacuated from their homes and sent away for their own safety."
This is the broadcast she was referring to: https://youtu.be/VJI9LPFQth4
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#508I was born in the UK, in 1963. Because of my step-father's love of first-wave UK punk, the first thing I did on hearing this news was to play the Sex Pistol's "God Save the Queen". It is remarkable how much the Queen's standing has improved during the time since that song (1977). My (UK) family are (as far as I know) staunch republicans, but the last couple of decades have seen all of us soften our disgust with the m…
Not so black and white, but I still thing the Sex Pistols GSTQ is a great song (also Anti-Nowhere Leagues 's "So F*king What!", much more FTW). Never a fan of the Diana bandwagon either. Yet, likewise to me the Queen always earned the respect shown her. Colouring the establishment by the actions of some is just too black and white thinking for me.
>the Sex Pistols GSTQ is a great song (also Anti-Nowhere Leagues 's "So F*king What!"..
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#509I'm American, and I loved the Queen. May she rest in peace and may her record of service never be broken.
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#510This is not a rant nor a flamebait. I am a commonwealth citizen and a staunch republican.
I am against monarchies by principle.
Unfortunately the king/queen of England is also the Supreme Governor of the Church of England which goes against my principles as well since I am an atheist.
I do not wish ill will on the royal family, but as a humanist who believes that every man, woman and child born on this planet is equal in rights, I cannot accept nor promote a system of governance that deems certain people to be above others by simply being born in the right family.
I am sorry for the loss caused by her death and I feel sad for her loved ones but that loss should not stop people form pushing for the creation of genuine republics in the countries within the commonwealth.