Now let's get rid of this imperial family in all of the commonwealth and let the UK decide for themselves...
Queen Elizabeth II has died
771–780 of 1001 posts
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#772The Queen is dead.
I've dreaded writing these words for quite some time now, because to me, she's become the prototype of someone who hasn't been quite alive for some time now, but still embodied the spirit of a nation - a nation arguably in perceived decline, but still somehow held together by the almost poetic and optimistic belief that as long as the Queen is alive, the nation will prosper or, at the very least, persevere.
At the same time, I feel relief that even the Queen may die, and life still goes on. May she rest in peace.
The Queen is dead.
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#773Earlier 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.
I think most people would prefer William, but if you'd have waited over seventy years to become King of England, how likely do you think it would be that once you'd finally become King you'd pass it over?
Charles is going to milk his kingship for everything it's worth.
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#774All: 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…
dang, Paul Graham is British; has it factored into your decision of keeping the comments deferential to the Queen.
My condolences to British people who held the Queen at high esteem. But frankly world is a bigger place than Britain and America. Not everyone from the British former colonies will appreciate the Queen. if they express the feelings about the monarchy in a respectful way; do you see an issue?
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#775I gotta admit that it is a bit weird to see british royalty being so heavily privileged that they even get special moderation treatment here on HN to protect them (?) from any negativity, or rather stop negativity about them. I'm not keen on the idea of using this submission to flame the Queen, I obviously agree with the general rule of avoiding flamebait, what I mean is that other HN submissions on the deaths of peo…
For us who don't feel for the monarchy or think it has minimal impact or significance on our lives, the next couple of weeks (or months) is going to be grueling as we have to stay quiet, bite our tongues and bare the over-the-top ness of this situation to not offend others. I was disappointed in this moderation warning.
The ex-prime minister of the UK who led us through a pandemic where hundreds of thousands died has just said it's the UK darkest day. And, I have received an email to say my kids nursery will be closed due to the situation, and they will be talking about bereavement for the kids. He is 2.
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#776I 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…
This is interesting especially with the whole thing surrounding Prince Andrew. You might expect a huge backlash against the royal family as an institution, and there has been some of that, but mostly: it's been relatively mild (against the royal family that is, not prince Andrew). In the 90s (the only era I can remember) things were quite different too: there was the whole hubub about Camilla who was (IMO unfairly) e…
I think there has been plenty of (unjustified) scandal around Harry and Meghan, to a far lesser degree Kate, and as you said Andrew.
But you're right that these have had less of an effect on the royal family itself and especially QEII
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#777It'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…
Well now you mention it I do feel rather odd myself today, to the extent that I visited the cafe downstairs of my place of work and bought a lolly cake, which is simply the last thing I expected to happen today. Or perhaps the second-to-last thing… well, you get the picture.
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#778Winston 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.
Technically the UK is a constitutional monarchy, which is a form of monarchy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_monarchy
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#779I gotta admit that it is a bit weird to see british royalty being so heavily privileged that they even get special moderation treatment here on HN to protect them (?) from any negativity, or rather stop negativity about them. I'm not keen on the idea of using this submission to flame the Queen, I obviously agree with the general rule of avoiding flamebait, what I mean is that other HN submissions on the deaths of peo…
As a general rule, you don't criticize people who've just died. That's just common courtesy.
It's not particularly well-observed. For instance:
- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20661919
- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2504770
But it is to be expected. There are the good guys in the Western sphere of influence and the bad guys. And this is a Western site. It cannot be expected to do much but reflect what is this site's audience. The Elephant and The Rider, after all.
Besides, she's just a figurehead, and makes no real decisions. So it's a bit strange to lay the blame at her feet for the Mao-style starving of her subjects (as they would have been considered by her at the time) or the many wars.
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#780From the NY Times: "Her personal behavior, unlike that of most of her family, was beyond reproach, never tainted by even the remotest hint of scandal. Elizabeth offered her subjects a mirror of the high moral standards that many might aspire to but most generally fail to attain." https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/08/world/europe/queen-elizab...
I'm not saying she was a bad person, just that this praise is obviously ridiculously over-wrought. You simply can't reign as Queen of England for 70 years "without even the remotest hint of scandal" Just last year there was the Guardian investigation that suggested she was trying to hide the true extent of her wealth: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/feb/07/revealed-que... (I've seen other sources disputing i…
At the same time though, her face is printed on the money. There's wealth and then there's levels far beyond and transcending wealth...The Guardian just loves to stir division, panic, resentment, and chaos – it's all the modern Marxist can do.