And I Thought He Was A Republican

[poliphilo]

Wherever the Queen of England goes she carries her pomp with her.

Even when she goes to Washington.

I thought the rule was when in Rome do as the Romans do.

But when the Queen goes visiting it's her hosts who have to scuttle around to make sure she never gets a glimpse of how things are done in the modern world.

It's weird how she puts this hoodoo on people.

Apparently she got George Bush to wear a white tie for the first time in his presidency. 

And this morning there's all this oohing and aaahing over the gaffes he made.

Like he nearly said 1776 when he meant 1976- implying that the Queen was over 300 years old.

Ha!

Actually,  he may have been getting close to the truth there.

Why isn't she treated like any other head of state?  Why all this bowing and scraping in the Land of the Free?

It's almost as if we all still believed in the Divine Right of Kings.

Comments

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I've been a republican (with a small "r") for as long as I can remember. I hate almost everything to do with the British monarchy.

I was hoping we'd abolish it in the wake of Diana's death- but the moment has passed.

And now- thanks to Helen Mirren- the Queen is a popular as she ever was.

Perhaps when the annoying Charles- or one of his Hooray Henry sons- succeeds to the throne the mood will change back again.

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

I pretty much figured you weren´t much of a monarchist.
:)
I don´t really care much either way as long as it´s just a show basically although it is an expense generator for the State. The Spanish royal family is at least dignified and by all accounts, fairly normal people and intelligent ones to boot. They´re good ambassadors for Spain is about as far as I´m willing to go.

And the King did play a huge role in the restoration of democracy after Franco when he was instrumental in squelching the attempted military coup in 1981. He´s earned his keep just by virtue of that alone.

Charles is indeed annoying and that´s putting it kindly.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I don't know much about the Spanish system, but I get the feeling that I wouldn't mind living under it. The British monarchy is just so bloated.

I suppose one needs a Head of State- and one has to dredge him or her up from somewhere.

Actually I like the system G.K. Chesterton proposed- that the Head of State should be chosen for a fixed term of office- by lottery.

[sovay]

Actually I like the system G.K. Chesterton proposed- that the Head of State should be chosen for a fixed term of office- by lottery.

There's always despotism tempered by dynamite.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Is that Chesterton too? It sounds like him.

[sovay]

Is that Chesterton too?

Gilbert & Sullivan: Utopia, Limited. In theory, the king is an absolute monarch. In reality, he is followed around by the Public Exploder, whose duty it is, if the king shows any sign of abusing his powers, promptly to blow him up. (This has led to the current monarch being forced by his own cabinet to write scurrilous tabloids about himself and publish them in the royal newspaper. There are still a few bugs in the system.) I could really get behind that form of government right now.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I don't know Utopia Limited. For some reason it's hardly ever revived. The Public Exploder is a wonderful idea. Inspirational.

I don't suppose Gilbert would mind being mistaken for Chesterton- or vice versa.

[sovay]

I don't know Utopia Limited. For some reason it's hardly ever revived.

I'm not sure why; I've never seen it performed, so I suppose the music could be a disaster, but I love the libretto:

"I further read—and the statement is vouched for by no less an authority than Mephistopheles Minor—that your Majesty indulges in a bath of hot rum-punch every morning. I trust I do not lay myself open to the charge of displaying an indelicate curiosity as to the mysteries of the royal dressing-room when I ask if there is any foundation for this statement?"

"None whatever. When our medical adviser exhibits rum-punch it is as a draught, not as a fomentation. As to our bath, our valet plays the garden hose upon us every morning."

The Public Exploder is a wonderful idea. Inspirational.

I think so!