I Went Back Home To England To See Queen Elizabeth II Lying In State. I Won’t Ever Forget It.

19FortyFive ^ | 9/19/2022 | Jack Buckby

[whyilovetexas111]

I flew home to England from New York for Her Majesty the Queen’s funeral on Saturday. It was a snap decision, but after missing her historic Platinum Jubilee only months ago, I decided that I couldn’t possibly miss the funeral of the only Queen I’ve ever known.

I arrived in London Gatwick and first made my way to Brighton before later planning to journey to London. I had an appointment at the Palace of Westminster to see the Queen lying in state in Westminster Hall that afternoon.

[MotorCityBuck]

A quick Google search should answer your inquiry.

[Bruce Campbells Chin]

The Declaration was directed towards an unelected Monarch who still had significant authority over his country. The modern monarchy doesn't have that, and really doesn't "rule" anyone. They are basically employed by the country as a whole to maintain tradition and unify its people. Nobody with any sense would blame the Queen for whatever ills the country commits.

I do agree that adulation of royalty is just as distasteful, and very similar to, the adulation of celebrities in general. I thought the general weepiness from some over the death of Prince's Diana was eye rolling in the extreme.

However, all that can be true, and it is still possible to have enormous respect for this particular woman. She had a very specific job to do, and she did it extraordinarily well for a very long life. That job greatly limited her freedom to act as other people do, but she accepted that responsibility and performed those duties without ever embarrassing herself or her country. The obvious flip side of that are Harry and his wife, who want all the privileges and status of being royals without having to make the necessary sacrifices in terms of freedom to act how they might wish in a given moment.

So while I don't feel any personal sense of loss or emotional connection, I can still feel respect and sadness at the death of a great woman.

[Bruce Campbells Chin]

She had a very carefully crafted public image. We simply don’t know.

But negative stories generally leak sooner or later. When princess Diana died, some of the press accused the queen of not showing sufficient emotion, and she got some criticism for that. That's pretty good evidence that the press wasn't entirely in her pockets.

The stories that have leaked generally seem to come from the very ordinary people who worked for her as staff, or who encountered her during visits etc. And they all seem enormously positive of how she treated other people, which is one of the best ways in which the judge somebody's worth as a person.

[GrandJediMasterYoda]

I’m watching it live, they are at Windsor now. Every American should watch this because this is exactly how the left will treat Pelosi and Hillary when they kick the bucket

[MotorCityBuck]

Their Country. There Rules. Nobody does tradition like The British. The closest thing I remember the U.S. giving a sendoff like this was for Reagan, and Kennedy.

[Leaning Right]

> Our country is not suited to monarchy and we rightly rejected it as then constituted. <

I kinda like the way many European governments are set up. There is a head of state - a president - who has powers much like a monarch does. But the president dare not use those powers except in dire circumstances.

Then there’s a prime minister who runs the government on a day-to-day basis. But the prime minister cannot just go crazy as the president (theoretically) keeps him in check.

If I ever go back in time, I’m going to mention this to Ben Franklin.

[MotorCityBuck]

The Media may, but nobody else. You give them to much credit.

[George J. Jetso]

I know a few Brits and they all hate Charles.

[MotorCityBuck]

The British / English have had their share of Bad Monarchs, just as The Catholic Church has had Bad Popes. Yet they carry on I’m happy to say.

[deport]

I see a couple of dark skin people along the side walk.
I’d thought there would have been more...

[CatHerd]

Yes, the Founders’ chief and perhaps blind spot was failing to imagine Congress would give its powers away to the Executive Branch with both hands. Otherwise, the Founders did astonishingly well.

[caww]

Why would you think there would be more?

[Reily]

The Prime Minister is selected by the majority party or by a coalition of parties. If we had it here Pelosi would be PM. (Assuming the House functioned as the Commons and the Senate functioned as the Lords) Our system does a better job of trying to draw support from the people, then does their system.

Personally, I think we should go back to do as the Founding Father’s wanted. The state legislators after their election pick the electors and they select the President. Maybe from a list of candidates that campaigned nationally! We are a federation of states. This would have as the Founders intended the states picking the leader. The people would have weighed in indirectly through the legislature.

[Leaning Right]

> I know a few Brits and they all hate Charles. <

These British Muslims seem to like Charlie just fine.
(Fascists do appreciate a helpful stooge.)

[Rummyfan]

The British monarch has great power that he/she dare not use. However, the mere existence of that power keeps British politicians in check. And anything that keeps politicians check is a good thing….

I got that from Mark Steyn. The monarchy represents the nation but is above politics. That’s it.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

—> But negative stories generally leak sooner or later.

The monarch is revealed and protected

—> But negative stories generally leak sooner or later. When princess Diana died

For all we know the Queen ordered her killed…

—> The stories that have leaked generally seem to come from the very ordinary people who worked for her as staff

And could be true, but could also be just one side

We simply have limited info.

I suspect it will come out now.

[rockabyebaby]

I read he demands toothpaste be put on his toothbrush. If that is true, good God, I feel sorry for England. Can you imagine? A grown man must have the toothpaste put on his brush like he’s a 2 year old. Do they have to wipe his butt as well?

Boston talkshow host reported on the toothpaste last week and also, he reported that Chuckie demands his PJ's and his shoe laces be ironed. AND when he travels he has his bed, some furnishings and some pictures shipped to wherever he's going to stay, that way little Chuckie gets to sleep in his own bed. And to answer your question, would anyone be shocked to find out that yes, he probably does have "a groom of the stool".

[FarCenter]

>>The closest thing I remember the U.S. giving a sendoff like this was for Reagan, and Kennedy.

The Kennedys are a good example of why admiring famous families is a bad thing. Old Joe was pretty smart; his sons less so. Yet by being worshiped as “Irish Royalty”, compounded by JFK’s role as martyr, they continued to win political offices into the incompetent third generation.

Luckily, each generation tends to marry good looking, but not very bright, women. The merits of the fourth generation do not appear to be sufficient to keep any political power.

If they had been real royalty, we would have to put up with Kennedys in power indefinitely no matter how degenerate they became.

And why any conservative should welcome the resurrection of John Kennedy, Jr. is completely beyond me.

[Rummyfan]

They still have kings and queens in Spain, Norway, Denmark, and Holland to name a few. Who knows, maybe a descendant of the last tsar is the men’s room attendant at the Louvre.

[1Old Pro]

The Kennedys are a good example of why admiring famous families is a bad thing.

Admiration is fine if well placed. It's the worshipping or celebrating of politicians as royalty that is a bad thing.