The King’s Speech

For all my worries about Charles III as King, he handled his first speech well.  For all the talk of Charles III’s advanced age, he’s still younger than both Joe Biden, Donald Trump, and Hillary Clinton.  He’s also a good deal more articulate than all three of them as well.

Here in the States, at lot of the usual suspects are grousing that the networks aired Charles’s speech but declined to air to Biden’s red sermon.  Considering just how bad Biden’s speech was, the White House should be happy that it wasn’t broadcast to more people.

The Queen Has Died

Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022)

Reigned from 1952 — 2022

The Queen’s Health

The news coming out of the UK about the Queen’s health is not encouraging.  You never want to get ahead of yourself with speculation when it comes to something like this but the Queen in 96 years old, she recently had COVID, and her husband died just last year.  On the BBC, the presenters have changed into black clothing, which is thought to be a part of the protocol for announcing the death of a monarch.  It could just be a precaution on their part or it could be a sign that they know more than they’re currently announcing.  Elizabeth II has ruled for 70 years.  Most Britons can’t even remember a time when Elizabeth was not the Queen.

The rumor has always been that the Queen consistently declined to abdicate because she felt that Charles would not be able to handle taking over.  Charles has a deserved reputation for being flaky, easily led, and not particularly bright.  If he wants to be well-remembered, the best thing that King Charles III could do would be to immediately abdicate for William but, after waiting 73 years to be king, I doubt Charles is going to do that.

For now, I’m keeping an eye on the BBC.

Prince Philip, RIP

There’s going to be a lot of people saying a lot of negative things about Prince Philip. That’s just the way of the world now. Myself, I think the best description of Prince Philip came from David Starkey, who compared Philip to being a real-life version of One Foot In The Grave’s Victor Meldrew. Much like Victor, you sometimes couldn’t believe that Philip had said what he said but, at the same time, you knew he usually meant no offense.

My first real memory of Prince Philip was a news story that accused him of cheating in a yacht race. From that moment on, I liked him.

The Harry and Meghan Thing

I didn’t watch Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah, though I’ve since read the transcript and seen excerpts.  It’s pretty much inescapable, no matter how much you try to avoid it.

I personally have no doubt that there were many elements of truth in the story that Meghan told. though I have a hard time believing that she went into her marriage as naively as she claims.  I also imagine there’s a good deal of truth in the recent spate of stories of Meghan behaving like a bully to her staff.  There’s a ring of truth to the accounts on both sides of this conflict.  There’s a tendency, especially in America, to try to break every story down to the good guy vs. the bad guy but I’m not sure that there are any truly good guys or bad guys in this story.  Instead, there’s a just a group of people who don’t really serve much purpose beyond providing the public with a distraction.

The real story here seems to be that Harry’s really pissed off at his father.  It’s interesting how many of the Royal scandals can be linked back to Charles being a complete and total flake.  It’s pretty much an open secret that Elizabeth doesn’t feel that Charles has what it takes to be king.  That’s the problem, of course, with a system that automatically gives power to the first born.  (Of course, as disheartening as the idea of King Charles III may be, it’s infinitely preferable to King Andrew or King Edward IX.)  Still, it’s possible to have some sympathy for Harry while also acknowledging that, if not for his family, no one would have the slightest idea who Harry was.  Outside of his family, Harry’s just not that interesting of a person.  Many people have conflicts with their parents and move away from home after they get married.  Only disaffected royals get interviewed by Oprah.

The British Royal Family is silly and antiquated tradition and it’s also one that everyone’s going to miss if it ever goes away.

Meghan and Harry Are “Stepping Back” From Their Royal Duties

Meghan and Harry stepping back from their royal duties and “(working) to become financially independent” is one of those things that sounds good but I’ll be shocked if it lasts.  When you’ve never actually had to work, you don’t realize what a drag it actually is.  Meghan can probably handle it but Harry?

I give this experiment a year.