Today is the Coronation Day of Charles III, and I wish him a long and prosperous reign. I hope that the country will benefit from today's events in the same way that it did in the aftermath of his mother's coronation in the 1950s. That coincided with the beginning of a period that saw UK society gradually change for the better, and I sincerely wish that a new wave of improvement will come on the back of the ascension of our new king.
GOD SAVE THE KING!
A short request: please don't expect me to reply to any anti-monarchist comments that are made.
If you do not like the fact that the UK is a monarchy, that's fine by me. You are entitled to your opinion. Mine is that it is the best of a number of imperfect forms of government and having seem what a mess some 'elected' monarchies (i.e., republics) can get themselves into, I'd rather stick with a system that has been around for a very long time, even if I don't have a great deal of time for some of the individual members of the Royal Family.
We tried republicanism in the UK back in the seventeenth century, and the monarchy was eventually restored. The reasons why are open to debate, but I am not going to join in that debate here. What I will state is that the Restoration marked the beginning of the development of the parliamentary democracy we now 'enjoy' in the UK. It's by no means perfect, but it works after a fashion.
Finally, I hope that everyone in the UK, be they monarchist, republican, anarchist, or whatever manages to enjoy themselves today. I certainly will!
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That interval of non-monarchial rule was marked by detestable puritanism and killjoys.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don't follow the doings of individual royals that closely, but many do. Whilst the royals may enjoy adulation, they do have to live in fishbowls as a result so it is not all skittles for them.
As for individual royals not all being that fantastic that is always going to be the case of any institutions. As you said, it is the stability of the institution which is important.
On the other hand, most people (even including republicans) respect the hard work Queen Elizabeth put in to represent her family, Britain and the Commonwealth. Prince Phillip was also good value for his wit and political incorrectness. Prince Charles is a sincere man who cares greatly about the environment. He might not have everything right but he compares favorably with many elected leaders.
Although some people complain about expense the royals do rake in heaps for Britain, in the shape of tourism.
I might not actually watch the Coronation, but I am happy to remain governed by constitutional monarchy and wish the Royals well.
Quantrilltoy,
DeleteI think that you’ve summed it up very well.
Interestingly, I understand that the cost of the monarchy to every person in the UK is less than the cost of a cafe latte from most coffee shops … which puts the whole thing into perspective. In the main, the monarchy is relatively self financing, and I think that the current monarch’s ideas about paring things down and only asking for the Civil List to finance those members of the Royal Family who perform ceremonial and civic duties is a good one.
All the best,
Bob
I'm looking forward to the event, just for the sheer spectacle of it all Bob. I heard a little snippet on Radio 4 a few days ago, that the King will still have his Champion, to fight for him. For a history buff I love this sort of stuff. No idea if it forms part of the ceremony or not, but just love that this still happens.
ReplyDeleteWith the weather tipping it down here, not much else to do (wargaming and reading aside of course) so we will watch from the procession to the fly past, weather permitting.
Steve J.,
DeleteI managed to see most of the ceremony and thoroughly enjoyed what I saw. The King’s Champion is - I understand - a farmer who performed his ceremonial duty with great aplomb.
The rain was a nuisance, but it didnt seem to dampen the enthusiasm of most of the onlookers.
All the best,
Bob
Have an excellent day, Bob 👍🏼👍🏼🤴🏼🫅🏼
ReplyDeleteThese type of events don’t come around too often.
Martin S.,
DeleteI hope that you had a great day as well.
All the best,
Bob
Have to agree.
ReplyDeleteThe BBC coverage was fascinating and their publication of the order of service helped keep track of what was happening and let me search for terms and titles I did not know.
Andyroo,
DeleteWhat I saw was mostly the BBC’s coverage, and I have to agree that they did an excellent job.
All the best,
Bob
Interesting programme on military tailoring - Coronation Tailors - BBC Iplayer https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001llnv/coronation-tailors-fit-for-a-king
ReplyDeleteMark, Man of TIN,
DeleteIt was an enthralling programme, and my wife and I enjoyed watching it.
All the best,
Bob
Bob,
ReplyDeleteMonarchies themselves have all sorts of varieties themselves. What matters most is not whether one has a monarchy or republic, but how power (or non-power) of the head of state is constitutionally defined within the broader framework of a parliamentary democracy.
Fun little fact: I live in Belgium (also a monarchy), but our king is not "the king of Belgium" but "the king of the Belgians". The idea is that the country does not belong to the king, but he appointed by the people, and we can put someone else there if the Belgians would decide to do so ;-)
Discussions about who wears what, and who sits where, and who shows up, ... are totally irrelevant and tabloid fodder.
Phil Dutre,
DeleteNo system of government is perfect, but some are better than others. The remaining European royal families have learned to adjust to circumstances as time has gone on, and I suspect that under our new king, the UK’s will do the same.
I always understood the the King of the Belgians was so called because he was king of two distinct linguistic and cultural groups within his kingdom, and that this title was a better reflection of that than if he had been called King of Belgium.
All the best,
Bob