Omid Scobie’s Yahoo UK column this week is all about the Platinum Jubbly and how the four-day Jubblathon Shambles went overall. Scobie gives positive notes about the Queen and how she’s still very much the star of the show, but he emphasizes that the Queen’s “stardom” is actually the problem going forward. The Queen’s heirs will not be anywhere near as beloved or admired. And actually, the non-Queen parts of the Jubbly were kind of a snooze. Some highlights from Scobie’s piece:
Tabloid drama was briefly kept at bay during the Jubbly: Prince Harry and Meghan’s presence at two engagements quietly came (to cheers) and went. Their private moments with the Queen, who met great-granddaughter Lilibet on more than one occasion, were kept exactly that. Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall were also able to spend some time with the couple before they returned to California on Sunday. (For those wondering, I’m told there was no interaction between the Sussexes and the Cambridges—but that story is for another time).
The family fell flat at times: Though other members of the Royal Family continue to enjoy public interest (it’s fair to say Prince Louis became a star in his own right this past week, his playful antics receiving more social media attention than all but the Queen), jubilee events without the monarch ended up falling a little flat at times. Intervals that served as countdowns to sightings of a woman who is still the star of the Windsor show.
Underwhelming heirs: Speeches from Prince William and Prince Charles during the Platinum Party at the Palace allowed the two heirs to give a taste of what’s to come when they take on new roles in the not-too-distant future, but one couldn’t help but feel a little underwhelmed when looking at the royal landscape without the Queen (and the additional loss of the the Gen Z-favoured Sussexes).
A dull future: And this is where one of many problems lie ahead for the future of The Firm. While we celebrate the Queen’s golden reign, we are also reminded that the future without her might just, dare I say it, look a little dull. Though her successors are no doubt capable in their royal roles, the institution’s next chapter is yet to feel like it aligns with modern-day society, and our expectations within it.
The Windsors’ tone-deafness on race: Recent failed tours of the Caribbean—where demands for the Royal Family to apologise for Britain’s historic role in the enslavement of millions of Africans were largely ignored—show there is still much work to do when it comes to the Firm understanding and connecting with all issues that matter to the world. And unaddressed racism and bullying allegations continue to be front of mind for people of colour and young Brits.
As good as it gets: As with all major royal occasions, palace aides will this week be pouring over the mountain of positive coverage received for the Platinum Jubilee. They’ll no doubt declare it a triumphant success—and it absolutely was—but they’d be wrong to start getting comfortable. The nation’s love and respect for the Queen has been unwavering. What is less predictable, however, is just how much of those feelings the public will transfer to those waiting in the wings. Without the adored Queen, this past week might have been as good as it will ever get.
[From Yahoo]
Yeah, I agree? I remember the 2012 Jubbly and it was so positive and it genuinely felt fresh. Kate had joined the Firm the year before, Harry was a young bachelor who had already served one tour of duty, William didn’t seem to be brimming with incandescent rage, the London Olympics would be held about six weeks after the Jubbly, and everything seemed bright and shiny and special. This year’s Jubbly felt like the last party. The last big blowout before everything falls apart. Worse yet, there was no sparkle from the heirs. Nothing about the Jubbly actually seemed that joyful or happy. It was all balcony drama and tantrums and jazz hands and gurning. By Sunday, that balcony full of heirs just looked tired, dull and over it.
The next major event for the family will inevitably be Queen Elizabeth’s funeral. And then, months later, King Charles’s coronation. Scobie is right… the emotions QEII invokes are not transferable to underwhelming Charles and Baldemort. And they’re going to have a hell of a time going forward.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red and Instar.
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The Platinum Jubilee Celebrations Final Day
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North America Rights Only, London, England – 20220603- National Service of Thanksgiving On Day Two Of The Platinum Jubilee Celebrations
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North America Rights Only, London, England – 20220602- Day One Of Platinum Jubilee Celebrations
The four days of celebrations will include public events and community activities, as well as national moments of reflection on The Queen’s 70 years of service.
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NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE UK – London, UK -20220602-Royal Family On Balcony During Platinum Jubilee Trooping The Colour Parade
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Camilla Duchess of Cornwall, Queen Elizabeth II, Catherine Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George, Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for the fly past after Trooping The Colour – The Queen’s Birthday Parade, London, UK – 02 Jun 2022,Image: 696361690, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Anthony Harvey/Shutterstock / Avalon
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Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, points something out to Prince Louis during the Platinum Pageant on June 05, 2022 in London, England. The Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II is being celebrated from June 2 to June 5, 2022, in the UK and Commonwealth to mark the 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952.,Image: 697156197, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Ian Vogler / Avalon
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Queen Elizabeth II on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with Prince Charles, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William , Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge,, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis at the end of the Pageant on the final day of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in London.,Image: 697182635, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Stephen Lock / Avalon
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Queen Elizabeth II on the balcony at Buckingham Palace with Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte, Prince George, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, after the Platinum Pageant on June 05, 2022 in London, England.,Image: 697224208, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Anthony Harvey / Avalon
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Buckingham Palace, London, UK. 5 June 2022. Queen Elizabeth II on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince George of Cambridge and Princess Charlotte of Cambridge at the end of a spectacular Platinum Jubilee Pageant on The Mall,Image: 697322082, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: MALCOLM PARK / Avalon
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During the Platinum Party at the Palace staged in front of Buckingham Palace, London, on day three of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II.
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Well…they earned it. Charles and William *could* have had 2 awesome people helping them but they decided to run them out of the country instead. So whatever happens next is simply a matter of reaping what they sow.
I have always felt is was pretty much Baldy alone that ran the Sussexes out of the country. Charles is not innocent by any means as he just stood back and watched it happened but I do not believe he was a major instigator. However, I could be completely wrong.
I agree. I don’t think Charles actively smeared them, but he sat back and let it happen. And I think what upset Harry the most was that Charles refused to take Harry’s very real concerns seriously. It was all Harry’s just too fragile emotional and should just suck it up like I had to.
@BayTampaBay: One of the first smears against Meghan and Harry came from CH. Charles is as much an instigator as William.
@amybee
What did Charles specifically do?
I think there were two motivations to the smearing – I think Charles did it just bc he likes to be the most popular (hint: he isn’t) and also…its just what he does, as sad as that is to say. I think throwing his sons under the bus, or other family members, is just kind of par for the course with him. I think he may have wanted to take them down a peg or two after the Oceania tour, but I think that was kind of it. Messed up? Yes, but these are the Windsors, no one said ever they were well adjusted.
i think William did it (lead/enabled/participated in the smears) because he wanted Meghan gone and he wanted Harry at his beck and call and to be his scapegoat for the next 50 years. I think his motives were more sinister, and I think that’s why we saw Charles and the Queen let H&M move to BP and out of KP for their offices.
@Snuffles: The first smear came from Robert’s Jobson’s book on Charles. It was tiaragate. CH signed off on that book. Following that smear Jobson reported that Charles was upset that Meghan cancelled her visit with him to a Summer exhibition at BP that was being put on for his 70th birthday. It’s obvious he leaked that to Jobson. Charles was an active participant in the smears against them, he just let William do most of the dirty work.
The first thing after the Oceania tour was tiara gate which was AK 47. She’s not necessarily linked to Charles but sui generis. Angela Kelly would have her own reasons to make Meghan look bad because Harry got mad at her for playing games with the hair test with the tiara. And she would have been a source for Jobson for many years so it’s very likely she just happened to let Jobson know about this on her own.
And not long after crygate happened and that was 100% KP, likely just Kate and Carole.
Charles certainly didn’t stop any of it from happening, but the early stuff isn’t linked to him directly.
@Nic919: It was written in a book that was supposed to be Charles’ life. A book that CH cooperated with and signed off on. If Charles didn’t want that tidbit in he would have told Jobson to take it out. Charles cannot be excluded from the smear campaign.
I think charles was okay with the tiara story but I don’t think the leak came from him, it definitely came from Angela Kelly. Charles was okay with it being in the biography, but thats not the same thing as the smear coming directly from CH. It actually more supports the point others have made about Charles sitting back and letting it happen. He didn’t leak the tiara story but he didn’t stop it either.
Angela Kelly has been doing her own thing for years now. She had a chance to bash Meghan and she would know Jobson enough to get it to him. Charles still let it happen, but he wasn’t the leaker directly. It doesn’t absolve him but he plays ostrich as much as his mother does.
Whereas William and kate do directly leak, hence why they have not been present when H and M were visiting the queen in private.
For a grown man in his 70’s that wallowed in self pity about the way he was treated by his parents into his 50’s, he has a lot of nerve allowing the smear campaign against H&M to start and stand by and do nothing about it. Charles failed Harry, and Meghan, out of his own insecurities. He should feel guilty for what he did as he sat back and allowed it to happen.
@baytampabay Charles did nothing to stop the attacks so he can spend the rest of his life being labeled a participant. If he wanted a better reputation, he should have done more.
From my experience of disfunctional families and organizations, I suspect Charles heard the Angela Kelly story and had no reason to doubt it. Didn’t have an open and frequent enough communication stream with Harry to be able to throw a “what the hell is going on here” to his son and learn the truth.
It shows up in the book and the damage is done all around.
HEAR, HEAR!
I thought that little gesture Louise threw at his mother was from another era as I haven’t seen a kid actually do that except for old movies lol.
It was something from the Three Stooges which is two generations ago in terms of entertainment.
In it Happened One Night, Clark Gable in the how to hitchhike scene made the exact Gesture Louis did. Did Louis see that film? LOL.
Lol, same. But then of course, he’s being raised by a nanny who dresses and behaves as if she’s Mary Poppin’s older sister.
I was thinking that that was a strangely-dated gesture—very Bowery Boys or Little Rascals. Maybe Louis gets to watch a lot of Turner Classic Movies or Me TV Plus’ s Toon In With Me? 🤣🙃😎
I was impressed that he knew the gesture in the first place: Queen Anne’s Fan.
And he may have just re-popularized it. Oh well.
Chuck gave the better of the 2 speeches at the concert – his was personal and he tried to be witty (and he seemed to enjoy waving his arm around to get the light show going).
Williams was boring and lack any sort of personality to it. Granted he is a decent public speaker (miles better than his wife) but compared to Chuck’s it fell flat esp as he was talking about something ‘supposedly’ close to his heart.
I just can’t get over how William’s “smile” always looks more like baring his teeth than any kind of real emotion, almost like a threat lol. Whatever it is, it’s unsettling. At least C&C can pull off the jolly old people shtick, I don’t know that W&K are even capable of genuine charm, even towards each other.
I did hear from a friend that it was over money that Charles and Harry fell out about in de end ! Charles got thick and refused Harry’s calls.
At de end of de day everyone knows that William is beyond useless at his job, but they now have a big problem on their hands, l mean William is not capable or able to be a King, he hasn’t a notion so what will happen when Charles passes, yes Charles has made mistakes but he is the most successful Prince of Wales and everyone can recognise that he is a hard worker and sometimes even gets down with de peasants !!!! Hence his reign will be fine but William…….l.dont know what Plan B.is !!!
William is always about not wanting to do things. He won’t take care of the Prince’s Trust he did not apparently complete the ten week Duchy course (related to its care), Charles should have not let Wills slack off in his twenties and handed him a list of duties that he had to complete,
I am sorry but how hard it is to just sit there, smile, wave and cut ribbons. Please let’s not pretend it is really a tough job if you choose to be lazy. One could approach this job with enthusiasm and energy but we all saw how that turned out for the last people trying to make a difference….he will just sit there because of his bloodline and be useless in the best case. And no one expects anything else from these people.
Well, Charles and the monarchy essentially use money to control family members so while the final falling out may have been about money, particularly security, it’s not really just about money. It’s about safety , control and financial abuse.
@Kit: “Charles has made mistakes but he is the most successful Prince of Wales and everyone can recognise that he is a hard worker and sometimes even gets down with de peasants !!!! Hence his reign will be fine but William…….l.dont know what Plan B.is !!!”
^^ Yes, that does seem to be the case. It’s wacky that some people are still trying to pump up William as needing to take over the throne instead of Charles. That narrative got started after Diana’s Panorama interview. In fact, it is Will being the older son of the beautiful and tragically dead Diana which gave Will too much carte blanche cache in his late teens and twenties. He became spoiled, entitled, lazy, and overly accustomed to younger bro Harry serving as his scapegoat.
Every time I go visit my parents, they like to ask me what the latest is on the royal family because they know I follow them. I try to explain what a raging putz William is but my Dad has a hard time believing it. But what he does say, from what he’s seen, is that William is completely devoid of charisma.
They watched the Jubilee Concert. They found the Queen’s Padington Bear skit very funny and the Queen charming. They also felt Charles had more presence than William. And that William was a charisma vacuum.
As a retired military officer my Dad has the utmost respect for Harry. One of my Dad’s besties is a very prominent Bahamian. And when Harry visited the Bahamas, the report back was that Harry was a great guy and they loved him.
Just an interesting perspective from your average person who doesn’t follow all the tabloids.
@ Snuffles, that sounds spot on regarding Harry. I am enjoying your parents perspective. They were spot on with the Queen, Charles and TOBB!
I always curious what the consensus is with those that don’t closely follow the royals.
Very interesting, thanks for sharing @snuffles! I’m curious – did your father’s friend have thoughts/impressions on the recent Bahamas trip by W&K?
I detect no lies.
Yep, no lies detected.
I agree that the Jubilee sort of felt like a farewell to the queen holiday. Maybe that’s just me, and perhaps other people were more into it. But it just felt like we were giving a lifetime achievement award to the Queen and then getting ready to move on. Is that a bit morbid?
@Beenie – No, it is not morbid. I had the exact same take as you did.
Well, TQ is 96, so, no, you’re not being morbid, IMO. I think you’re being realistic.
While I hv great contempt for betty as someone who wasted the monumental, life-long opportunity she had to help improve the lives of both the members of her family as well as the less fortunate in the UK in general, I must confess to surprising myself with a moment of sadness for her during the last few minutes of what will definitely be her final visit on to that balcony.
She was in her green dress and hat, taking a final wave of the jubbly. But for a split second it was as if I could read her mind and what it said, as she looked down on the large crowd, was that she knew she was seeing her subjects en masse for the last time. It was her saying to herself: Farewell……to all of you. Thank you and farewell.
There was something poignant about it, I agree. Imagine how many times she has stood on that balcony – with her parents, her sister, her husband, her children and grandchildren…..and that was probably her last time. She’s overseen a lot of history and I think you’re right, she was saying farewell. I think its going to be sad when she dies because it will be the end of an era, not just for her but for the World War II generation. I don’t know, I’m just thinking about how much has changed since the queen even became the heir in 30s and its sort of crazy how different the world is. I think her passing is going to be weird for people – even if people are republican and want to abolish the monarchy – I think it will be weirdly emotional.
The Queen did look like as she stood there, she was acknowledging that this would probably be her final hoorah on the balcony. The Queen was smiling but her smile had a bit of sadness in it. She has lived a long life and there are millions of people who have only known her as their Monarch. Many of the older generations will be affected the most as they have always been her staunchest supporters.
The Queen has spent a majority of her life standing on that balcony. With her father as a very young woman, with her Mum and Margaret as well. Thrown into her position at the moment that she least expected it. (Granted I am taking liberties with this statement as it is based on the Netflix series.)
The Queen understands that her time is limited. I think that she is sad about it as well. No matter how old she is, she seems to have enjoyed her reign.
Yes sure, in that moment, a final farewell. But I don’t know that we can fully read what Betty was thinking. She’s known for her dutiful poker faces. Underneath it all, she may have felt a bit vulnerable and sentimental, but who knows really. She has a sense of humor, and a sense of entitlement too. She also has to know that after she’s gone, Chuck and Willy ain’t going to be able to don her teflon-coated image.
I totally get the idea of people being so used to QE-II’s longevity, so that when she passes, it will be a big deal. In fact, I was born in the year of her coronation! Starting in my 20s, I slowly became an admirer of the British monarchy. I guess I fell for the pageantry, the romance, and the sugar-coated myth-making. I also fell for C&D’s fairytale, until the fairytale that really never was, disintegrated. Mostly, I was mesmerized by Diana’s personality, and by her beauty and her compassion, and her fashion sense.
After Diana’s death, I didn’t follow the royals closely anymore. Still, I read a lot of royal related biographies and histories of Great Britain. And who can escape the famous novels set in England, and the many movies that keep the myths and the romance alive? QE-II has largely served as a symbol of something false, antiquated, seductive, illusive, and diabolically pacifying.
I felt the same way. There was a lot about the Jubbly events that made me feel we were participating in a funeral that was taking place during the person’s lifetime. Those projected images of the Queen on the walls and the balcony, especially the scene with images of her deceased husband and parents, really gave me chills. They reminded me of the PowerPoint I prepared for my mother’s funeral showing images from her long life.
The occasion was presented as an opportunity to say thank you and goodbye: to mark the last Trooping the Colour, the last concert, then the last balcony appearance presenting her with her successor and the two successors after that. The first one was a formal presentation of the working Royal Family and the heirs, and that was fine. But I think the second – which will quite possibly be her last – balcony appearance would have been better if it included all her children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren rather than just the working royals and heirs. That way it would have been more a joyful celebration of her life than a farewell emphasising her as primarily a placeholder in the continuum, and the inevitability of her passing in the not too distant future. That might have been what she wanted though; maybe that’s the way she and the rest of the royals have been programmed to think about their role. And if that is so, I think it is a very sad state of affairs. They are, first of all, people with lives and families and personal achievements, not just symbols.
^^ Yes @Margaret, I think you’re right about the optics of that last balcony appearance. It was overly melancholy, when it should have given off more celebratory vibes to keep the mythmaking going, if that’s their aim. Still, perhaps the starkness of that ‘final farewell’ accurately reflects the stale uncertainty of the monarchy’s current state of affairs, with all the ongoing ‘silent contract’ lies and attacks. The toxic family dynamic and internecine battles have hoist the monarchy by its own petard.
Omid’s right. The future for the monarchy doesn’t seem bright. There will be vigorous debates about its future after the Queen dies.
As the Sovereign Monarch, I think Charles III will do much better than all of us predict and Horse Teeth the Bald will do much worse than his fans and supporters are counting on.
I would agree with this But I see Charles as a major fail after he let Will run rampant and drive out Harry. Charles did nothing about it and let this happen. Charles also needs to discourage his sympathizers from criticizing his first wife. Which I find unfortunate. And no matter what he should tell the media to make Harry and Meghan non-negotiable and protect them. I don’t think it will happen. Charles should have put his sons first during their formative years and guided them and if Wiliam started getting above himself, nipped it in the bud.
Agreed. the future is aging monarchs (Charles is in his 70s, lets assume he gets on the throne in the next year and then reigns for 20 years, maybe 25 – that puts William at 60 at the youngest to becoming king, and then if he is king for 35 years then George will be his mid 60s etc). Now, the queen did become monarch at a really young age, 65 isn’t a bad age to become a king….but it does make the monarchy look older and out of touch. Factor in the extreme wealth and privilege, and its going to make people wonder, in my opinion.
I hope George’s first child is a girl, so there can be another female monarch.
When George wad born, I got the feeling he wouldn’t be King. I don’t think the Monarchy will survive his father
@ Dollycoa, I agree with you. Incandescent with Jealousy will destroy it with his own hands and actions. He isn’t fit to be the manger of Burger King yet alone King to Britain and her CW countries.
@Tessa — I read a comment on another forum recently that said that most of those living today won’t see another woman on the British throne, given George’s youth. I certainly won’t. Gotta admit, that saddens me a bit. And at my age, I may not see William on the throne, assuming the monarchy survives TQ’s passing.
TQ has a lot of accumulated good will. Charles has little, and William even less. Harry is the one who inherited Diana’s warmth and ability to interact with people. Remember they called her the people’s princess. The future looks bleak for the royal family.
The Platinum Jubilee was an expression of gratitude to the Queen for her service and duty.
Many expressed the stable and even kneel that her reign represented during the turbulent times.
Prince Charles with a proper sense of history and purpose can easily continue that stability.
The population will provide clues for a steady leadership.
Transparency is key.
Keep the royal family off the stage they are not there to entertain.
Focus on the monarch’s civic and moral responsibility.
I have nothing on William.
^^ That sounds like a viable prospect @Well Wisher, in terms of the salvageable possibilities for a Charles III reign.
I agree re the nonce Willy. From Billy the Basher to Cain the Raging Incandescent Lame Duck.
I think that this is why PC was talking so much about them coming back to stay with him if security was an issue. He knows. William is not that smart. He thought he could run his brother out and that no one would miss them.
^^ Welp, Cain was the first one to miss his personal scapegoat. LOL! 😜 Khate Guevara was the second one to miss the former ‘third wheel’ spare, Harry the Ginger Prince.
Unexpectedly, Harry had found his soul mate, Meghan, and he came into his own with greater confidence. After the Firm’s unforgiveable betrayals, soldier Harry bravely cut the shackles! The Ginger Avenger left the toxic gilded cage with the ‘family of his own,’ that he’d always dreamed of having.
Omid’s Yahoo UK column has been 🔥🔥🔥, and this one is astute. Regardless of his years of trying, Charles really doesn’t have a well of good will to draw upon. William only has the distant memory of his grieving, melancholic good looks, nothing much since, to give him the adoration he clearly thinks he deserves. It will be very interesting to watch it all unfold.
@ C-Shell, those are excellent points. Charles doesn’t have much good will to draw from but I think that TOBB has nothing to draw from. TOBB showed us his utter incompetence for the last 15+ years, since the end of his university. He demands respect but he hasn’t earned one bit of it.
The greatest mistake was Charles allowing TOBB to sit on his laurels for the last 2 decades without any consequences for it.
The implosion of the Monarchy will fall upon Williams watch.
I couldn’t agree more with everything you’ve said. Unless the implosion comes sooner, but for sure with William.
^^ Yep guys. Robert Jobson wrote in 2017 that the Queen and Prince Charles were never listened to by William, who was thin-skinned behind-the-scenes and surrounded himself with sycophants. Jobson further revealed that Betty & Chuck shrugged their shoulders and left Will to his own devices, reasoning that he would just have to “learn from his own mistakes.”
Now we know from the palace ‘men in grey’ themselves that Will is not only thin-skinned and insecure, he is also a raging incandescent nonce, who has always relied on spare Harry to prop himself up. This is the fault of the grey men and of palace p.r., who by always protecting youthful Will and throwing young Harry to the wolves, only succeeded in teaching Will that he never had to learn from his mistakes.
^^ I also include Betty and Chuck in the blame for throwing up their hands when it came to trying to rein in Will. Maybe it was because of his youthful popularity and his uncontrollable rages that they both decided to treat him ‘hands-off.’ Yet, Will’s public popularity has always been superficial and unearned.
How Will has turned out is one of the monarchy’s misguided mistakes. Another huge error by the Firm, is allowing Diana to twist in the wind after the divorce. They should have viewed her popularity, glamour, and personal power as an asset to the monarchy, instead of as a threat. They could have negotiated fairly with Diana and made sure she was a full and valued participant in raising Will and Harry. But we know what happened.
Fast forward to today, and we can see that history has repeated itself, as many observers have noted. The monarchy completely misread the strength and power of the Sussexes’ popularity. In particular, they mistreated and rejected the huge asset that is Meghan (‘coulda had a bad b*tch’) The Duchess of Sussex!
2012 Jubbly was happy. At the time, there was hope. I actually thought William was better than what he has become. I thought he’d be willing to learn and take a modern approach. I thought he’d right a lot of past wrongs. I thought, Kate, a woman with a university degree, would use this platform to do so much good work. I thought Heads Together was a good start…oh 2012 me, so young, so naive!! Little did I know, that it was the cute, fun, soldier brother, Harry, lifting the two of them up the entire time!!! And you know? I think Harry and Meghan would have spent the rest of their lives lifting up a well intended, willing to learn and use their positions for good future King and Queen! Meghan said so much “please use me how you need to champion this cause.” But there not going to life up evil! They’re not going to shoulder their racist, colonialist crap!! They’re not going to DIE for Will and Kate, especially, when it’s Will and Kate throwing them directly into the threat!
Yeah, I liked both Cannot and Willnot in 2012, it did feel hopeful. To say the bloom has fallen off that particular rose is the understatement of the century.
We were sweet summer children, for certain.
I don’t see the big excitement about the Queen either. In some ways PC is a better speaker than TQ, and definitely a better speaker than PW.
No question, Charles has better speaking skills than William. The public of course are used to the Queen and I never heard complaints about her speech. William still has a lot to learn about public speaking. He was not all that good in his Jubilee speech.
I didn’t care about the 2012 Jubilee. Didn’t care about the Royals at all then (except for Paedrew’s association with Epstein). I don’t anticipate ever caring about a Jubbly again, nor the Royals, for that matter, until they spectacularly implode. Then it will be the story of the century. And the Royals, ironically, will have become relevant once again. When they’re removed.
You make a really good point. There are people following this family for the first time in their lives to rubberneck. They haven’t gained any supporters, they have gained witnesses.
Harry and Meghan are the only exception.
Charles IS capable of dealing with the media. He made Camilla non-negotiable and most of the media leave her alone and even praise her. He could have directed the media that Meghan is non-negotiable and the press would have backed off. And the Queen could have co-signed on it. Making her non-negotiable would have given her some protection from the way William was behaving. Charles inaction spoke volumes, he just let William try to control Harry. He should have told Will to back off when will started preaching to Harry about slowing down.
^^^This! I never forgave Charles–and to a lesser extent HM–for not speaking out about that Tweet comparing Archie to a chimpanzee. “Keep Calm and Carry On” and “stiff upper lip” goes only so far. This was RACISM comparing your grandson to a primate and his silence was in Charles’s own words “non-negotiable” for me. Not even walking Meghan down the aisle due to the Duke of Mexico’s shenanigans wasn’t enough for me.
Is the Queen loved or just respected for being on the throne for so long? If the media hate for the Sussex’s goes down, I wonder if the reporting will return to what it was before – the Royals are boring and the Cambridges are lazy.
Honestly, I think the reason that the BRF has been able to get away with being so out of touch is specifically because the Queen is old. By which I mean that she’s part of a bygone era and so people just excuse the royal stupidity of the way they do things. As you all have said, Charles may inherit the money and the title but not the leeway. Charles will likely become king at a very politically tenuous time. If the royals were better educated, they might be able to see that and not just walk headlong into it.
Unrelatedly, why do they keep putting Queenie in those green screen outfits? This is not how you modernize, guys.
I think it hurts the monarchy that the next three heirs are men. Kings won’t have quite the same public and media attention as queens. It will just be a parade of navy and grey suits worn by not very young and/or attractive men. As shallow as it may seem, the public likes pretty dresses and jewels. Think how much energy has been put on the Queen’s brooches over the years. Or what colors she wears to Ascot. Many little girls have a princess fantasy and want to see one in real life. It might be different if Charles and William genuinely liked and encouraged public focus on their wives (like King Max), but they don’t like sharing the spotlight. And a spotlight on elderly and middle aged men isn’t very interesting.
Yea, I said that once before. If William’s first born had been a girl and there was another queen to look forward to I wonder if it would feel different. Not saying that’s a good thing at all. I think it would be icky to think how the current press would treat a female waiting to be queen. Could they hold their misogyny back for a future blood queen? Highly doubtful. But the public might be more excited for that than just more male kings, one after another. Reminder of the patriarchal nature of the monarchy and so much else. Not great connections.
I am confused about what England wants from their royals.When only a quarter of the people came out to celebrate the Jubbly ,how well will Charles or Will be received as the future kings? The media seemed more focused on Harry and Meghan stories. Take out the Sussexes and what do you have for royal news?
Now would be an excellent time for mr incandescent and ms buttons to start getting some real job experience and start polishing up those cvs . Eddie and Sophie better hope someone out there wants to hire them also.
Apres Lei, la deluge.
The monarchy might survive through Charles, but I would be shocked if it survived long under William. This Jubbly may have been the last hurrah for the Windsors.
It may not survive if it were just the King against the parliament. But it is going to survive because of the entrenched classism and racism in the British society. The Lords, Ladies, aristocrats, Dukes, Duchesses, Knights, Lord Commanders, clergy etc are all firm supporters of the class system and it benefits them to maintain it. If you get rid of the monarchy, you get rid of it ALL. But I fear it is going to take a lot to pry those Knights of the Order from folks cold dead hands.
Charles and Camilla treated Princess Diana just as they did Prince Harry, BADLY!!!
Shame on Prince William for following in his fathers footsteps.
“There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.”
Luke 12:2-3 NIV
I really hate the idea of monarchy,it’s just complete nonsense to consider that a family have been anointed by God and therefore better than anyone :utterly ridiculous but I think it will survive cause:
-the grey men want dull ppl like the queen who is just super dull(and that’s why Megan and Harry are not there) and Charles and William fit the dull description
-a lot of British ppl don’t care about the monarchy but they seem apathetic about it
-the monarchy is like a reality tv so a little entertaining,overpriced entertainment but still(Charles divorce,Diana,sex scandals,Sarah…)