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Originally Posted by
westgrandboulevard
soulster
No offence taken by your use of 'royalty crap'. Or perhaps I should say 'One is not offended'....lol:)
Thank you. I really do not like to offend people, but I wind up doing, anyway.
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Oh yes, our media here in the UK certainly went into overdrive in the lead up to, and over last weekend.
Surely, it's only over a similar period that US media has given it so much attention? You're not normally bombarded with it in the US, are you? [[but if you are, I'd be in sympathy!)
Yes, our media goes crazy. I just can't tell you how bad it was this time around because I have a personal policy to not watch news on the weekend.
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There are some Royal fanatics [[groupies) who, where possible, will show up to every event attended by certain members of the Royal family.
We do have our equivalent. Hollywood celebrities! I have the same disdain for the media obsession with them too. But, with Hollywood celebs, it's annoying to see those with the all the media attention and influence wasting their wealth and screwing up their lives with all the stupid stuff they do. Here, a lot of the obsession is with how many kids some third-rate actress has, what allegedly gay exploits one has had, or what some airhead did to his/her Porsche. And then we have the political obsessives and conspiracy theorists...
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When it comes to the Royal Family, in principle, I do have reservations about some of the protocol - for example, standing in a long line, waiting to be introduced, speaking only when spoken to...but I can also see there are indeed practical reasons why it has to be that way.
There is a good reason the U.S. settlers broke from British rule! :)
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It's great to be in the presence of famous people, previously seen on a TV screen, on a stage, or heard on a disc on the player.
They wipe their butt the same way everyone else does. We just don't pay as much for our toilet paper!
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However, being in the presence of royalty can be bizarre. Curiously uplifting, yet curiously ordinary. You sense the gulf, yet think "They seem just like me, or us..." . On the whole, it's easy to walk away feeling good about yourself.
I don't see how.
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As regards the 'duty' bit. Very complex to describe all the responsibilities but, for a start, The Queen is Supreme [[ just stopped myself there from typing that in the 'plural'...!) Governor of the Church of England. She has to be beyond reproach. Everything else follows on from there.....if she and her family don't earn respect from the public, by giving respect in all they do - carrying out the duties expected of them - then she and they will not receive wholehearted respect in return.
That's no way to live! No wonder the heirs misbehave!
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As an example, it's been noted that the Queen and Prince Philip both stood for about 4 hours during the Pageant last weekend. Between them, they have an average age of nearly 90. The story goes that the 'thrones' provided for them on the boat were considered by The Queen to give entirely the wrong impression, and were therefore disregarded on the day, apart from gently resting against them. To do that, at their ages,in order to respond to the many people who'd lined the river, waving and cheering them from across the waters is, in my book, more than fulfilling their duty on that particular day.
No comment.
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Yes, I do agree that all of us should carry out their own duties in their own lives and conduct themselves well and, of course, the vast majority do just that. We don't need telling, but observing an example set in front of us does no harm.
Don't know about you, but I'd rather learn by observing, learning and understanding at my own pace, and not just be told how I must do it.
My head is spinning.
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On a day-to-day basis, most of the people here in the UK at least accept the existence of the Royal Family, and would not like to countenance this country without them, regarding them as an extension of their own family. 'Rich relatives' maybe, but 'ours', still.
Sigh!
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Just in case you feel that undue reverence is extended, and that it's all taken too seriously,about twenty years back, we had a spoof TV soap opera called 'Pallas'. It featured actual footage of the Royal family, but with humorous dialogue dubbed.
OK...
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And maybe you will have seen the 'Spitting Image' satirical puppet show? One of the very best clips was of "The Queen" performing new lyrics to "I Will Survive"....
We don't get stuff like that here. Sorry. We get "World's Dumbest Crimminals", the daily going's on in a Detroit pawn shop, and "1000 Ways to Die". :)