Prince William visits - and Australia swoons

[desertgal]

Yeah, because who would find interesting a hot young guy with unimaginable wealth and a history of poor judgment?

I would. One of the more interesting members of the royal family is Prince Philip-an old guy who used to be a hot young guy, with unimaginable wealth and a history of poor judgment. His list of diplomatically incorrect flubs is hilarious.

 

[arthwollipot]

(Charles may be King sooner than we think. I watched the Opening of Parliament last year, and the Queen and the Duke were both looking decidedly more frail than the previous year.)

Well, that's what happens when you turn 80.

Personally, I'm waiting for her 100th birthday. Then she'll have to send a card to herself!

 

[TragicMonkey]

What??? I thought his Nazi joke was hilarious!

He should have worn the full SS uniform, not just that boring desert thing. Much more fetishy, and would make much better photos to scandalize...and titillate. Harry needs to hire two advisors, one on how to create maximum scandals, and the other on how to survive them. That way his future autobiography will sell better. He really needs to take more concern with his branding, or he might wither away into obscurity.

 

[arthwollipot]

He should have worn the full SS uniform, not just that boring desert thing. Much more fetishy, and would make much better photos to scandalize...and titillate. Harry needs to hire two advisors, one on how to create maximum scandals, and the other on how to survive them. That way his future autobiography will sell better. He really needs to take more concern with his branding, or he might wither away into obscurity.

...just like his Uncle Andrew.

 

[desertgal]

Well, that's what happens when you turn 80.

I know. Just noting that she is looking less robust than she did at 79. Course, if I had a six pound crown on my head, I'd probably look more stooped, too.

Personally, I'm waiting for her 100th birthday. Then she'll have to send a card to herself!

Personally, I'd love to see her make it that far. She might be an anachronism, but she's a pretty cool dame for all that.

 

[Debaser]

People are banging on about "the future king" (which is a bit of a joke given that Betty Windsor shows no signs of mortality and Charles, and Carmilla of course will take the throne - he might not be king until he's 70).

But do Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the rest actually have to fall in step with the UK, or it just convention?

That is, when Her Maj goes do those nations who also happen to have her as current head of state have to officially ratify their next one? In which case you could choose Charlie Chuckles, Billy-Boy, Ginger Harry or Queen Zara the Fit if you wanted. (Or, of course, non of the above).

 

[funk de fino]

I'm quite happy with it at the moment. Doesn't Britain pay for them anyway?

I found some figures that, per head of population, the Canadians paid more than the UK for the monarchy.

 

[headscratcher4]

ARTHUR: Old woman!
DENNIS: Man!
ARTHUR: Old Man, sorry. What knight live in that castle over there?
DENNIS: I'm thirty seven.
ARTHUR: What?
DENNIS: I'm thirty seven -- I'm not old!
ARTHUR: Well, I can't just call you `Man'.
DENNIS: Well, you could say `Dennis'.
ARTHUR: Well, I didn't know you were called `Dennis.'
DENNIS: Well, you didn't bother to find out, did you?
ARTHUR: I did say sorry about the `old woman,' but from the behind
you looked--
DENNIS: What I object to is you automatically treat me like an inferior!
ARTHUR: Well, I AM king...
DENNIS: Oh king, eh, very nice. An' how'd you get that, eh? By
exploitin' the workers -- by 'angin' on to outdated imperialist dogma
which perpetuates the economic an' social differences in our society!
If there's ever going to be any progress--
WOMAN: Dennis, there's some lovely filth down here. Oh -- how d'you do?
ARTHUR: How do you do, good lady. I am Arthur, King of the Britons.
Who's castle is that?
WOMAN: King of the who?
ARTHUR: The Britons.
WOMAN: Who are the Britons?
ARTHUR: Well, we all are. we're all Britons and I am your king.
WOMAN: I didn't know we had a king. I thought we were an autonomous
collective.
DENNIS: You're fooling yourself. We're living in a dictatorship.
A self-perpetuating autocracy in which the working classes--
WOMAN: Oh there you go, bringing class into it again.
DENNIS: That's what it's all about if only people would--
ARTHUR: Please, please good people. I am in haste. Who lives
in that castle?
WOMAN: No one live there.
ARTHUR: Then who is your lord?
WOMAN: We don't have a lord.
ARTHUR: What?
DENNIS: I told you. We're an anarcho-syndicalist commune. We take
it in turns to act as a sort of executive officer for the week.
ARTHUR: Yes.
DENNIS: But all the decision of that officer have to be ratified
at a special biweekly meeting.
ARTHUR: Yes, I see.
DENNIS: By a simple majority in the case of purely internal affairs,--
ARTHUR: Be quiet!
DENNIS: --but by a two-thirds majority in the case of more--
ARTHUR: Be quiet! I order you to be quiet!
WOMAN: Order, eh -- who does he think he is?
ARTHUR: I am your king!
WOMAN: Well, I didn't vote for you.
ARTHUR: You don't vote for kings.
WOMAN: Well, 'ow did you become king then?
ARTHUR: The Lady of the Lake,
[angels sing]
her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite, held aloft Excalibur
from the bosom of the water signifying by Divine Providence that I,
Arthur, was to carry Excalibur.
[singing stops]
That is why I am your king!
DENNIS: Listen -- strange women lying in ponds distributing swords
is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power
derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical
aquatic ceremony.
ARTHUR: Be quiet!
DENNIS: Well you can't expect to wield supreme executive power
just 'cause some watery tart threw a sword at you!
ARTHUR: Shut up!
DENNIS: I mean, if I went around sayin' I was an empereror just
because some moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me they'd
put me away!
ARTHUR: Shut up! Will you shut up!
DENNIS: Ah, now we see the violence inherent in the system.
ARTHUR: Shut up!
DENNIS: Oh! Come and see the violence inherent in the system!
HELP! HELP! I'm being repressed!
ARTHUR: Bloody peasant!
DENNIS: Oh, what a give away. Did you here that, did you here that,
eh? That's what I'm on about -- did you see him repressing me,
you saw it didn't you?

 

[fleabeetle]

(Charles may be King sooner than we think. I watched the Opening of Parliament last year, and the Queen and the Duke were both looking decidedly more frail than the previous year.)

I thought I'd heard somewhere, that it was being contemplated that Charles let the kingship pass him by, and that Elizabeth on her death, hand straight over to William -- with Charles considering this, as a possible route to take.

Can furnish no more details -- just something recalled as heard in passing (I, a Briton, have next to no interest, for good or ill, in my country's Royals and their doings; reckon them firmly in the "mostly harmless" bracket).

 

[headscratcher4]

Charles has been understudy for this role for 60 years. Their gene pool may be shallow, but they live a long time these Saxe Coburg Gothas...at this rate he won't be king before he is 70. It is the only job he is qualified to do and he can't do it till mum kicks...he's not going to let it pass him by.

 

[The Atheist]

In which case you could choose Charlie Chuckles, Billy-Boy, Ginger Harry or Queen Zara the Fit if you wanted. (Or, of course, non of the above).

Zara.

No question. She's even had a spot of Kiwi.

We already have a king anyway.

 

[Wildy]

Wait until after the next election. Then there will be some sort of referendum on the issue. Mind you long way before we get to vote on the change to the constitution. Which would probably fail for the same reasons as the last one did.

Because "no" is the default position?

 

[maddog]

Who?

 

[George 152]

Charles has been understudy for this role for 60 years. Their gene pool may be shallow, but they live a long time these Saxe Coburg Gothas...at this rate he won't be king before he is 70. It is the only job he is qualified to do and he can't do it till mum kicks...he's not going to let it pass him by.

Strange that you ignore the fact that he is/was a qualified Commercial Pilot.
A cello player of orchestral quality
A RN officer and had a seagoing command.
At present he is a fairly successful farm manager.
Of course treehugging and homeopathetic detract from the overall picture

 

[desertgal]

I thought I'd heard somewhere, that it was being contemplated that Charles let the kingship pass him by, and that Elizabeth on her death, hand straight over to William -- with Charles considering this, as a possible route to take.

Can furnish no more details -- just something recalled as heard in passing (I, a Briton, have next to no interest, for good or ill, in my country's Royals and their doings; reckon them firmly in the "mostly harmless" bracket).

That's a suggestion that has been bandied about by various media pundits for years, but, in reality, it's almost certain that it would never happen. Elizabeth II can't bypass Charles for William unless Charles abdicates, and ascending the throne is Charles' birthright. He'd never give it up and it is extremely doubtful, unless he ran off with a teenage hard core porn star, that the Queen would agree with the idea.

Strange that you ignore the fact that he is/was a qualified Commercial Pilot.
A cello player of orchestral quality
A RN officer and had a seagoing command.
At present he is a fairly successful farm manager.
Of course treehugging and homeopathetic detract from the overall picture

None of those would support his current lifestyle.

 

[headscratcher4]

Strange that you ignore the fact that he is/was a qualified Commercial Pilot.
A cello player of orchestral quality
A RN officer and had a seagoing command.
At present he is a fairly successful farm manager.
Of course treehugging and homeopathetic detract from the overall picture

You are right...he should have been forced to go out and get a job to pay his way..

 

[lionking]

But do Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the rest actually have to fall in step with the UK, or it just convention?

That is, when Her Maj goes do those nations who also happen to have her as current head of state have to officially ratify their next one? In which case you could choose Charlie Chuckles, Billy-Boy, Ginger Harry or Queen Zara the Fit if you wanted. (Or, of course, non of the above).

We'd have to change our constitution through a referendum, which I can't see happening.

 

[rjh01]

Because "no" is the default position?

Not quite. The politicians stuff up the questions so that the proposals are not very good. A lot of them the main argument against is "This is just giving the commonwealth Canberra more power." Due to the question there is no argument against this.

If the question is reasonable there will be a yes vote.

However not only do you need a yes vote 4 of the 6 states must also vote yes.

 

[The Fallen Serpent]

I saw no option for lupine wavelength haemovariform.

 

[enjoytheview]

So I was wondering what people thought of him.

Very good looking, thankfully looks little like his father, but he's no Prince Harry.

I couldn't care less about the monarchy, but if we have to have a king, I'd prefer a hot one.

/me resumes swooning