"The Queen is dead. Long live the King!"
KING LEAR
Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow!Fool
You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout
Till you have drench'd our steeples, drown'd the cocks!
You sulphurous and thought-executing fires,
Vaunt-couriers to oak-cleaving thunderbolts,
Singe my white head! And thou, all-shaking thunder,
Smite flat the thick rotundity o' the world!
Crack nature's moulds, an germens spill at once,
That make ingrateful man!
O nuncle, court holy-water in a dry
house is better than this rain-water out o' door.
Good nuncle, in, and ask thy daughters' blessing:
here's a night pities neither wise man nor fool.
SHAKESPEARE - KING LEAR. ACT II
At six o'clock I went for a walk. I had been following the BBC's coverage of the momentous events taking place at Balmoral Castle, in the Scottish Highlands, where a longstanding Monarch - I am tempted to add, 'of the Glen' - was gravely ill.
According to the BBC, Queen Elizabeth II was at that time, still alive. In fact we were later informed she has passed away earlier in the afternoon, and the pretence was maintained for several hours in accordance with Palace and family protocol, presumably in order for numerous persons around the world to be informed and procedures put in place. Nevertheless for several hours the 'News' was effectively inaccurate and misleading.
When I went out, I put the BBC internet broadcast on pause, so when I got back roughly two hours later nothing seemed to have changed, so imagine my surprise when I watched Canadian PM Trudeau announce the death of the Queen. It appeared that Canadians were being informed of an historic event denied to the British audience.
Of course this was not the case, merely me getting confused by technology. Clearly a lot had transpired whilst I was out. Time and events had moved on. I was still stuck in the past.
My circular walk had taken much longer than usual. This was because I kept attempting to shelter from the rain under trees and hedges. I had never seen rain like it! The heavens had opened. It was portentous. It was apt.
Heavy continuous rain for two hours with only minor respite, filling the gutters with rushing water, turning roads into ponds, millions of droplets hitting the ground, so that they could be both seen and heard.
When eventually, soaked to the skin, I got to my lane, it had literally turned into a river, and I had no alternative but to wade, ankle-deep, up through it. I left the house still in the Second Elizabethan Age. I returned to the third Carolean one!
The Queen's reign was synonymous with my life. I had known nothing else. It was a constant. Similarly the new King, being the same age, we had lived parallel but very different lives.
Just as his mother held the record for the oldest and longest reigning British Monarch, so her Heir holds the record for the oldest person to take on the role. Both of us our in our respective final Act. What that will be, waits to be seen. In matters of the Crown, continuity is all but there is no doubt that the late Queen will be a very hard act to follow.
For me in my anonymous, insignificant life, the day the Queen eventually passed, will forever be the day I took a walk on the wild side, caught in a deluge, returning home wet and cold, to discover we had entered a new age. Rain or reign, it all eventually passes over.
Some of the Articles relating to the British Royal Family on this Blog:
Thursday, 21 April 2016 Queen Elizabeth II - Primus inter pares.
Sunday, 25 June 2017 Right Royal Coincidences
https://veaterecosan.blogspot.com/search?q=duke+of+edinburgh
Friday, 1 September 2017 Charles and Camilla to Split?
(Reliable or fake news?) https://veaterecosan.blogspot.com/search?q=charles
Tuesday, 24 September 2019 'Prorogue' gone Rogue? And the 'Queen is not amused'!
https://veaterecosan.blogspot.com/2019/09/porogue-gone-rogue-and-queen-is-not.html
Friday, 9 April 2021. Wednesday, 27 November 2019 Queen Elizabeth And Prince Charles Force Prince Andrew To Cancel Engagem.. https://veaterecosan.blogspot.com/2021/04/wednesday-27-november-2019-queen.html
Saturday, 19May 2018 The Wedding. Which Wedding?
https://veaterecosan.blogspot.com/search?q=harry+meghan
Sunday, 5 May 2019 "The King (to be) and I."
https://veaterecosan.blogspot.com/search?q=prince+of+wales
titles, according to statement from Buckingham Palace
The Queen was 96. She died on the 9th September. It was twenty-five years and 9 days following the death of Princess Diana. The news of her death, earlier in the afternoon, was announced by the BBC at 6.30 pm. The numerals in her birth and death years add up to 24. It came just days following the dispatch of Boris Johnson and the appointment of Liz Truss as the new PM. It is reported that Harry, Duke of Sussex, arrived by plane fifteen minutes following the announcement of the Queen's death was made.
ReplyDeleteKings and Queens go back a long way in the British State. They have been a mixed bunch and demonstrated every human foible and personality trait. They have always been central to the functioning of the State and its history both in peace and war, but over the centuries the role and character has changed, not least during the seventy years of the Queens reign. From absolute power, the position is now largely ceremonial but that does not mean it is not still immensely influential. The Queen enjoyed an exceptionally varied and interesting life, never having to worry about financial matters or travel arrangements. She travelled the globe and saw every notable sight and continent. Although having simple tastes herself, she has benefitted from every luxury and convenience. She has lived well past the average life span and has known she was nearing her end for some time. She deserves great credit for facing death with fortitude and equanimity, carrying out her duty uncomplaining to the last. Whatever we may think of the actions of her Ministers and Government, I think we can all agree she was a force for good and amity in this troubled world. She has certainly earned her eternal rest.
ReplyDeleteThe 'olive branch' King Charles III extended to Harry and Meghan was a carefully worded one. He expressed parental love and best wishes for the new life they are making abroad but it could also be taken as as confirmation of their estrangement and banishment from this country. Meghan has modelled herself on Mrs Simpson with whom she shares many features. Harry must know, like his gg-uncle, there is no way back. He has burnt his bridges en route to Montecito.
ReplyDeleteMeghan was not invited to Balmoral. Harry's plane was timed to land at Aberdeen fifteen minutes after the official announcement of the Queen's death. It was an obvious snub.
The couple has been expelled from the Royal circle. Is it any surprise? They decided to play traitor. Did they think they could do it with impunity? One can't help but feel sorry for Harry especially. He must feel very lost and without a role, wondering now if his love obsession was truly worth it?
And after 21 years of the biggest lie ever: https://gumshoenews.com/the-21st-anniversary-of-that-day-summarized-by-jim-corbett/#comment-145306
ReplyDeleteTucker Carlson: This is why they are attacking Queen Elizabeth II
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_OzymdJ03c
If her Twitter comments on wishing the HM The Queen "an excruciating death" are anything to go by, this woman is a disgrace to her sex, her race and the human kind - the very antithesis set by Elizabeth II. How she can pretend to be an 'academic' beats me, let alone a caring human being. It is many decades since Britain had a responsibility for the affairs of her native Nigeria and the Queen for only a few of them. She might like to ask what the country has become since it became a self-ruled independent country and whether the people are better or worse for it, before she casts her evil spell on a wise and respected Queen.
ReplyDeleteI have often referred to the Masonic/Gematrical significance of eleven and its multiples in notable events, including terrorism. Three and its multiples are also recurring. One of the most obvious 9/11 which includes both. In this context I couldn't help noticing the Queen's last procession is due to leave Buck House at 2.22 pm and arrive at Westminster Hall at 3 pm on the dot. The journey will therefore take precisely 48 minutes.
ReplyDelete