Queuing for our Queen

[Andyrondack]

Originally Posted by ewalling

Being 'outspoken on issues,' I think, is not an asset for those who find themselves in positions of power that have nothing to do with those issuesl

Charles like his mother is not in a position of power, like his mother was he is a servant of the British state. Anyway like his mother he knows full well that being 'outspoken on issues' will no longer be considered acceptable behaviour now that he is King.

[Andyrondack]

Originally Posted by AndreF

I agree. That was a spectacular display of tradition and pageantry. And it never felt overly done.
I was glued to the set taking it all in yesterday. It was like watching "The Ten Commandments", only, it was real time and it went off without a hitch. So many people lined up to watch.
The ceremony at Windsor was truly special, and connected you in real time to the distant past. The choreography and setting were unique. Definitely worth a look if you missed it.
Only the Brits could have pulled something like this off so magnificently, with just the right mixture of pomp, class, common touch and dignity.
Kudos to them! They still got it. And Long Live The King!

If anyone still wonders what the British monarchy is for and what they actually do for a living the answer is that their role is to impress people who find all the above stuff impressive.
As long as their are enough people like Andre above and the hundreds of thousands of people who felt strongly enough to queue for hours to pay their final respects to our late monarch then this tradition will continue to be honoured by the state, it's very useful as a British marketing exercise and to mess with something that so many people connect with at an emotional level would be political suicide for any elected government.
Personally it all bores me to tears and really does not impress me at all, but then neither does a bunch of grown men kicking a ball around a field but for reasons completely beyond me a lit of people seem to take such silliness absolutely seriously.
I did once meet the now King Charles, on a footpath in the Cairngorms, he was walking in a kilt with I assume his bodyguard and no one else, we just greeted each other like any other hikers on the trail and passed on our ways.
I like it that I can go backpacking in the mountains wherever and whenever I like and don't need 'security' around me at all times. I think they carry a heavy cross through a sense of duty to all the people they impress.

[Bob from Brooklyn]

I thought this was poignant.

[Robin, Wales]

Regarding the "power" of the monarch, it is luckily something that has not been tested for a long while. However, as a military officer my oath of allegiance was sworn to the Crown, not Parliament or county. And my commissioning scroll came directly from the Queen, signed by the Royal hand.

I have always wondered, if push came to shove, what that could lead to?