London Bridge is Down

This was mentioned briefly on another thread but I think it deserves its own.

Queen Elizabeth has passed at age 96.

BBC.com — Queen Elizabeth II has died, Buckingham Palace announces

 

From the BBC article linked above.

Queen Elizabeth II, the UK's longest-serving monarch, has died at Balmoral aged 96, after reigning for 70 years.

Her family gathered at her Scottish estate after concerns grew about her health earlier on Thursday.

The Queen came to the throne in 1952 and witnessed enormous social change.

With her death, her eldest son Charles, the former Prince of Wales, will lead the country in mourning as the new King and head of state for 14 Commonwealth realms.

In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: "The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.

"The King and the Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow."

All the Queen's children travelled to Balmoral, near Aberdeen, after doctors placed the Queen under medical supervision.

Her grandson, Prince William, is also there, with his brother, Prince Harry, on his way.

• Obituary: A long life marked by a sense of duty

Queen Elizabeth II's tenure as head of state spanned post-war austerity, the transition from empire to Commonwealth, the end of the Cold War and the UK's entry into - and withdrawal from - the European Union.

Her reign spanned 15 prime ministers starting with Winston Churchill, born in 1874, and including Liz Truss, born 101 years later in 1975, and appointed by the Queen earlier this week.

She held weekly audiences with her prime minister throughout her reign.

At Buckingham Palace in London, crowds awaiting updates on the Queen's condition began crying as they heard of her death. The Union flag on top of the palace was lowered to half-mast at 18:30 BST.

The Queen was born Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, in Mayfair, London, on 21 April 1926.

Few could have foreseen she would become monarch but in December 1936 her uncle, Edward VIII, abdicated from the throne to marry the twice-divorced American, Wallis Simpson.

Elizabeth's father became King George VI and, at age 10, Lilibet, as she was known in the family, became heir to the throne.

Within three years, Britain was at war with Nazi Germany. Elizabeth and her younger sister, Princess Margaret, spent much of wartime at Windsor Castle after their parents rejected suggestions they be evacuated to Canada.

After turning 18, Elizabeth spent five months with the Auxiliary Territorial Service and learned basic motor mechanic and driving skills. "I began to understand the esprit de corps that flourishes in the face of adversity," she recalled later.

Through the war, she exchanged letters with her third cousin, Philip, Prince of Greece, who was serving in the Royal Navy. Their romance blossomed and the couple married at Westminster Abbey on 20 November 1947, with the prince taking the title of Duke of Edinburgh.

She would later describe him as "my strength and stay" through 74 years of marriage, before his death in 2021, aged 99.

The Duke of Edinburgh was at the Queen's side for more than six decades of reign, becoming the longest-serving consort in British history in 2009​

Their first son, Charles, was born in 1948, followed by Princess Anne, in 1950, Prince Andrew, in 1960, and Prince Edward, in 1964. Between them, they gave their parents eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

Princess Elizabeth was in Kenya in 1952, representing the ailing King, when Philip broke the news that her father had died. She immediately returned to London as the new Queen.

"It was all a very sudden kind of taking on and making the best job you can," she later recalled.

Elizabeth was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953, aged 27, in front of a then-record TV audience estimated at more than 20 million people.

Subsequent decades would see great change, with the end of the British Empire overseas and the swinging '60s sweeping away social norms at home.

 

She seemed like a honorable lady that served her country faithfully. RIP.

It sucks that clown Charles will be succeeding her.

 

70 years, 15 Prime Ministers, one Queen

 

Amazing lady. Would that we had anyone in authority with a smidgen of such dignity and Grace.

 

Tonight in our village.

 

I have never cared much for the whole “Royal Family” monarchy thing, it seemed a bit silly to me, but Elizabeth’s passing has touched me for some reason. Maybe it is the nostalgic end of an era, or just a reminder of the passage of all things in time.

She has certainly seen a lot in her long tenure. May she rest in peace.

 

Dion
Beautiful montage.
I think I understand. She was a constant our whole lives.

 

there is some justification for having a national leader who is ceremonial rather than having power. She did ceremony very well.

Look at some of our presidents of the last five and tell me how many of them had any class at all.

 

You've made me think about this, and I think it's complicated. First, I don't think you can be a patriotic American and support the British monarchy as an institution.

Second, I think it's possible to reject the institution but also respect the political prowess it took for the British monarchy to remain the head of state while the rest of the European monarchs were forced to abdicate or worse. They adapted while the others just tried to hold onto power.

Third, Queen Elizabeth was an amazing woman who got the role unexpectedly and much earlier than she thought she'd get it. She was only 24 years old and handled the he responsibility with tremendous class and maturity. Throughout her reign, she was more accessible and less snobby than probably anyone in the history of the monarchy. Even if she didn't have great power, she was an inspiring leader at often difficult times. She was consistently friendly to the United States.

Fourth, she wasn't perfect. Her greatest failure wasn't on the throne or in her duties as queen. It was in her family life. Most of her kids were and are a mess - stupid marriage decisions, divorces, philandering, and hooking up with underaged girls with Jeffrey Epstein. It's why the Royal Family turned into a soap opera for so long. Nobody is going to respect Charles the way they respected Elizabeth, and that's sad.

Finally, it is definitely the end of a long era. I'm 46 years old, and when I was born, Elizabeth had already been on the throne for 24 years. My parents don't remember the UK having any other monarch. When she became queen, Harry Truman was President of the United States. It's going to be hard to imagine anyone else in the role.

 

And the idiocy begins.

 

Did anyone test her food for cyanide or arsenic? She was meeting with Liz Truss just a couple of days ago.

 

^ @Mr. Deez 70 years on the throne and I bet the old gal knew where a lot of bodies are buried, don’t ya think?

 

During World War II, the future queen, Elizabeth, joined the women's branch of the British Army (the Auxiliary Territorial Service), and was the first female member of the royal family to serve as a full-time, active member of the military. During her service, she learned to drive and maintain vehicles. According to Collier's Magazine “one of her major joys was to get dirt under her nails and grease stains on her hands, and display these signs of labor to her friends.” The future queen learned to drive every vehicle she worked on, including the Tilly Light Truck and also ambulances.

 

Most likely, yes. She would have been briefed by MI-5 periodically and other intel groups as well.

 

Jemele Hill is just taking your original message to heart.

 

And the era of cute little Spaniels has begun.

 

The mindlessness of woke, young people on full display. I honestly don't get the SJW crowd shrugging off or even cheering on her death. Do these dumbasses know what happened to the British Empire under Elizabeth's reign? Decolonization basically defined her reign. These people should be honoring her, but she was an old white lady, so let's all just be stupid.

 

I am pooping that woke Brit.

 

Of course they don't. This is the modern disease - the urge to express an opinion on everything, including matters one knows little to nothing about
It's ok to not have an opinion

 

In all fairness to her, from what I've seen and heard about the parental relationships of the British crown, I wonder how much of this is a combination of the required distance and aloofness that the crown requires, combined with all the societal nonsense that began in the 50s and 60s that made kids decide that listening to their parents really wasn't that important. Not excusing her from fault, but I also get there are a lot of things that go into that relationship that are tough to manage.

Media: OK, who will be the first to reinforce the notion that we as a profession are a complete joke with no connection to actual humanity or decency?

Jamele Hill: OOH! OOH! ME! I wanna do it. Pick MEEEEEE!!!!

 

the denunciations of colonialism seem pathetic to me. Most of the revolts against the Brit empire were inspired by local elites who thought they should get to loot their homelands, not the Brits. And many have proceeded to do so.

Nobody likes to be ruled by foreigners, so I understand anti imperialism. I don't like the idea that I get ruled from DC, but it is not all bad. They got rid of slavery and Jim Crow for Texas. That is something.

As for the Brits, they were the ones who made the people in India quit putting newborn girls out on the stoop for the dogs to eat and abolished burning wives when their hubbies passed. And they put an end to most cannibalism, outlawed the slave trade. and built a lot of railroads. In Mexico they modernized the silver mines so the revolutionary generals could nationalize them and give them to their friends.

What they did in China was pretty horrible re opium.

All in all, I would say that the Brit empire did at least as much good as bad and probably a lot more.

And by the way, if you read Thomas Jefferson's legal brief for independence, he told a few whoppers and attributed to George III some misdeeds that were the work of the Parliament.

 

Yikes, I’d never heard about that

 

I'm sure that was part of it, but she was ultimately in charge. She didn't have to be aloof and distant, and to her credit, she didn't remain aloof and distant throughout her reign. But she was when it mattered, and a lot of pain came out of it. Lives were ruined.

 

He isn't wrong.

 

Mr D
How do you think Parliament will deal with or interact with Charles?

 

I'm quite curious about this as well. I have zero real evidence to support my theory, but I really am curious if Charles won't abdicate fairly quickly and turn over the throne to William. Charles has a lot of baggage, and if the anti-monarchy rhetoric really starts to gain steam, I could see him deferring to William to settle it back down. In addition, William hasn't got the history of over-stepping that Charles does and Parliament may be more apt to want to work with him?

 

Hard to say for sure. However, support for Charles and the Royal Family in general seems very high right now. Many important people have announced their loyalty and support for Charles.

Obviously, a big fight over the monarchy would go over like a fart in a car right now, but in the meantime, I also get the sense that Charles is making a real effort and is aware of his baggage. I heard his address on the radio today, and he gave an excellent and very unifying speech. I think both the Parliament and the public are inclined to give him a chance for now, and if he does a respectable job, I think people and Parliament will accept him. They won't embrace him like they embraced his mother and his ex-wife, but they will accept him.

 

How long can Charles contain his radical positions?