Utter madness. IQ of the nation.

I am certainly not a monarchist but I wouldn’t have missed staying up until 1 a.m. in the morning watching all the colourful and stunning funeral marches for anything. It was so good 5hat the sun was shining and the brightly coloured uniforms could be seen in full splendour. I felt sorry for the 4 offspring doing the slow March, they all looked exhausted except Edward who looked a lot younger ( less responsibilities?)

Group is.

I agree.
It works both ways though, doesn't it?
Neither group are superior.

We just all are how we are.

MssAdventure, I am sure many feel like you, but I have also experienced being sideswiped by the death of people I do not know well, but whose demise for some reason, I cannot explain, affects me deeply.

My sister headed an organisation that had much to do with the great and good, and after her death in a road accident, many wrote to us and came to the memorial service. I was taken aback by the number of people who told me how deeply they were affected by her death, that they too were disconcerted that her death had affected them so deeply.

That was over 30 years ago, yet in the last 10 years, someone I met through work I did, realised from some thing I said who my sister had been and spoke to me of her for about 10 minutes, speaking as if he had seen her the previous day. Their relationship was entirely professional, but some how she had cast her spell.

This happens to people and to think because you, whoever 'you' may be , do not feel like that, it in someway makes you morally superior to those who do, shows a real indifference to other people in all their variety and ambiguities.

MerylStreep

It was lovely to see Rangers giving the finger to UAFA by singing the national anthem.

There is so much more to this than you can possibly imagine.....

It was lovely to see Rangers giving the finger to UAFA by singing the national anthem.

The death of somebody close to me would have far more impact, personally.
That, too, is a one off event.

M0nica

It is very annoying isn't it Paddyann when everybody doesn't agree with you and do or feel just like you.

Those with wider more sympathetic minds understand that people are very different with very different lives and experiences and react very differently to different events in their lives and they respect their right to do so.

The fact of the matter is like it or not, many, many people in this country and around the world have been profoundly and deeply affected by the death of the Queen, they are entitled to be so and should be treated with the same respect that we offer those to whom this event is not germane.

The Queen chose to die in Scotland and her route south has been, almost a straight line from Balmoral to Buckingham Palace. All along that route, except, obviously, when flying south, the route has been lined, 6 and 8 thick with those wanting to pay their last respects. Queues up to 5 miles long are expected for the lying in state.

The fact of the matter is that a significant proportion of the population, possibly even a majority, want to be part of this major historic event.

There is nothing to be gained by jumping up and down and throwing your toys out of the pram because you do not.

A bank holiday has been announced but there have been no instructions given, hints dropped etc etc to say that other funerals should be delayed or hospital appointments cancelled. These decisions are being made by the organisations involved and those are the ones who should be held to account for making decisions that were not necessary and are causing families distress.

Well said Monica. This is a once in seventy years event so a shame that people are carrying on as if their tv viewing will never be the same again and their lives and futures have been permanently disrupted.

I much prefer the monarchy we have to the various presidents that other countries endure and impressed with how many countries are hoping to attend and how sharp and well orchestrated the various parts have been.

Charles and Camilla must be exhausted. I only popped out to the local shops and needed a sit down to recover.

Surely this can only be a good thing to gather a huge number of the world’s leaders together in a common cause?

750,000 people are expected to troop past the coffin over the next few days, which will mean a lot to them, but I won’t be one of them, not with my dodgy knee!

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202209/medium-243330-screenshot-2022-09-14-203619.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202209/medium-656317-screenshot-2022-09-14-203749.jpg

vampirequeen it's easy to Google what the duties of Head of State are if you're not sure.

Got to say, that approach isn't helping me much.

The pomp and ceremony all seems to be part of the illusion that the royal family are on a different higher plain than the general public. It is constructed to ensure the ongoing status of royalty. The queen once said that " We have to be seen to be believed " A very wise lady to keep the royal line in power and seen as extra special. Why are they viewed with such reverence ?
I am sorry the Queen has died. She lived a fulfilled life and has earned respect from all over the world. But I would now like a referendum and a review on whether the population of the UK want a monarchy. This would have to be next year with a respectful distance from the Queens death .

vampirequeen it's easy to Google what the duties of Head of State are if you're not sure.

As far as I'm concerned, it's not just to do with who the Queen was, it's disrespectful to applaud when someone has died, surely?
Especially the whooping and loud whistles heard yesterday.

It seems to be a recent phenomenon, I remember when service people were repatriated through Royal Wootton Bassett there was applause. Perhaps because of their sacrifice but I thought men removing headgear and everyone bowing their heads in respectful silence would have been more appropriate.

I don't think it's appropriate for anyone.

Call me old-fashioned.

We can see far more on tv than the people who go to London. The missing elements of course, are the atmosphere and the knowledge that you were there at such a momentous time in history, which you can't recreate at home. But there's no way I could stand in a queue for hours.

It doesn’t seem appropriate for the Queen.

There was a small ripple of clapping up the road from where I was standing but the concentrated glares from all round put a stop to it.
Maybe people are more used to triumphant team buses after an event or containing athletes deserving of applause?

I just love watching the ceremony and the ‘costumes’. I don’t feel any particular reverence for the RF. I do WISH people wouldn’t applaud the coffin, though. When did this start? I cringe every time I hear it.

I don't think it's a sign of low IQ. We've been brainwashed since birth to think of the RF as special/better than us and that rather than them living a very privileged life we actually owe them because of what they've sacrificed for us. It's instilled in us that they do their 'duty' but, let's be honest, no one ever tells us what their 'duty' is.

As I was 4 in 1952, she has been on throne for most of my life, but I don't feel any compulsion to travel to see her coffin, buy a floral tribute, etc. Elizabeth II did a grand job, one which was not of her choosing, and I have enjoyed reading some of the articles on her life, many of which make social history come alive for me. I feel sad for her family, but to see those crowds waving their selfie-sticks just to be able to say "I was there" seems to show a distinct lack of respect. And don't get me started on the media coverage: over half our daily paper has been dedicated to the subject, and we never know when switching on the radio or television if it will be a re-hash of the previous day's comments. I don't know which aspect of the events hasn't been covered at least twice! Sorry to be so negative about a Great British icon, and I was sad to hear the news of her passing. Rant over!

Yes Barmey, I enjoy the pomp and ceremony too but get bored with people saying the same old stuff and people in the crowds being interviewed - Why are you here? Well I think we all know the answer.

vampirequeen. Funerals are going ahead here in my part of Scotland. They have not been banned.

GSM I just love to watch the pomp and ceremony and you have to admit we do it well, but I get fed up with all the chat and interviews with people saying the same thing over and over again but in a. Different way. Mind you when the king of Cambodia they certainly did pomp and even built the funeral pyre on the green right outside our hotel we fortunate to be there over 2 years.

That is exactly how I feel.
Thank you for saying it so well.

I would not choose to queue and have not been watching the events on TV very much either. I do understand that people respond differently to such events and that many feel a need to pay their respects in person to someone who has delivered on her promise in a role she never chose, been a figurehead for so many years.

However, I do have a major problem with the potential impact on individuals as a consequence of decisions taken by various organisations in the light of the unexpected respectful Bank Holiday. Evidently (press reports) Cancer consultations and operations are being cancelled; many other hospital appointments are being cancelled. Businesses closing, who have staff on zero hours contracts are not paying them for those missed hours, (Press reports) caused through no fault of their own! (Zero hours contract work often means seriously struggling to make ends meet!!) So many other examples

In the meantime, it seems that Parliament is in recess ....and at the moment intends to stay in recess until after the Party Conferences, apart from 2 days. There is a desperate rush to get the very urgent plans re Energy through in those 2 days. Everything else appears to be on hold!!

I honestly can't get my head round prioritising respect and mourning and Party Conferences over living people who are seriously struggling and in a total panic about how they are going to survive the winter!

And I am not anti-royalist!

I went to see the QM laid in state as we were in London and I was fortunate enough to be at Diana’s funeral as a guest of the British Army.

We discussed going to London but decided against, I’m no longer able to deal with crowds and the security risk concerns me.

We made do with a proclamation in a local market town and we have enjoyed the TV coverage.

I find it hard to comprehend someone queuing for days to pay their respects.

Barmeyoldbat

Agree with you Bluebelle, why couldn’t BBC2 and another channel done the coverage and leave BBC1 alone, also the blinking news, we put up with death all day then the news comes on and the only thing happening in the world is the death of the Queen. Sick of it all

I know, Barmey, programmes I wanted to watch have been cancelled - but they will be rescheduled. Do you have no interest in this great historical moment and the accompanying ceremonies, which the public have never seen before and we may never see again? I by no means watch it all, I have things to do, but I am conscious that this is something that may never happen again in my lifetime.

I'm pleased to see so many people turning out, but I really wouldn't be one of them unless the coffin was being driven through my road. I don't have the stamina. It's gratifying to see on tv people for whom the Queen meant a great deal, and interesting to follow the proceedings, something not seen since I was a year old and which I may never see again. I agree with Beckett that it would not be proper for the coffin to be carted around the country as might have been done many centuries ago. It's wonderful to have television nowadays to be able (if you wish) to see ceremonies which in years gone by would only have been witnessed by a very privileged few. I think few would deny that when it comes to pomp and ceremony, we lead the world