The Queen Out Riding.

GreenGran78 exactly no amount of money or privileges can guarantee a loving and respectful relationship lasting a lifetime ??

Our local news featured a couple celebrating their 80th wedding anniversary, last night. Aged 98 and 99 they were obviously still deeply in love. They have weathered tough times, but have obviously enjoyed their lives.

If I was going to envy someone, it would be someone like them.

An Elected Head of State is democracy.

It's good Queen can still ride at her age well she has had the best of everything in the land.

Monarchy, on the other hand, precludes equality even as a pretense. There is nothing remotely egalitarian about a system that guarantees, by law, that one family will receive taxpayer-funded grants, literal palaces in which to live, special protections from criminal justice, barely disguised political influence, and the deference of elected politicians. The whole point is that some people are born different—and better—than others. This is a repugnant doctrine.

The state-sponsored extravagance of royalty would be bad enough if members of the Royal Family could be trusted to set a serene example for “ordinary” people to follow. It is made much worse by the fact that, in reality, the royals behave badly. As the great constitutional theorist Walter Bagehot once wrote, “a constitutional prince is the man who is most tempted to pleasure, and the least forced to business.” After all, an idle mind is the devil’s playground—and members of the Royal Family are idle as an occupation.

Prince Charles’s private organisation, the Duchy of Cornwall, is exempt from corporation and capital gains tax, the 18 royals officially classed as “working” each cost the taxpayer an average of £19m a year.

A life of ‘privilege’ as you put it, PaddyAnne, doesn’t guarantee a long and healthy life.

Don’t be so bitter and nasty.

None of us is equal even at birth. My grandchildren are having an excellent start in life compared with their peers. It’s not all about money. It’s because their parents prioritise their health, education and behaviour above all other considerations.

I don’t know if anyone else has heard this, but apparently the Queen has been a life long advocate (and user) of homeopathy. As a staunch advocate of it myself, it could explain her good health and longevity.

Stop it Callistemon! It just makes me think of things I won't see this year and maybe never will again.

It could be all that olive oil.
Delicious

Cambia possibly because Crete has never become an industrialised nation where workers were exploited and used to line the pockets of others. It is in fact a hotbed of revolution and individualism a place everyone from the Italians, the Germans and the Greek monarchy has found hard to rule. The Greeks of course abolished their monarchy in 1973 so maybe that helped as well.

I have heard a theory that, if all the wealth in the world was shared equally, in a very short time we would be back to rich and poor.

I doubt the Queen has had many falls in her equestrian life. She has always stuck to hacking obviously mindful of her position. Unlike Princess Anne, Zara and the Wessexes, she probably thinks a hat is an unnecessary precaution. Not to mention the damage to her hairstyle.

My rather unprivileged relative is years older than HM and older even than Philip.
It is down to your genes and possibly not smoking.

Ok so why where we live in Crete are some of the healthiest people the oldest? They don’t have a lot of money? Possibly something to do with physical hard work, sunshine and eating fresh food. Why are some people so bitter, you don't have to be rich to be healthy. Perhaps it is because they are happy and not bitter?

I am 63 , not ridden a horse for years but have promised myself a ride on a lead rein . Plus have had back surgery . It is not that expensive to go out for an hours hack ! You can borrow hats etc . You will feel lie a queen on a horse lol

From sunny/hot, mid-Wales, God Bless the Queen. Am not a Megan fan. Poor choice of Harry's.

I would be riding, but he went to the Happy Hunting Ground.

Our Queen has my admiration and respect. She certainly hasn't had her troubles to seek with her various childrens' foibles. I'm sad for her in that. If I had in-house problems I would be able to limit the sharing. Not her, and she manages to put such a brave face on the public criticism of those she loves dearly. I'm somewhat ambivalent as to the others. Think I would be happy if they just gradually all faded into the ether without sensation but that's not going to happen. 67 official years on the job today. Now....there's a record. Bravo!

//Paddayanne Incredible that a life of privilege can mean you reach old age a swell as she has.....shame so many barely make it to retirement in my part of the world.I'd guess hard work,poor diet , bad housing conditions are just a co incidence? And people STILL think this kind of class system is OK?//

It’s not OK but it’s hard to sort! To my knowledge there has never been a society without a class system. It’s part of human nature.

I think it’s possible to admire the Queen as well as wanting good opportunities and living conditions for all. It’s not the Queen’s fault that some people are poor and deprived. She has done her best to serve the nation.

I haven’t read the whole thread so sorry if someone already said any of that.

The only thing I would swap with the Royal family is their immediate access to top medical attention; not for me but my family. I would not want the rest of it and what it comes with.
Many monarchs in history gave in to the excesses that were available to them and ended up with poor health which included nasty diseases. The Queen has not. I imagine she mounts her horse inside the stables having a contraption specially adapted for it, assisted by a couple of trusted grooms. Henry VIII had a hoist .
Good luck to her. Not an easy job.

It isn't only 'privileged' people who live to a good age - plenty of 'ordinary' people do as well. I believe you make your own 'fortune' in life - DH & I were in very bad financial trouble a few years ago, due to the dishonesty of a couple of family members. I'd wake up at night & worry - but we (literally) worked our way out of it. If you don't like living under a monarchy - emigrate to a republic!

I worked in a care home for many years and noticed people who got near or to 100 years ofd age had mixed life experiences . Some had had a life of ease with "servants" and others had had hard lives working at work and home . It didn,t seem to predict outcome

All the good genes, privileged life, first class health care won’t help you if you smoke, drink and eat to excess, don’t move etc. GeorgeVI proved that.

Why do people worship money? Why do people envy folks who have more than them? How does it make them happy to moan about it? I never cherrypick others lives - they have problems, same as me - they’re just different ones.

Just to say I tried riding for the first time in my forties. I had to climb on a mounting block, put a foot in a stirrup and swing my other leg over the horse's rear end. I managed the first part, but just could not get my leg over the creature's huge high bum.... Finally did, and had a short ride around, the horse being lead by the riding instructor. It occasionally turned its head around and showed its teeth at me. I don't know whether that was a threat or a laugh. It was even worse trying to get off. Took ages before I could get my leg over its rear. The Queen has always ridden and is obviously very supple. I never bothered again.

By the way, the Queen's father and sister were both heavy smokers. Smoking does not help with your health.

For sure the Queen has privilege and wealth and, together with luck and good genes, it all contributes to her wellness in old age But I wouldn't swap places. I like my anonymity and privacy.

anniversary of coronation today 2 june 1953 67 years

Most reports of the Queen appear to say that she lives a fairly abstemious life. Yes, she goes to state/ official dinners, but even then does not over indulge, and they are part of her job. Yes, she has access to the best of medical attention, but historically it would appear she has not often had to recourse to them. There are those who say the Royal family do little, but in normal times, if you read the Court Circular in some newspapers, you see that they are working, it just doesn’t get reported in the newspapers. The Queen deals with state papers every day. I agree that she has cut down on her work lately, but the Royal family as a general rule don’t have the privilege the rest of us enjoy of opting out of engagements at the last minute if we don’t feel up to it. How many 94 year olds are still working part-time?
I think that Charles is quite right to slim the family down. I think it would be far better to stop with the Cambridge children As far as I am concerned, Harry has opted out. Good luck to him, but don’t involve us. The only ones who could be considered an asset, are Princess Anne and Sophie Wessex, as for the rest............