The Queen and dedication to duty in the 21st Century

No one is making the Queen do anything she doesn't want to do, the other royals will do a lot more as she does less. If she becomes totally incapacitated then maybe the Regency Act will go before Parliament and be acted upon, but even then she would still be Queen until she dies, just like George 111rd. This is how we do things in this country which has nothing to do with the country falling to bits or not. A good proportion of people do not want the Queen to abdicate unless that is HER wish, and I doubt very much that it is.

Yes under no circumstances look at what other countries do or even think about why we do something.

Surely the Queen is gradually moving into retirement anyway. She doesn’t make overseas visits now and other members of the RF have stepped up in her place both abroad (in normal times) and in the UK. The only difference would be in the title, really. Queen Mother was her own mother’s choice and I think dowager is a horrible term, so gloomy.

Maybe with the passing of the DoE there will now be talks about how the RF proceeds from here. Old monarchs, if we continue as a monarchy, are going to be the norm in future, I suppose, given how the average human life span has extended in recent decades.

Richard 11 was murdered, the Queen of Scots was a Scottish Queen before the joining of the crown and James 11 was thrown out against his will, he did not abdicate. There have been six murders but only one voluntary abdication. The Queen isn't being forced to do anything and the majority of us are perfectly happy and proud of our RF exactly the way they are and don't need any examples from Europe.

Take it up with the Palace Alegrias ?

She is not going to abdicate, that’s it.

The monarch is central to government in this country in that it is necessary for that person to sign every law, I believe. So let's not talk about smiling and waving and meeting distinguished visitors, any member of the family can do that. Apparently the job is much harder than that, I've been told.

So, that person has to always be reading and signing, reading and signing, reading and signing. You can't pass it on to another family member. If she passes that on, she's either no longer monarch, by definition, or she needs a regent. So she's never going to be able to put her feet up, ever. Unless she loses her marbles. God help her.

I just cannot see the problem with The Queen continuing to be Monarch until she dies?

Senior Members of the Royal Family can carry out her day to day duties whilst she puts her feet up at home (whichever one she chooses)

Not in the UK Alegrias and many countries haven’t given their royal families much choice in the matter.

If you are brought up to be the King or Queen then you probably do want it and consider it to be a duty that you do it well.It comes with great wealth and privileges attached.

Why sad? Nobody is forced into the job, there is always a family member waiting in the wings eagerly, next in line.

That doesnt answer why it's a good thing though, it's just the rules of succession, this is what I mean about just accepting something because it's always been that way without any critical thinking about why this in place.

maddy That is what is likely happening even now ( PC taking over more and more duties) but they don’t call it ‘retiring’ for the Queen, because the monarch doesn’t retire.

That's really sad, I think Lemon Those born to it have no choice at all and have to follow the path ordained for them by tradition. And if you don't like it, it can pass to some other poor soul until we find someone who'll take it on. Its no way to run a country....

And actually, many monarchs say "I'll do it till it suits me". There have been lots of examples on this thread already.

It’s how the rules of succession work Galaxy each monarch doesn’t say ‘ I will do it as long as it suits me’.
If you had been in line for the throne it’s unlikely that you would have run screaming from it, because you would have been steeped in the life and tradition etc but even if you had done, your brother or sister would have quickly stepped in to do it ( gladly I should imagine)? Harry was able to run away screaming because he was never likely to have been close to becoming King.

If she wants to remain Queen until the day she dies then good luck to her.

Why is it nonsense lemongrove. We were just discussing on another thread the issue with tradition and how people blindly follow it without questioning the purpose and usefulness of the tradition.

I agree with Alegrias. I think the Queen (given that she’s unlikely to abdicate) could very easily retire, but remain Queen, whilst Prince Charles could take over from her and do everything she did for a few years. I feel a bit sorry for him really, waiting so long for the ‘top’ job.

Greyduster

She won't abdicate, no matter what people feel or don't feel about whether it's sensible for her to continue at such a great age. As Grandma70s said, she took an oath to serve until she dies and she didn't take it lightly.

Yes, exactly.

Well only if you believe duty is the be all and end all. Which I dont. I would have run screaming from that life as well and I am not American. It's probably indicative of common sense.

The monarch stays in that role usually until they die, it doesn’t matter how old they are or how long their reign has been.Queen Victoria had a very long reign and didn’t hand over to her son.There is no reason to expect that the present Queen will abdicate simply because she is now old.It’s entirely up to her, and if her general health is good, and mentally is competent as well, then she will carry on in the role until she dies.
Cries of ‘ oh go on! Give Charles a go’ or ‘let William do the job now’ is nonsense.

Ngaio1

HM will never abdicate - think of the fuss when her Uncle did. (Strange - there was an American woman involved it that!) It will be that she is seen less and less and |Charles will take on more of her role. She was brought up to believe in duty. (Americans please note.).

What an unnecessary nasty little dig.

I just googled the coronation oath. Nothing about serving till she dies that I can see. I think using that as an excuse to explain why she's still there is a convenient excuse for some of us.

What will happen if she gets very doddery, looses her marbles or get very ill in her final years? My guess is her “duties” will be done by someone else, she will be kept in seclusion so no one gets a glimpse of her but she’ll still retain her title. When she dies we’ll have no telly for 2 weeks and a bank holiday for the funeral ( before someone tells me I’m being morbid - her funeral has been meticulously planned for years).,

And it will continue, so Charles will be old when he gains the throne and will want a good shot at it. So we will all be saying poor William, all that waiting around etc etc. On and on.

She won't abdicate, no matter what people feel or don't feel about whether it's sensible for her to continue at such a great age. As Grandma70s said, she took an oath to serve until she dies and she didn't take it lightly.

Is there anyone who would do a better job than the Queen despite her 95 years? Anyone with a stronger sense of commitment and duty come what may?
I don’t think so.