The Queen and dedication to duty in the 21st Century

In other news, water is wet.

I hope her majesty has a peaceful day.

No you can't crown another monarch while the current one is still living unless that still living monarch abdicates. A regency could be put in place but needs parliamentary approval to be activated. I can't believe that all these highly educated people on here don't know that.

She’s 95 today!

No even if the Queen gets too decrepit or gaga to do anything she will still be queen. That’s how monarchy works. Charles and William will do the waving and hosting, she’ll be cosseted and well looked after.

Britain is getting a new anthem!

m.youtube.com/watch?v=fiwnqueOFDo&feature=youtu.be

I don't think the Queen will abdicate - Charles would just be seen as a substitute rather than the real king.

How could there be that massive and solemn coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey with the Queen present, or even laid-low at Windsor? If an hereditary monarchy is to mean anything, you can't pick and choose, IMO.

Anniebach

I say she has a deep faith because I believe she does have a deep faith

Fair enough but you said nobody can know her thoughts!

That was for SueDonim

No problem, I didn't express it very well!

I say she has a deep faith because I believe she does have a deep faith

Anniebach

Well said Jabberwok No one here can claim to know her thoughts. And she has a deep faith with that comes belief in the
teachings of Christ.

Sorry but if no one can claim to know her thoughts how can Jabberwok say “the queen doesn’t believe in this outdated nonsense”. And how can you say “she has a deep faith”?

Ah, I misinterpreted about Charles introducing changes! I thought you meant in everything. I think he will want to change things. He has already started implementing a slimmed down family by excluding the York girls, and of course his younger son is off the books now. I think he’ll be keen on environmental matters, though the RF will need to follow their own advice there.

A few people here might believe the Queen was chosen by God but I’ve never met anyone who thinks that IRL. If they believe anything, it’s that it’s an accident of birth (and the abdication, although given that Edward VIII had no children, she’d have been Queen eventually anyway).

It’s a shame we’re unlikely to see how George pans out, though my dds hope he’ll abdicate in favour of Charlotte.

I was thinking about things Charles could do related to the way the RF operates SueDonim. So things like limiting the number of people on the list of people supported by the public, for instance, or making them more accountable. Nothing to do with the way the country is run, of course!

I believe there are people who think there is some way that the monarch has been chosen by God. Look at this thread.

I like your idea about George, but I don't think I'll be around by then!

She certainly believes she is God’s anointed.

Which she is.

Surely the queen has been preparing Charles for the duties of
a monarch for years.

Thank you for the replies to my question. It’s interesting to ponder on the what-ifs.

I suppose one thing that might hold the Queen back from retirement is the knowledge that Charles is currently nowhere near as popular as she is. Even so, the reins will have to be handed over one day so surely she will already be priming him to take over? Queen Victoria refused to allow the Prince of Wales to prepare for the role until three years before she died but in the event he seems to have been a popular king. Did royal duties back then entail more or less than they do nowadays, I wonder?

Alegrias, what kind of changes to the country do you anticipate Charles could make? It seems an undemocratic thing to do! I’m not sure that many people today think that the Queen was ordained by God or the Church, either. Enough ‘light has been let in’ to do away with that idea!

Taking the long view, I think the British monarchy will become less prominent over time and maybe even by Prince George’s era, it will be more on European monarchy lines.

It's clearer now, Galaxy, thanks.

The expectation is written all over this thread callistemon. I wasnt talking about the Queens thoughts, whatever they may be, I was talking about the views on this thread. That this is the way it is because it's always been that way, this is the way we do things in this country. So no thinking, no questioning. I was saying no thanks to that.

I claim to recognise one of them - Crown Princess Mary of Denmark. Princess Mary is Australian and Australian magazines are full of pictures and stories if the Danish royal family and 'their' Princess.

However:
The Queen is recognised, respected, admired on a global stage. That is due to her longevity, and her unique position as our longest reigning monarch and Head of State

And Head of the Commonwealth. Some may think it an out-dated concept but countries still keep applying for membership.

No thinking no questioning, just accept, that's just not a way I want to live my life.
But no-one is expecting you to, Galaxy.
You do not know what the Queen thinks and accepts - she has instigated quite a lot of change and Charles will ensure more changes are made.

Ability of the abdicated Queen to guide Charles while he is taking his first steps as monarch; opportunity for the Queen to have an easier life if she wants one
I am sure she will ensure that Charles takes on more and more duties without her actually abdicating.

Abdication: failure to fulfil a responsibility or duty.
Of course, in this day and age, more people fail to understand the meaning of putting duty before one's own desires and keeping solemn vows that they have made.

I dont live my life that way annie that's why I am discussing whether this tradition is a good idea. Lots of people seem very uncomfortable with even discussing the issue, as Alegrias has pointed out the responses to even discussing it have been a little unpleasant.

How do you know? We will all know she is still around, she just won't be the monarch any more. She won't be like the first Mrs Rochester.

If the Queen was to abdicate it would make it difficult for Charles to be king, unless she stayed within the walls of Windsor and was never seen, never again appeared in public, never released a photograph, never attended a family event.

SueDonim, in answer to your very appropriate question.

Losses: Loss of an experienced person on the throne; actually sorry, I can't think of any others. Loss of the soft power she wields in other countries maybe? But we will lose that shortly anyway.

Gains: Ability of the abdicated Queen to guide Charles while he is taking his first steps as monarch; opportunity for the Queen to have an easier life if she wants one; signalling to the rest of the world that we are modernising our (unwritten) constitution; a more energetic HoS with the ability to start making changes in our country in his own right; recognition that the Monarch is a human and not ordained by God nor the Church, and that they represent the populace whom they serve.

That'll do to be going on with.