The Queen…

Your opinion Maizie.

The broadcasters were reading out the tributes as they came in. I imagine all sorts of people will be making them. Some of those people will have had less attractive traits than others, just as some of the people the Queen had to meet did. Is it the broadcaster's job to decide which get read out and which don't?

The tribute was not about that man. It is about what he said about the Queen. The fact that it was about the Queen is surely the important point at this moment and on this particular thread?

volver

I know that people think I am an argumentative so-and-so, but I would like to think that I have a sense of propriety. There is a line not to cross, and in a thread talking about the passing of such an important historical figure I don't believe its appropriate to cheer on the fact it will make your day easier or complain about there being nothing on telly.

Well said Fanny.

Agree. Plus there’s another thread about cancellations etc for posters to express “other” views.

volver ?

Aveline

I'd just like to note that the Grans who most often post regarding their non monarchist views are notably holding back. I'd like to thank them for respecting the situation and our feelings.

I think Republicans vary in the strength of their feelings. As one myself, I have to say the Queen has been a 'constant' throughout my whole life... constant in the sense that she didn't change according to fad or fancy.
I attended a school that was founded by royalty - the Queen Mother visited us on a couple of occasions. The royal institution has been a backdrop to my life. As it has to many others.
I looked at the photo' of Elizabeth in a sitting room in Balmoral waiting for Liz Truss - patently frail and unwell, but with her unmistakeable smile, and felt very sad.
Discussions about the future of the monarchy are for another time.
This is the end of an era. RIP Elizabeth II.

volver I agree with you

In 2016 I watched the funeral of Simon Peres on tv just because Barack Obama was giving an eulogy. Obama said that the 3 greatest people he'd met during his life were Peres, Nelson Mandala and the Queen.

That comment, combined with the tribute from Macron and other world leaders shows how important the Queen was to the history of our nation as a symbol of stability. Her death has occurred at a time when the country seems to be disintegrating and I am glad that she is no longer here to see it.

A little bit of light relief - an article in the Guardian about the Queen and her corgis/dorgis

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/sep/09/queens-elizabeth-corgis-tested-palace-loyalties

Plus some lovely pix.

I saw a lovely photo of her on tv last night. She was dressed in lilac and looking up to the right, with a mischievous smile on her face.
Did anyone else catch it?
All the other recent photos reduced me to tears, but this one made me laugh.

A good, sensitive post Dickens

That’s a really lovely article Dinahmo
Thank you

A lovely article Dinahmo. We've had corgis in our family and they were lovely dogs. No nipping or biting though. I'm sure they were quite therapeutic for the Queen.

It is possible to be a Republican and still have huge respect for our Queen, and to feel very sad that she has gone.

I just want to thank the many Gransnetters who have sent messages of sympathy and condolences to me on this thread and via PMs. My mother did not die yesterday, she died very recently and her funeral will be on Monday. I apologise if I mislead posters, I did not mean to when I said my mother just died. To me she has just died and yesterday I went to see her for the final time at the funeral home. I sat and talked to her for a while for the last time. I then returned home to hear the sad news that the Queen had died and I was overcome with grief, for my mother, the Queen, and the loss of the two women who have always been there since the day I was born.
Like Dickens I’m a republican, but the Queen has been there my whole life, and our national life has been bound up in the traditions, the celebrations, and the sadnesses of the royal family. None of us can avoid this, it is part of all of us. It seems strange to me that these two women, my mother and our Queen have lived together and died together and as a result, my whole life will be changed. My mother was a great royalist all her life.
I’m not the only person by any means who has lost a family member at about the same time as our Queen has died. I have received such caring compassion from Gransnetters, let us remember together then, both the royal family as they mourn, and all the countless other families in the country, as they mourn the loss of their loved ones too at this very difficult time.

Well said Fanny

Maddyone ???

Fleurpepper

It is possible to be a Republican and still have huge respect for our Queen, and to feel very sad that she has gone.

Yes. And Peter Brookes in The Times has expressed that perfectly with this:

Just to add my gratitude to the Queen for her calm and stable presence throughout my life. I am glad the end of her life came in such a characteristically no-nonsense way and I wish both her and her family peace.

Parliament is now in session with MPs paying respect to the Queen.

King Charles is expected to meet the PM later today. He will then be making his first Broadcast to the nation at 6 pm.

I can’t stop worrying about the Queens dogs. I hope they won’t be pining for her. I wonder who will look after them. ?

I am a republican but my views are not based on antagonism towards the monarch as an individual. It's just my political opinion on the way that a modern state should function.

Whether you are a royalist or a republican, the Queen has been a constant figure in British lives for decades. Her passing marks the end of an era and it would be absurd not recognise this fact.

I am glad that she seems have gone swiftly, and hopefully without pain. Many of us know what it's like to watch a parent endure a lingering and painful terminal illness, and I am glad for her sake and her family's that she didn't have to endure that. They have my sympathy for their loss.

Amazing speech from Keir Starmer but I'm in tears again. If you haven't watched it I recommend you listen when you can.

I add my deep respect and thanks for a dedicated, dutiful, constant, long serving Queen. I send condolences to her family as they grieve. God Bless Her and may She Rest In Peace.

Public service in the public eye isn't easy despite it's [controversial] advantages/funding. Whether to have a monarchy or not is a separate matter. Now is time for humanity, support, empathy and respect for someone who was not born to be Queen but gave her life up to support this country. Her role was thrust upon her and she fulfilled it superbly.

It is a great loss. Let's acknowledge that today and in a period of mourning without digs and jabs. Time for debate later.

DaisyAnne

Amazing speech from Keir Starmer but I'm in tears again. If you haven't watched it I recommend you listen when you can.

Yes, I agree.

Sydney Opera House now

Try again