Queen Elizabeth II, the UK's monarch for the past 70 years, has died aged 96 https://t.co/nuFdc3PV49— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) September 8, 2022
Figure while seemingly the rest of the world is talking about it, might as well bring it up in here as well.
She was been Queen for around 30% of the lifetime of the United States, which is pretty crazy to think.
[mod edit: corrected birth year]
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She had a heck of a run but was not able to achieve her goal of outliving Charles who will now be King.
Maybe they should make Nick Saban king to resurrect another dynasty
I laughed way too hard at this response. 🤣
But frankly, Kirby would be Smart to take the throne away from Saban.
Got a snicker at the thought of him sitting in Westminster Abbey being coronated with a Coca Cola bottle in front of him and looking very annoyed to be there.
That US stat is crazy!! May she rest in peace. Sounds like she was a wonderful Lady.
We actually get to see a royal transfer of power for the first time since we lost the ACC title to Clemson in 2011.
There's gonna be a lot of disappointed people who think transfers of power are like Game of Thrones or any other historical fantasy
Harry and Markel ride in from Casterly Rock with the Golden Company to take over?
*edit* Title has been fixed and my OCD has been satiated. Shout out, VTGuitarMan
Yeah I thought she was born in the 20's. Idk.
I fixed it.
While this is certainly a newsworthy event, please remember that TKP is not generally a forum for breaking news or discussing it. I have seen much praise and criticism of the Queen on social media and I remind everyone that such discussions should not spill over here.
Regardless, a family and many nations are mourning. Condolences to the Royal Family on their loss.
Agreed. I have no idea why this is a post/thread on the key play. This has nothing to do with VT/Sports. I know we start some threads on entertainment related topics but this doesn't seem to tick that box.
I really don't understand the fascination with the British Royal family that some Americans have. Oh well.
You can thank Disney and all their princesses. Generations of Americans were raised to revere royalty. Don't underestimate the underlying messages of the media you (and/or your kids) consume. All those Disney movies had kids dreaming of being or meeting princes/princesses. The Monarchy has been romanticized by Disney for decades. It's not really a mystery.
Sure, but the Disney of the last decade has been far more about empowerment.
Frozen even makes fun of the true love's kiss.
My 6 yr old daughter was baffled by the ending of Snow White. "He just kissed her?! That's stupid."
I'm not denying that. But since at least the '40s until relatively recently Disney created a fetishization of royalty. Impacting generations of Americans. Even as the shift began in the late 90s and early aughts there were still millions upon millions of Americans subliminally sold on the idea that royalty should be idolized. Your kids aren't part of the millions of Americans who tuned in to watch Harry's wedding.
Are you really trying to blame Disney with human's fascination with royalty?
Royalty is what people had before the Kardashians, movie stars, and professional athletes.
I don't care about Disney one way or the other, but your take seems strange.
People have literally been worshipping royalty (emperors/kings/queens/chiefs/sultans/et all) for thousands of years. Did Disney popularize worshipping celebrities as well?
It's part of the human condition. People idolize those they perceive to be "better" than them. It's how you get reality TV stars as...I'm gonna stop there so I don't break the CGs.
Disney didn't focus on royalty because of any other agenda than "make money" because that's what audiences wanted.
The question was why are Americans so fascinated by the British Royal family. My answer is Disney. I'm not making any political statements here about Disney. I'm not saying what Disney does or has done is good or bad. I'm just saying that Disney movies from about the 40s through the 90s painted royalty in a very positive light and that might be why generations of Americans have a fascination with the British Royal family.
I also don't have a strong opinion on whether Americans' fascination with the British Royal family is good or bad. I think it just is. I don't care about the Kardashians. I never have been interested and likely never will be. I don't think people who are interested are any better or worse than me. They find it interesting and I don't. I don't care. Similarly, I don't really care whether people are fascinated with Royal families or not.
The fascination with royalty didn't start with Disney. Even for Americans.
People have always been fascinated by power, wealth, beauty, and celebrity. The royals often have all of those. If anything, Disney reflects societal values, but isn't the cause. These days, Disney reflects female empowerment and diversity.
I simply disagree with your assessment. Disney has nothing to do with why Americans (or anyone else for that matter) are interested in the British royal family. Plenty of counties around the globe that have the same fascination that didn't see a Disney movie until the 80s if not later.
Plenty of films about kings and queens and princesses that are not related to the Mouse. People just have a fascination there...it's how kings and queens became a thing in the first place. Otherwise we'd all be an anarchic-syndaclist commune. One where we all take turns as a sort of executive officer of the week.
Off the top of my head:
1. See my post below for why I care about the royal family (My 98-year old Mom is a WWII war bride from England.).
2. Our history as a nation is very connected to that of England. They have often been the first nation to back us in various crisis.
3. Add to that the fairy tale fascination with Princess Diana's life and death.
If anyone is wondering, we now have King Charles.
Prince William is next in line, followed by his 3 children: George, Charlotte & Louis
Then we get to Prince Harry. Imagine being an heir to the throne, only to have 3 kids under 10 in your way.
Harry already abdicated from the Royal family, so he's not in line at all anymore.
He is still 5th in line because he did not abdicate.
Source
Harry is out. He gave that up some time ago
Maybe I'm in the minority, and I mean no offense by this, but.... why do we/people care? I know they are a monarchy which is rare nowadays, but I can't fathom why anyone outside of the UK would lose sleep over this.
Maybe I'm ignorant/naïve, but I saw the news title of her passing, and just shrugged my shoulders and said "ok"
Got no issues with people on this side of the pond mourning her passing. Her death is a pretty big deal.
Now, that being said, apply what you said to virtually every other piece of news regarding the British Crown (i.e. Weddings, births, moving to the U.S.) and I'm with ya.
Yea I am not here to say I think/speak for everyone, cause I don't. If you care about it, ok great, but I just never understood the fanatics of people for things you mentioned, weddings, births, people moving over here, their opinions on US politics, etc.
You're largely preaching to the choir.
My point is simply that, in this particular case (and would add Princess Diana passing), those arguments don't hold a fraction of the water they do in all the others.
When Princess Diana died, did anything really change or be effected in a negative way in other countries outside of UK that was so apparent or impacting? I mean that with the upmost respect btw. I honestly don't know (part of which is I don't care enough tbh, but maybe that's my ignorance)... I am going to assume after all the viewings/memorial services for the Queen, life will move on with little to no change. There's going to be a transition in "power" and then people in the UK will be worshipping them.
Like, the only times I hear about Princess Diana's death nowadays is when someone makes a documentary on her life.
Princess Di did charity work all over the world. Just sayin'.
I'm just pointing out that she was much more than a pretty face wearing a tiara.
Oh yea for sure. Definitely knew that about her. Seemed like a damn good and nice human. But I guess I was more merely speaking about foreign policy since it seems like most world leaders paid their respect (like they are going to do for the Queen). I know they aren't the UK's government entity, but when she unfortunately passed, did anything get effected in a negative way that we still see today? Or did life just continue on normally? (And I don't mean that in slight, I'm honestly curious.)
There were new laws passed against Paparazzi's as they instigated the chase and crash. So the celebrities got a little more privacy in their lives supposedly.
She was universally respected around the globe by world leaders. As a lover of history, I'm blown away by the legacy of world leaders she worked with in her time as Queen (Churchill, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Thatcher, and the list goes on an on). She also really helped to strengthen relations with the US. Many are not too keen on the soap opera that is following royal drama, scandals, etc. But although some in her family had that, she was never one for sensationalism and was always stately and graceful in her role. This is the first transfer of the throne since Truman was president and Stalin was in power in the USSR. Pretty crazy the connection to history she had.
I think that hits the head on the nail for me... The soap opera for the dumbest things is what makes me care less and less as time goes by.
Many Americans, myself included from both parents, are descended from ancestry of the United Kingdom and have great fondness for the traditions and history of that great nation. Queen Elizabeth II, by most accounts, was a woman of great integrity and love for her people. She was an example of selfless leadership in a world that is sorely lacking in such examples. She was deeply loved and respected by the vast majority of her nation's peoples, a truth which they will prove in the coming days.
That all makes sense/fair... I guess I just don't have as much of an appreciation for that kind of history as you and others do.
I don't think anyone is "losing sleep" over it, but there is no denying she was a well respected and gracious woman. It's a shame when we lose people like that on the world stage.
She provided a great sense of national pride for the people of the UK, and it's hard to overstate the sheer number of times she was involved with many historical world leaders, or simply bringing the people of her Commonwealth together in times of great importance.
We can say she wasn't a "leader" in the more contemporary sense, but I think she was more of a leader than a lot of the people we consider to be these days.
Yea that all makes sense... I am no history buff (shocker) as it seems compared to others on here. Any good person like that should be respected and mourned. I guess I won't be flocking to the tv news channel as others would, but to each their own.
This is somewhat ancillary to your point, but she was the Queen to the 15 Commonwealth realms: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and the United Kingdom.
But, yea, most of us that are not under her jurisdiction or have ties to her jurisdiction could not care less about the pageantry.
Exactly. And I think it won't be long until you see Australia, Jamaica, and a few others moving to leave the Commonwealth. They've been taking about it for awhile, and I think they do it respectfully but it seems like they have just been waiting for this at this point.
They stayed out of respect for her in many ways, but I could see it happening.
Australia has already been talking up republic. With a lot of people saying, you could have at least waited a week to bring it up.
So my interest stems from me being a history dork. The royal line goes all the way back to the very beginning of England and connects throughout Europe. Like she's related to Henry VIII and William of Normandy. All the King George's and William of Orange (the Orange line is why Dutch sports wear Orange instead of their flags colors). Idk, I think that's cool and watching them now and the succession/coronation makes me feel like I'm in medieval times while still having A/C haha.
I always found it interesting as well as that they are all of German heritage. During WWI I think King George, whatever the German Monarch was, as Czar Nicolas were all first cousins.
Kaiser Wilhelm
A lot of historical criticism that those three couldn't prevent the First World War with their influence. Also Czar Nicholas reached out to his cousin King George V for asylum after the Communist Revolution. He coldly refused due to fears that it would threaten the British Monarchy.
And many of her daughters had married other kings as well.
Queen Elizabeth was the longest reigning monarch in the history of England, and two years short of being the longest reigning monarch in the history of Europe. She was a direct descendant of Alfred the Great, England's first Monarch (871-899). Her first radio broadcast was during WWII, at the age of 14, in 1940 addressing displaced children. She held the British monarchy together through many changes for over 70 years.
RIP, Elizabeth.
I thought after last week we were done talking about the Monarchs
SMH 🤦♂️
Edit: How the hell is this NOT plaid yet? People, quit being so stingy with your fake internet delicacy points and recognize greatness when you see it.
via GIPHY
That was perfect.
And yet we are, still talking about them. One more ghost to vanquish in the coming years.
#MonarchsOnTheBrain
Spotted at Iowa State this afternoon
My girlfriend's first thought was "those poor corgis."
Like, do you think ANY 96 year old is doing the heavy lifting taking care of pets, much less a QUEEN??
Much better than my first thought, which was "so tomorrow do we fly the flag at...double staff?" Which got uproarious laughter followed by an immediate "yeah, we're all going to hell."
She actually did not have any more corgis I think. She stopped breeding them because she didn't want them to outlive her.
As of yesterday she still had 5 dogs, 2 were corgis, and they're not very old.
Poor dogs. Fly the flag at half staff for them. Double staff for the queens death. Cancels out and we fly flags normal.
Well that got dark. Love it.
Meh. I'm only interested if the next in line is decided with a battle royale.
Think you could just say battle in this context.
Perhaps even a... Royal Rumble?
I see what you did there with Davey Boy "British Bulldog" Smith in that GIF. Who is also gone. Man what has happened to my childhood??
I will say this, it'll take a long time for another monarch to oversee so many VT football wins.
That is a record that will never be broken.
My mother is 98 and is a WWII war-bride from England. She said this in a text to our family, "I am so glad she was my Queen for a while, we grew up at the same time and I always admired how she courageously faced so many personal and national difficulties. The monarchy continues. God save the King!"
God save the Queen. All Hail the King. Charles, First of his Ear Size, Inheritor of 100s of Corgis, Brother of the Unsweaty Rapist, Father of the Soon to be King and the Ginger Prince, and Father-In-law of the American Princess.
Long may you reign in your already advance age.
All kidding aside. Respect to the Queen Mum who lived through so much of the world's craziness.
I was lucky enough to sit 10 or so feet from her in 2007 when she came to Virginia. It seemed like she wasn't aging until a couple years ago. It was weird how real a possibility it was for her to outlive her son.
So what your saying is she must have recently passed on the one ring to rule them all to Charles which gave her unusually long life?
Well she had asked if she could leave the Monarchy to her grandson skipping Charles entirely. She was told no. So I think she tried to outlive him. Not sure if Charles III, is the oldest person to inherit a monarchy at 74?
And she did change a number of things, like not letting females get skipped over by males in the line of succession.
I think maybe the divorce thing as well? Like if George V had to abdicate because he wanted to marry Wallis Simpson and she was divorced. I guess that does not apply anymore because both Charles and Camilla were previously married.
Too bad it had a grandfather clause and Anne is still 16th despite being the next eldest child after Charles.
(I only learned this yesterday when looking it up to explain succession to my wife.)
She never invited me over for tea, so quite frankly, so I don't really mourn her any more than any other deceased woman who never invited me over for tea.
Inviting someone over for tea is often a euphemism for inviting one over for sex. I learned that from "The Wolf of Wall Street."
I saw that movie and don't recall that at all.
Well, she never invited me over for tea or sex, so....same deal. Her passing doesn't really affect me.
In the movie, it's not the queen, it's the Duchess of Bay Ridge (Margot Robbie) doing the inviting up for tea.
To be clear,
Margot Robbie has also never invited me up for tea or sex.
If she invites you for tea, I recommend you accept.
If Margot Robbie invited me over for a cup of stump water, I'd RSVP before the ink was dry.
🙄🙄
That's hilarious, and perhaps the most fitting tribute I've read.
That was epic and a sign of a great sense of humor and humility.
I always had the impression that she was a pleasant and friendly woman, but also one that firmly believed she had to have that classic stoicism because it's what a British monarch is "supposed to be"
That's a great story
This bitch was 96, helped hide the abuses by Andrew and the royal family is essentially a giant waste of money for England. All of these memorials and things should be for the tens of thousands who have died in Ukraine, not for this meaningless elite.
It'd be cool if they got with the times and put and end to the ridiculous monarchy.
I sympathize for her family, losing a loved one sucks. And that is about the extent of the kind words I have to say about this situation.
The way I look at it, the monarchy is basically just the British Kardashians. People who are rich because they are famous, and famous because they are rich.
right. but, rich-er and famous-er
I mean they've been doing it for just a slight bit longer
They basically already have no political power and are literally just figureheads. That said she was a figurehead for 70 years.
It's good work if you can find it. Keeping it going without blowing it is probably harder than it looks. This family has done it for over 1,000 years.
956 years.
Their line starts with William the Conqueror if I recall
Wait, I thought it was Aegon I? Oh, wrong thread.
I read somewhere that she was descended from Alfred the Great, but close enough.
It's possible. The island's population had only grown by so much since 870 when you factor in how many generations there has been
Perhaps my favorite quote that I've seen since she passed away, because A) it's clearly a tongue in cheek joke but, B) it really drives home just how many UK citizens have never known another monarch and how different things will feel to them starting today.
"They are letting a man be Queen now!? This "woke" stuff has gotten completely out of hand."
I have to say that this would make an interesting fight for power had this happened around 1350 or so. Charles, William, Harry and probably Andrew all fighting for the throne. Would make for great television.
Saw something about a Canadian wedding ceremony and they didn't know who to pledge to. Sounds like a South Park episode.
Miles Gilbert Horton is always a good choice. But I guess if they have to be a living person, Geddy Lee works
Why is this thread here?
To dare people to give a political response while attempting not to violate CGs.
Because remembering the monarchy fondly may be considered an equally political response to harsh criticism (go look at the Twitter feeds in Ireland).
This is the Off Topic forum.
Non-VT stuff gets discussed here, from movies, to video games, golf, Star Wars, etc
Since the thread hasn't been shut down, it appears folks are behaving in accordance with CGs.
This. Discussing what is a pretty significant global event (even if some folks don't think it is) seems well within the bounds of the OT forum. It's a relevant to VT sports as any video game or streaming series is.
Almost! Given that it's basically turned into a higher level discussion about the validity of having this thread exist at all, and about Disney "fetishizing" royalty (i do not think it means what you think it means dot gif), i think it's safe to say the thread here has run its course
There's a difference between discussing common interests and discussing geopolitical news or current events. I recall the thread on Notre Dame (the cathedral, not the university) fire specifically being identified by Guitarman as "this is just breaking news, it's not really a discussion about common interests" (as he did above). That's always been the differentiating factor for me, and probably a good rule of thumb for anyone posting threads here too.