I lied. I had to post this before getting cracking on my U.S. government class.

The week of Dec. 24th, 2007 saw HM Elizabeth II surpass Queen Victoria to become Britain’s longest-living monarch.

It is an historic time, but also a time for criticism, apparently. At least if you’re David Starkey.

Starkey, a well-known royal historian who has been declared “The Rudest Man In Britain”, recently commented on the Queen in the Guardian.

“I think she’s got elements a bit like Goebbels in her attitude to culture,” Starkey told the republican newspaper. “…I suppose it’s this absence of any kind of, to be blunt, serious education.”

The interview with Starkey, unimaginatively titled “The Queen and I” , refers to the days of King George V who changed the family name to Windsor, shifting them away from their German connections and giving them more of an “English” look. George V’s changes helped keep the monarchy running, and Starkey insinuates that if the Queen doesn’t do something just as ground-breaking in her family, all will turn to choking dust and disappear on the wind. First up: get a “serious” education for Her Majesty.

Starkey even suggests that the monarchy should remove itself from the Church of England and – contrary to many opinions – look to Prince Charles as their best hope for survival.

Read his interview, then send me your thoughts via email or comment here at the blog!

So, is he to be called David “Snarkey” now, or do you agree with him?