The Royal Representative

Archive for the ‘Controversy’ Category

Nice Work!
Relations between Sarah Ferguson and the Royal Family have thawed so much that she has enjoyed a week’s holiday at Balmoral. Sarah was even asked to stay on longer than planned. Good on you, Fergie!

Who Spilled?
The Duke of Edinburgh has drawn up “secret plans” (Daily Mail’s words) for a private funeral at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, and has declined the offer of a State service. A unique feature of Prince Philip’s service – codenamed ‘Forth Bridge’ by Palace officials – is that the Duke, the oldest serving Royal consort in British history, has requested his coffin be borne by the same gun carriage used to carry Victoria at her funeral in 1901.

If it’s code-named and referred to as secret, then why is it in a newspaper?? I’ve never understood why the media does that. Also, I don’t want to think of Philip dying yet. It’s depressing!

Amanda Platell of the Daily Mail has given Prince William some useful career advice: “Get a proper job”.

Ms. Platell, if you remember, was the columnist who roundly criticized Princess Beatrice’s 18th birthday party. She was in a snit about the Princess and her guests dressing up as Victorian belles and gentlemen, declaring their outfits a “disaster”.

Complaining about someone’s themed birthday party doesn’t strike me as a “proper job” itself, but I do think Amanda Platell’s opinion is actually valid in this case. She has simply added yet another voice to the masses of people - monarchists included - who decry princely playboy behavior. William’s stints in the Army are not viewed as serious or earnest enough, and this is exactly what I had hoped to avoid. Instead, he should have returned to university.

I wrote a letter to Charles’ advisors, saying that Prince William should be seen furthering his education and taking his future role more seriously. Being a part of the military is admirable, but since William is the direct heir to the throne, he won’t see much action. It does help the prince gain an understanding of what goes on in military life and he gets to meet all kinds of people, but it is political science and international relations that are crucial right now. At least in my opinion.

There is so much turmoil in the government and fuss surrounding the monarchy that William needs to learn how to survive it all. The Queen can teach him quite a bit, but he also needs an official diplomatic education to deal with the cut-throat tactics out there.

My response from the advisors? Barely a paragraph. Clarence House treated me as if I was a sixteen year old girl who had written a gushy fan letter about William instead.

Slightly insulted, I realized that I would just have to sit back and watch the Prince’s official life roll out before the media for better or for worse. Not like I really expected them to take my ideas on board or invite me over for tea and a brainstorm, but I thought their letter would be a bit more… responsive. Instead, I got the old brush-off. Queen Noor’s people were a lot more friendly!!

Oh well… at least I’m not going to be on the royal blacklist for an article entitled “Wills must get a job or he’ll end up like Charles”. You mean the same Charles who has the Prince’s Trust, Duchy Originals, etc. etc.? Yeah, please don’t end up successful, William!

Thanks to The Monarchist
The Daily Mail Article in full

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The Queen’s visit to Turkey with Prince Philip
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People over at OurKingdom are debating about the fate of the UK. Some are suggesting an Anglo-Celtic bloc within the European Union (should the UK join), and refer to this possibility as a “decentralised Albion, with a Council of the Isles”.

Others are speaking up saying, “For England, a “confederated” United Kingdom would be nothing but gain. The obsession among Westminster politicians with keeping the union is archaic … An autonomous Scotland, a country as big as Denmark, should liberate the English parliament to enjoy a politics freed of the alien encumbrance of Scottish seats … It should also liberate England to consider its localism, its neglected Anglo-Saxon history and culture, without having to “take into account” the Scottish (or Irish or Welsh) ingredients of that curious vacuity, Britishness.”

Take a look around OurKingdom or start a debate in the British American Group

Prince Charles hates bland, and does his best to ensure that his organic products - and the method with which they are created - are unique and environmentally friendly. Mass production and chains horrify His Royal Highness.

Charles predicts with glaring terror that small farmers may be “driven off their land [by global conglomerates] into unsustainable, unmanageable, degraded and dysfunctional conurbations of unmentionable awfulness”.

With that mouthful, the Prince proclaims that “If that is the future, then count me out.”

For more, click here for the Telegraph’s article.

HRH The Princess Royal was both chastised and praised for wearing a dress that was last seen at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer.

The still-slender Princess Anne was even wearing the same hat she wore at her brother’s wedding! Naturally the newspapers picked up on this immediately. HRH simply responded that the Queen had brought her up not to be wasteful.

“A good suit goes on forever. If it is properly made and has a classic look you can go on wearing it ad infinitum. Economy is bred into me. My parents believe that things are not to be wasted. That lesson does last.”

Which, along with being able to still fit into a 27-year-old dress, does deserve kudos. I’m finding it hard to fit into things that I wore last year, so I can’t even begin to imagine 27 years. Good on her, I say. It’s not as if the Princess has worn it the last five weddings. Let her live!

Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, has also been noted to wear ‘recycled’ outfits. The dual HRHs are very much aware, I’m sure, that the action of wearing the same outfit, even twice, is a double-edged sword. They are being cost-effective yet fashion declares a new outfit for a different occasion! Either they’re dowdy or they’re spending too much money, down with the monarchy! Boo hiss, etc.

Anyway, Kate Middleton caused another distraction with her pretty outfit and lack of royal boyfriend. Will they be engaged soon? God I hope so. This speculation is killing me.

Ingrid Seward is livid about Anthony Armstrong-Jones collaborating on a book about his life. Well, his love-life, that is. In her monthly letter in Majesty Magazine, Ms. Seward wonders what good it will do the Earl of Snowdon to discuss his private matters with the world, and possibly embarrass the Queen.

I wonder this myself. Is this something trashy, or is it a psychological treatise that the Earl simply must unleash? Stay tuned…

Next at RoyaltyNow!: Historian Michael K. Jones thinks the Queen isn’t really the Queen. Find out why next time….

Upcoming Book Review: Tiaras - Past and Present by Geoffrey Munn

This may shock you, but our eloquent and ebullient president has a penchant for street slang. When’s the best time to use it? During official functions with other world leaders! The occasion was the first day of the Group of Eight summit in Japan. What better place?

A televised clip of the event showed President George W. Bush casually wrapping an arm around Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua and calling for Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s attention.

“Yo, Harper,” Bush called. “The president of Nigeria!”

Two years ago, Bush famously offered the same greeting to the former British prime minister, Tony Blair, at the G8 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Opposition members in the Canadian Parliament suggested this particular friendly greeting to Harper was indicative of close ties between the Bush administration and the Harper government. I think it’s more along the lines of an idiot who can’t grow up and take anything seriously for even five minutes. With all the supposed wealth and breeding in that family, could they not find time to dump junior in an etiquette class?

Only a few more months… only a few more months….

[Globe and Mail]

Queen Elizabeth II has stripped Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s strongman president for nearly 30 years, of his honorary knighthood as a “mark of revulsion” at the human rights abuses and “abject disregard” for democracy over which he has presided, the British Foreign Office announced Wednesday. [IHT.com]

I suppose Mugabe’s another one who wants to replace the British monarchy with a republic.