Queen Elizabeth has passed away.

[Cigar Surgeon]

Not sure what this will mean for the UK, undoubtedly this will be a day of mourning in the Commonwealth and UK.

https://www.cnn.com/uk/live-news/queen-elizabeth-health-concerns-intl-gbr/index.html

BREAKING: Queen Elizabeth II has died, Buckingham Palace announces

From CNN's Rob Picheta in London

 

(Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning British monarch whose rule spanned seven decades, died on Thursday at the age of 96, Buckingham Palace has announced.

Elizabeth ascended to the throne in 1952, on the death of her father, King George VI. She oversaw the last throes of the British empire, weathered global upheaval and domestic scandal, and dramatically modernized the monarchy.

She died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland after doctors said they had become concerned about her health on Thursday.

Elizabeth ruled over the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms, and became one of the most recognizable women ever to have lived. Her son, Charles, immediately became King upon her death.

[99call]

I'm not fond of the Monarchy in anyway shape or form.  But she pitched in during the Blitz, and largely has not put a foot wrong.     She understood what the British public wanted from a Royal.   Be stoic, Be thankful, Be demure, Be private, and largely keep your opinions to yourself.   She got that.   As much a somebody sat in a palace could be, she was a great public servant. 

I think she can be proud of what she achieved. 

 

[tigger]

I'm not a fan of monarchy, nor government in general, but I find myself surprisingly saddened by her passing.

[BoliDan]

She was queen when Winston Churchill was PM. Let that sink in for a sec...

Maybe they can use this opportunity to abolish the crown and stop giving millions to these parasites.

No offense to her. May she rest in peace.

[SCgarman]

13 minutes ago, BoliDan said:

She was queen when Winston Churchill was PM. Let that sink in for a sec...

Maybe they can use this opportunity to abolish the crown and stop giving millions to these parasites.

No offense to her. May she rest in peace.

Certainly there are better uses for all that tax money. How about helping those truly in need? Lavish palaces, priceless jewels, gold pianos, c'mon now!

[helix]

Close one for Charles waiting to be King. Good odds she could have out lived him. She was a great lady and I am saddened by her passing . Been a constant presence in the world I know and on the throne before I was born. R.I.P.  

[99call]

1 minute ago, helix said:

Close one for Charles waitng to be King. Good odds she could have out lived him. 

Heavy hangs the head that wears the crown........Charles has always been very opinionated, and an activist in many ways..... from today on, he has the challenge of zipping his lips.  If I had to guess....he would have much preferred to let the crown go direct to William. 

[ChanceSchmerr]

As an unabashed Monarchist clearly in the minority here, I will only register my immense grief and sadness at Her Majesty's passing, and profess my great hope that our new King exceeds all of our wildest expecatations, to rule with wisdom, discretion and dignity.

God Save the King.

[mprach024]

A large worldly figure for 70 years and will now be a historical figure that won’t be forgotten any time soon.  Condolences to the people of the UK and the Commonwealth.  Not my place to have an opinion of the monarchy, it has no effect on my life.  I can just say I’m saddened to hear of this today. 

[Chas.Alpha]

Great job, Elizabeth! God Save the King.

[Ford2112]

She was pretty old...

[Ken Gargett]

2 hours ago, BoliDan said:

She was queen when Winston Churchill was PM. Let that sink in for a sec...

Maybe they can use this opportunity to abolish the crown and stop giving millions to these parasites.

No offense to her. May she rest in peace.

she did an extraordinary job in incredibly difficult circumstances. the problem for the royal family is the fruit bats that are part of the family (anyone know a family without a few of their own?). it is the harrys, andrews, fergies, markles and so on. thankfully the direct line seems less affected and seems to understand their role (remember these guys are born into it - would anyone choose to be part of it willingly - well, the fergies and markles aside).

before dubbing them all parasites, consider the role they play in the stable govt of the UK and as far as millions to parasites go, how many billions have they brought into the economy through tourism etc. far outweighs what they get (it is the money to the fringe whackos that could be far better spent). with respect, to dub them all parasites, especially at this time, is really shortsighted. the crown in the UK is not going anywhere. 

all that said, i am all in favour of a republic for australia - the problem is just what that republic will look like and until that gets sorted, we can expect to remain part of the monarchy for a very long time. as far as the republican movement in australia goes, monarchists are still pissing themselves silly over the idiocy that had the biggest tosser imaginable appointed as head of the movement. i suspect it was he who appointed himself. never has a human sought the spotlight like the great wanker. thousands keen on australia becoming a republic have shelved it until he is gone. 

[Ken Gargett]

2 hours ago, SCgarman said:

Certainly there are better uses for all that tax money. How about helping those truly in need? Lavish palaces, priceless jewels, gold pianos, c'mon now!

with respect, this is shortsighted. the crown brings an extraordinary amount into the coffers. anyone visiting london to take photos of charles and family in a nice three room flat at battersea with a guard out the front? sure, it would be hard to argue that they have the balance absolutely right but it could be far worse. 

[El Presidente]

5 minutes ago, Ken Gargett said:

with respect, this is shortsighted. the crown brings an extraordinary amount into the coffers. anyone visiting london to take photos of charles and family in a nice three room flat at battersea with a guard out the front? sure, it would be hard to argue that they have the balance absolutely right but it could be far worse. 

Unless they have spent time in the UK (and London in particular), people won't understand. 

Valued at £67 Billion, the Monarchy is Britain’s Greatest Treasure  Brand Finance estimates the capital value of the UK Monarchy as a business at £67.5bn  Monarchy’s annual contribution to the UK economy in 2017 is £1.766bn  Annual cost per head is less than £4.50 a year, equal to just over 1p a day

RIP Liz. Long innings played superbly. 

......and I am a republican 

[Ken Gargett]

those keen to redistribute the wealth, wondering if you have thought about how this would work? say we offload the art and a few of the estates. who is buying this stuff? you really want russian oligarchs owning some of the great art of britain? a few chinese billionaires picking up balmoral? elon muck taking the crown jewels on a space flight. a former president resident with his feet up at buck house? good luck. 

[Blakes]

3 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

consider the role they play in the stable govt of the UK

 

I think this aspect of constitutional Monarchy is often over looked. Anyone fancy a President Johnson, Truss, Corbyn or Starmer? In fact, any of our woeful politicians as Head of State?

Politics can become very divisive, just look at US currently. A head of state above/out of politics offers stability and unity to a country.

 

 

[Ken Gargett]

Just now, El Presidente said:

Unless they have spent time in the UK (and London in particular), people won't understand. 

Valued at £67 Billion, the Monarchy is Britain’s Greatest Treasure  Brand Finance estimates the capital value of the UK Monarchy as a business at £67.5bn  Monarchy’s annual contribution to the UK economy in 2017 is £1.766bn  Annual cost per head is less than £4.50 a year, equal to just over 1p a day

RIP Liz. Long innings played superbly. 

......and I am a republican 

could not agree more. another republican here (well, once the monumental tosser is gone). nice that someone actually did the figures rather than just made unsubstantiated claims (hey, at least those claims were right). 

as far as concerns over Charles, remember that the press is only going to cover anything ever so slightly odd or dodgy that he has said or done. no clicks in 'did his duty well', which would apply to 99.99% of his life. i think that there will be no issues at all with him as king. he has seen the example set by his mother and will continue business as usual. met him some years ago and got to chat for about 30 minutes. sure, hard to tell much on just that but he came across as a terrific bloke, certainly no dill. had opinions and was prepared to stick to them. can't have been an easy life for him. i think he will do just fine, as will william when the time comes. 

[BoliDan]

1 hour ago, Ken Gargett said:

 

before dubbing them all parasites, consider the role they play in the stable govt of the UK and as far as millions to parasites go, how many billions have they brought into the economy through tourism etc. far outweighs what they get 

I highly doubt anyone is visiting the UK for that sole purpose. When I was there, I visited Buckingham, sure. But it was not a pilgrimage to see a royal. It was to visit a world class city. 

As far as stability of government. I'm wasnt really sure what you meant. So I did some googling. I can see your point, but I still stand by my comment like a good stubborn curmudgeon.

[Ken Gargett]

1 minute ago, BoliDan said:

I highly doubt anyone is visiting the UK for that sole purpose. When I was there, I visited Buckingham, sure. But it was not a pilgrimage to see a royal. It was to visit a world class city. 

As far as stability of government. I'm wasnt really sure what you meant. So I did some googling. I can see your point, but I still stand by my comment like a good stubborn curmudgeon.

i understand where you are coming from if one looks at all this dispassionately but the world is hardly sane. there are an incredible number of people besotted with the queen and everything that goes with the crown. not to say that they are the only reason for many visiting but i have no doubt that it is a determining reason for a great many. the queen has been not far short of a tangible god to millions around the world. visiting britain to experience things royal is a very small step. millions do make that pilgrimage. 

hell, if i can go to freehold/asbury park/stone pony etc, you think millions won't do the royal thing? people are strange. i had a mate who insisted on going to bangor maine, because that was where stephen king apparently lived. sure, saw plenty of other things but that was his number one reason.

i would confidently bet everything i own that a great many people head to the UK because of the crown. the rest follows. but in a sense, that is partly supporting what i am saying. money follows into whatever the rest is. but no queen/king/crown and none of this happens. 

[Fuzz]

The Queen is dead, long live the King!

I am neither a Monarchist or a staunch Republican. I just want a stable Government that does right by the people. Liz has been a rock of stability for the UK and has pretty much done right by the people for her long reign as monarch.

[SCgarman]

34 minutes ago, Ken Gargett said:

i understand where you are coming from if one looks at all this dispassionately but the world is hardly sane. there are an incredible number of people besotted with the queen and everything that goes with the crown. not to say that they are the only reason for many visiting but i have no doubt that it is a determining reason for a great many. the queen has been not far short of a tangible god to millions around the world. visiting britain to experience things royal is a very small step. millions do make that pilgrimage. 

hell, if i can go to freehold/asbury park/stone pony etc, you think millions won't do the royal thing? people are strange. i had a mate who insisted on going to bangor maine, because that was where stephen king apparently lived. sure, saw plenty of other things but that was his number one reason.

i would confidently bet everything i own that a great many people head to the UK because of the crown. the rest follows. but in a sense, that is partly supporting what i am saying. money follows into whatever the rest is. but no queen/king/crown and none of this happens. 

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne are relocating back there. Perhaps a bigger reason to visit now. Apparently they have had enough of the people's republik of Kalifornia, LOL. Ozzy and the boys in Sabbath actually created a whole new genre of music back in 1970. 

[LLC]

6 hours ago, 99call said:

I'm not fond of the Monarchy in anyway shape or form.  But she pitched in during the Blitz, and largely has not put a foot wrong.     She understood what the British public wanted from a Royal.   Be stoic, Be thankful, Be demure, Be private, and largely keep your opinions to yourself.   She got that.   As much a somebody sat in a palace could be, she was a great public servant. 

I think she can be proud of what she achieved. 

 

Well said. She had quite a run. 

[Duxnutz]

Aweful news despite the knowledge this day would come. I wake up in Japan to a very somber day. She had a good innings and will be missed, hopefully Charles can pull it together. 
 

 

[BoliDan]

2 hours ago, El Presidente said:

 

Valued at £67 Billion, the Monarchy is Britain’s Greatest Treasure  Brand Finance estimates the capital value of the UK Monarchy as a business at £67.5bn  Monarchy’s annual contribution to the UK economy in 2017 is £1.766bn  Annual cost per head is less than £4.50 a year, equal to just over 1p a day

When we break down taxe allocation for something, per head, everything seems fairly cheap. 4.50 every person is a huge amount going to one family. Considering how rich they are and how much they spend abroad, I just don't get it. 

[Ken Gargett]

19 minutes ago, BoliDan said:

When we break down taxe allocation for something, per head, everything seems fairly cheap. 4.50 every person is a huge amount going to one family. Considering how rich they are and how much they spend abroad, I just don't get it. 

it does not go to one family in the sense that they are padding the cayman account. that would include all of the expenses of maintaining the crown and everything associated with it.

what you suggest would be like saying that the US president gets X billion a year. they have a salary of $400K i believe. but security costs and the costs of running the white house were (this was from a 2016 report so it won't have gone down) $1.4 billion. no one is suggesting that all goes to the president - just as not everything spent on the royal family goes to the queen. toss in travel, staffing, lord knows what else. it isn't costing americans any less than it costs the brits to cover their head of state.

and remember, ex-presidents can make squillions from book deals, speaking tours, consultancies. crown gets none of that. but then, while in 'office', like US presidents, they are hardly forking out for anything.