I was just a few months old when Queen Elizabeth ll was crowned in 1953, so what is happening tomorrow, as I write this, is monumental for me. A once in a lifetime happening.
Unexpectedly, I watched almost all of the TV coverage of the funeral of our Queen Elizabeth ll. I found it both moving, of immense historical interest, and afterwards, I felt it satisfying that I had “contributed” to the aftermath of her passing by watching all the stuff surrounding the royal pageantry. I do not consider myself a royalist, neither am I a member of the anti-royalist society.
So, as I write this, I must surely be so excited at the prospect of seeing, for probably the only time in my life, a new monarch crowned King. Wow!
Not.
I am completely ambivalent about this coronation. We have decided, Mrs B and I, that we will have the coverage on our TV screen, but we have no intention of sitting down and following all the goings on as it happens.
For one thing, I do not have any affection for Charles’s wife Camilla. Although I admit that her transformation from the most hated member of the royal family to a mostly-excepted Queen Consort is remarkable, I see her as a family-destroying bitch who simply does not deserve to be there on this royal occasion.
Charles is a weak, feeble man, not helped at all by his wicked father, Philip, whose disgusting treatment of his son in his teens led to all this; Charles is too old, too set in his ways to make any significant difference in saving the British monarchy. I do, however, have every sympathy for his stance on environmental survival, but as King, of course, his views will hold no validity whatsoever.
How does the nation feel? Half of us are royalists, and will treat this weekend as one of the great occasions. Another half of us, mostly the younger generation, think that this is all a waste of time and money. Maybe the British Royal Family should have called it a day with the death of our Queen. God bless her. But we are British. So, God save the King………
King Charles III – the coronation: a view from Russia
The history of our own Russian monarchy was brutally interrupted in 1917 when the so-called February Revolution took place, removing Tzar Nicolas II and placing him under arrest.
Ironically, the monarchist traditions are still powerful in Russia, though, formally, it is a republic. There were centuries of authoritarian rule, and even now, any Russian ruler is perceived by many people here as a ‘tzar’. Only Mikhail Gorbachev didn’t look and behave like an emperor. As he lived his way, he lost his empire, true to the non-dictatorial game.
This long-lasting tradition of abiding by the ruler explains why Russia is still a monarchy de facto.
On the other hand, the United Kingdom is the oldest monarchy in the world, second only to Japan, as I believe.
Ironically once again, Britain’s traditions of free thinking and true civil independence formally contradict its legal state status as a monarchy. Yes, there’s a lot of glitter around the monarchist traditions: Buckingham Palace, the Beefeaters, and so on. The British people respect the monarchist exteriors; however, deep inside, they are free-minded and don’t need any ‘tzar’ to tell them what to do.
Unlike the ‘republic’ of Russia. Sometimes I think we have ‘population’, not ‘citizens.’ Sad but true.
I will think of this when watching King Charles III’s upcoming coronation. \
Joe’s busy that day
Traditions are important, they bind us to a people and place. All people, everywhere, have traditions. They are often expressed as doing certain things on certain holidays. As traditions are celebrated, year after year, the original meaning can become distorted.
However, mere distortion is not the American way. We do crap and can’t even tell you why. Take today’s coronation of King Charles as an example. No American President has ever gone to a coronation. Why? Nobody knows, on either side of the pond. But we ain’t breakin’ no traditions this time.
Now to be clear, apparently Charles phoned Biden personally and the Americans are coming… in force. Just Joe’s busy that day. We just don’t know why and nobody can tell us.
Yeah, that’s a little weird but the one that goes into the history books is Dwight D. Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth II. Eisenhower was the General in charge of Allied forces during World War II and as you may guess, he lived in London. It was during this time that he became close to the Royal Family. He knew Elizabeth and they were friends. They stayed in touch and visited anytime one came to the other’s continent.
Eisenhower later became US President and was in office when Elizabeth’s Coronation took place. If ever there were a President who should have broken this tradition it would have been Eisenhower. But no, sorry, he was busy that day.
Now to be clear, this has no impact at all on what Churchill called “A Special Relationship.” In fact, it has already been decided: Biden will come for a full State Visit as soon as possible. Biden’s wife, Jill, will represent the United States at today’s Coronation. But Joe’s busy.