THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING

[toomanycats]

[mickey]

Seems strange doesn't it? I can't remember any other British monarch & I doubt there are many living people who can?
The Queen is dead!
Long live the King!

[tonebender]

We recently watched The Crown. it was very interesting. I never gave the monarchy a minutes thought through the years but since watching that series, I have read much about it. She was an awesome woman and person. I recommend watching the series. I know that is not a documentary but it closely followed all the actual events through history. The rest of the family was just one issue after another, she was the rock.

[tonebender]

One more thing. She never wanted to be Queen. She wanted to live in the country, be a housewife, mother and raise horses.

[toomanycats]

Seems strange doesn't it? I can't remember any other British monarch & I doubt there are many living people who can?
The Queen is dead!
Long live the King!

It is odd because the Queen in many ways seemed irrelevant in the context of recent history. But now that she has passed, it has powerfully hit me that there is not another singular person whose timeline of life so broadly encapsulates and signifies four generations of geo-politics, cultural and societal change, literally nearly a century of the history of the West. She wasn't just a person, understood in the usual sense; and not even an important person like a president or prime minister. It's probably difficult for many Americans to understand what a Monarch and Sovereign represents. Though there is continuity with Charles, I have a sense that a door has definitively closed on a past chapter of history, and an uncertain future is ahead. I feel saddened, reflective, and melancholy, much more so than I thought I would be at this news. A part of all of our lives has gone.

[mickey]

Seems strange doesn't it? I can't remember any other British monarch & I doubt there are many living people who can?
The Queen is dead!
Long live the King!

It is odd because the Queen in many ways seemed irrelevant in the context of recent history. But now that she has passed, it has powerfully hit me that there is not another singular person whose life so broadly encapsulates and signifies a century of geo-politics, cultural and societal change, literally nearly a century of the history of the West. She wasn't just a person, understood in the usual sense; and not even a president or prime minister. It's probably difficult for Americans to understand what a Monarch and Sovereign represents. Though there is continuity with Charles, I have a sense that a door has closed on the past, and an uncertain future is ahead. I feel saddened, reflective, and melancholy, much more so than I thought I would be at this news. A part of all of our lives has gone.

Ya gotta remember, she knew each & every U.S. President since Harry Truman. And each & every British Prime Minister since Winston Churchill.

A guy I was stationed with in the U.K. was hitchhiking back to the base from Peterborough & got picked up by a lady his mother's age who was wearing jeans & a flannel shirt driving a Land Rover. She kept him occupied in active conversation until dropping him off at the main entrance to the base. When he got out his jaw dropped! He had not realized who she was. But when he closed the door to the Land Rover he noticed the crest on the door and the profile of the lady on the door was the same as the lady driving the Land Rover. Our base was on the main road between her Sandringham Estate & London. You would think she would have had bodyguards, a police escort or something. But no, just the Corgi in the Land Rover with her.

[toomanycats]

Seems strange doesn't it? I can't remember any other British monarch & I doubt there are many living people who can?
The Queen is dead!
Long live the King!

It is odd because the Queen in many ways seemed irrelevant in the context of recent history. But now that she has passed, it has powerfully hit me that there is not another singular person whose life so broadly encapsulates and signifies a century of geo-politics, cultural and societal change, literally nearly a century of the history of the West. She wasn't just a person, understood in the usual sense; and not even a president or prime minister. It's probably difficult for Americans to understand what a Monarch and Sovereign represents. Though there is continuity with Charles, I have a sense that a door has closed on the past, and an uncertain future is ahead. I feel saddened, reflective, and melancholy, much more so than I thought I would be at this news. A part of all of our lives has gone.

Ya gotta remember, she knew each & every U.S. President since Harry Truman. And each & every British Prime Minister since Winston Churchill.

A guy I was stationed with in the U.K. was hitchhiking back to the base from Peterborough & got picked up by a lady his mother's age who was wearing jeans & a flannel shirt driving a Land Rover. She kept him occupied in active conversation until dropping him off at the main entrance to the base. When he got out his jaw dropped! He had not realized who she was. But when he closed the door to the Land Rover he noticed the crest on the door and the profile of the lady on the door was the same as the lady driving the Land Rover. Our base was on the main road between her Sandringham Estate & London. You would think she would have had bodyguards, a police escort or something. But no, just the Corgi in the Land Rover with her.

Wow, that's an incredible story!

[tonebender]

Based on what I have learned about her recently, that sounds exactly like something she would do Mickey. When that guy broke into her room at Buckingham palace years ago, she sat and talked to him and listened to all he had to say. She would not let them take him away until they had a nice chat. He was upset about being out of work, his wife leaving him, etc. She was unique and fearless.

[mickey]

Based on what I have learned about her recently, that sounds exactly like something she would do Mickey. When that guy broke into her room at Buckingham palace years ago, she sat and talked to him and listened to all he had to say. She would not let them take him away until they had a nice chat. He was upset about being out of work, his wife leaving him, etc. She was unique and fearless.

If you've not seen it, I would recommend the 2006 Helen Mirren film "The Queen".
Could be wrong but I believe Helen won an Oscar for that one.

[Partscaster]

She was a beautiful Queen, too.

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[glasshand]

[mickey]

Since it is his first job, wonder what he makes per hour???

[PoodlesAgain]

Does not look like a party animal.

Not like a poodle, more like a tried spaniel

[Rollin Hand]

There is a picture of her in a great many hockey rinks across Canada. I watch Pantera open for Skid Row under a portrait of her at the Memorial Centre in Peterborough, Ontario.

But she was our Queen (Canada is a democracy, but with the British monarch as our official head of state), and a great many of us thought she was the bee's knees. Our Prime Minister actually met her when he was a child, when his dad was Prime Minister, and he called her "one of his favourite people".

When bad things happened, she was there. When good things happened, she was there. And through it all, she maintained a sense of humour, even if she rarely showed it publicly.

And I love this story. Thinks she wasn't aware that women weren't allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia? From Jalopnik:

"She was also, it seems, a bit of a speed demon. In a hilarious account from Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, former British ambassador to Saudi Arabia, we learn of a time when then-Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz visited the Queen at her estate and got the ride of his life:

… in September 1998, Abdullah had been invited up to Balmoral, for lunch with the Queen. Following his brother King Fahd’s stroke in 1995, Abdullah was already the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia. After lunch, the Queen had asked her royal guest whether he would like a tour of the estate. Prompted by his Foreign Minister, the urbane Prince Saud, an initially hesitant Abdullah had agreed. The royal Land Rovers were drawn up in front of the castle. As instructed, the Crown Prince climbed into the front seat of the Land Rover, with his interpreter in the seat behind. To his surprise, the Queen climbed into the driving seat, turned the ignition and drove off. Women are not – yet – allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia, and Abdullah was not used to being driven by a woman, let alone a queen. His nervousness only increased as the queen, an Army driver in wartime, accelerated the Land Rover along the narrow Scottish estate roads, talking all the time. Through his interpreter, the Crown Prince implored the Queen to slow down and concentrate on the road ahead.

Thank you, your Majesty For everything.

[BatUtilityBelt]

The king is a fink! Someone had to say it.

@mickey great story there, I never heard one like that. I enjoyed my work trips to the UK, but never got a royal ride. I did accidentally mistake John Major's family homestead for my Huntingdon hotel once (I was off by 2 or 3 blocks) when he was the sitting PM. Guards came quickly out of the gate with guns pointed at us for that conversation.

[MichaelR]

I think with the new king the UK is doomed.............doomed I say.

[mickey]

The king is a fink! Someone had to say it.

@mickey great story there, I never heard one like that. I enjoyed my work trips to the UK, but never got a royal ride. I did accidentally mistake John Major's family homestead for my Huntingdon hotel once (I was off by 2 or 3 blocks) when he was the sitting PM. Guards came quickly out of the gate with guns pointed at us for that conversation.

When you say "Huntingdon Hotel", was that the name of the hotel or the town where it was located???

I think with the new king the UK is doomed.............doomed I say.

Charles has always been good at shooting himself in the foot.

[BatUtilityBelt]

The king is a fink! Someone had to say it.

@mickey great story there, I never heard one like that. I enjoyed my work trips to the UK, but never got a royal ride. I did accidentally mistake John Major's family homestead for my Huntingdon hotel once (I was off by 2 or 3 blocks) when he was the sitting PM. Guards came quickly out of the gate with guns pointed at us for that conversation.

When you say "Huntingdon Hotel", was that the name of the hotel or the town where it was located???

If I recall correctly, it was called "Huntingdon House", and it was just outside of Huntingdon.

[mickey]

The king is a fink! Someone had to say it.

@mickey great story there, I never heard one like that. I enjoyed my work trips to the UK, but never got a royal ride. I did accidentally mistake John Major's family homestead for my Huntingdon hotel once (I was off by 2 or 3 blocks) when he was the sitting PM. Guards came quickly out of the gate with guns pointed at us for that conversation.

When you say "Huntingdon Hotel", was that the name of the hotel or the town where it was located???

If I recall correctly, it was called "Huntingdon House", and it was just outside of Huntingdon.

I don't remember the hotel, but I was stationed at R.A.F. Alconbury, Huntingdon 1970, 71, 72.
About the only claim to fame Huntingdon ever had was that it was the home of Oliver Cromwell, but I think they tried to keep that quiet.

[BatUtilityBelt]

I don't remember the hotel, but I was stationed at R.A.F. Alconbury, Huntingdon 1970, 71, 72.
About the only claim to fame Huntingdon ever had was that it was the home of Oliver Cromwell, but I think they tried to keep that quiet.

I've been to Alconbury a few times too, and Molesworth. Small world. Yeah, I heard about Cromwell too, LOL. Come to think of it, the hotel might have been called the Stukeley, but my memory fails on that - I haven't been there since maybe 1992 or 1993. All they told us was it looked like a stately manor, and so did John Major's house.

[mickey]

I don't remember the hotel, but I was stationed at R.A.F. Alconbury, Huntingdon 1970, 71, 72.
About the only claim to fame Huntingdon ever had was that it was the home of Oliver Cromwell, but I think they tried to keep that quiet.

I've been to Alconbury a few times too, and Molesworth. Small world. Yeah, I heard about Cromwell too, LOL. Come to think of it, the hotel might have been called the Stukeley, but my memory fails on that - I haven't been there since maybe 1992 or 1993. All they told us was it looked like a stately manor, and so did John Major's house.

I do remember there was a Little Stukeley & a Great Stukeley which were both tiny towns. When I was there I do not remember any stately manors in the Huntingdon area. Also, when I was there R.A.F. Alconbury was one of the most secret U.S. bases in Europe. It was one of the largest nuclear storage depots on that side of the pond. U.S. recon planes have always been unarmed but every RF-4C that I ever saw was capable of carrying nukes. Our mission should WW3 have happened was to take out Eastern Europe. Last time I checked Google Earth all the Nuke Storage bunkers are long gone. I'm sure I would be having the FBI knocking on my door if I had said that publicly in the 1970's.

[mickey]

[jhull54]

I read somewhere this week that the President of the United States is usually considered the most powerful person in the world, but when making appearances with the Queen, he usually came off as #2.

[toomanycats]

When you say "Huntingdon Hotel", was that the name of the hotel or the town where it was located???

If I recall correctly, it was called "Huntingdon House", and it was just outside of Huntingdon.

About the only claim to fame Huntingdon ever had was that it was the home of Oliver Cromwell, but I think they tried to keep that quiet.

If I recall my English history correctly, after the Stuart Restoration Cromwell's bones were exhumed, then posthumously subjected to a mock trail, after which his moldering carcass was executed.

We might as well call this CDS: "Cromwell Derangement Syndrome." Hanging the body of a long dead man was purely an act of political theater. Cromwell was a corpse, but they had to create a public spectacle to expunge and symbolically kill the very idea of a Cromwell, a ritual of humiliation to degrade and instill fear in those who might be sympathetic to such ideas.

It's always been very dangerous to upset the entrenched deep state players and their exclusive thing. Lizard people play for blood.