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Elizabeth the Queen
BRITISH MONARCHY/ROYAL HOUSES
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GLOSSARY FOR ELIZABETH THE QUEEN (SPOILER THREAD)
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☯Emily
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Jan 24, 2012 09:58AM
Never suspected she used it as signals!
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This portrait of the Queen hangs in Parliament House in Canberra, Australia. The Queen liked it so much that she asked the artist, William Dargie to make a copy for her own private apartments.
I didn't know she even has a suction cup hook that she uses to hang her purse up. Quite practical.
I've actually seen those suction cup purse hangers for sale!!! Strange, but as you say, practical.
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Probably more trouble than they are worth.....but I guess it is for the person who has everything.
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The Queen and Prince Andrew, Duke of York, her third child and second son.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drWIHq...A historic video which covers the first-ever televised State Opening of Parliament in 1958. Amazing!!!
message 61:
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Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief
(last edited Jan 26, 2012 04:53PM)
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Part 1 - BBC
Queen's Speech 2010 1 of 4 - Arrival and Summons - BBC News Report
Prince Phillip is not as agile as he once was but still doing pretty darn good and of course the queen.
I love the part where the Police Inspector says: "Hats Off, Strangers" (lol).
And of course when the House of Commons door is slammed in the face when they are summoning the House of Commons to the House of Lords. Symbolic of the House of Commons authority, the door will be slammed in his face (smile).
Pageantry at its best.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMXK-N...
Part II - BBC
Queen's Speech 2010 2 of 4 - Summons and Speech - BBC News Report
This is even more humorous; the House of Commons is summoned and someone says: No Royal Commissions this week (lol) - One other thing that I noticed between the footage in 1958 and 2010 is where Prince Phillip is sitting. In 1958 he was very far away from the Queen to the right and front of the screen. In 2010, he seems to be sitting right beside her. Where they are sitting is much more ornate than their seating was in 1958 oddly enough.
Also, the speech in 1958 was more flowery and somewhat personal at a certain level; but in 2010 - it was as if the Queen was reading an outline. Very different.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efdQbY...
Part III - BBC News
Queen's Speech 2010 3 of 4 - Speech and Departure - BBC News Report
One other thing that was very interesting is that the ceremonial mace must be placed properly in the House of Commons otherwise the House is not in session.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=...
Queen's Speech 2010 4 of 4 - Speech and Departure - BBC News Report
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&...
In 2010, this was the 58th time that the Queen had done this and there was a wonderful close up of Margaret Thatcher who actually looked quite good on that date.
The Queen's speech had been leaked to the press - well that would not have happened in the old days.
This actually is a great link explaining a lot of what goes on - worthwhile - and of course don't the British in their House of Commons like a good row. I guess it just pumps the heart and keeps the blood flowing (smile)
State Opening of Parliament - 945 years of British Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6YxRb...
A write-up by the person who uploaded the above - I am sure that folks will disagree with some of this:
The British form of government is one of the most stable forms of government in the world. For 945 years, the British unitary parliamentary democracy-constitutional monarchy system has evolved through time but its essence and legal procedures remain intact.
1066 was the beginning of the establishment of a constitutional monarchy in England. Through years of peace and conflict, the form of government has evolved and united England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Since 1522, after the restoration of the monarchy with King Charles II, the reigning monarch convenes both Houses to mark the commencement of the new session of Parliament. This has been done yearly for 488 years.
The British Monarchy is the oldest constitutional monarchy in the world
As a constitutional monarchy, while The Sovereign is Head of State the ability to make and pass legislation resides with an elected Parliament.
Although the British Sovereign no longer has a political or executive role, he or she continues to play an important part in the life of the nation.
As Head of State, The Monarch undertakes constitutional and representational duties which have developed over one thousand years of history. In addition to these State duties, The Monarch has a less formal role as 'Head of Nation'. The Sovereign acts as a focus for national identity, unity and pride; gives a sense of stability and continuity; officially recognizes success and excellence; and supports the ideal of voluntary service.
Furthermore, the British monarchy is the oldest of modern constitutional monarchies, and the model for this form of government in the English-speaking world. A constitutional monarchy was able to form in the United Kingdom across different periods of history for a complex combination of reasons: sometimes due to a lack of strong leadership, and at other times due to strong leaders short of funding, who needed to raise money to prosecute wars, and needed to address public grievances to ensure this money was forthcoming.
The Magna Carta in 1215 is considered the first codification of the monarchy as a contract among territorial chiefs. Unlike most of the monarchs in continental Europe who ruled with absolute power, the British monarch rules based on the constitution instead of her own will.
The power struggle between the Crown and Parliament has transformed Britain from absolute rule to constitutional rule in a way that when the reigning monarch attempts to abuse the power of the crown, the Parliament can use the power of the pen and limit the power of the monarch. When King Charles I tried to dissolve and arrest 5 members of the House of Commons, the members thereof accused the King of abusing his power. That incident led to the Civil War between the Crown and the Parliament. King Charles I lost the war and was beheaded. After a short-lived republic under Oliver Cromwell, the monarchy was restored in 1660 due to the death of Cromwell and the lack of his son's military capability to rule. Thus, King Charles II was proclaimed the lawful monarch in 1660 and ruled majestically to the point, constitutionally, as if the last 19 years of republicanism in Britain never happened.
To this day, the Queen serves as the symbol of unity of the kingdoms of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and the emblem of British national identity and pride. Meanwhile, the Parliament handles the affairs of government and the power to make laws.
That is why when there is a problem, the people do not accuse and blame the reigning monarch, rather they accuse and blame the Parliament for lack of response to their needs. The British people, in good and rough times, look up to their Monarch as the representative of Sovereign power, which ultimately belongs to the people.
That is why the British monarchy survives to this day...for more than a thousand years.
Is there a link for that? It is not showing up.
message 63:
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Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief
(last edited Jan 26, 2012 02:20PM)
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Sorry Bentley....the links didn't show up when I first looked at the post. Don't know why.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceremoni...
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Government accused of 'abuse of power' after cancelling 2011 Queen's speech
Change to tie in with introduction of fixed-term parliaments means next Queen's speech will not take place until the spring of 2012
Next one, Spring 2012:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/20...
Good grief.....political maneuvering trumps all.
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For all you cooks out there, here is the Queen's recipe for drop scones which she shared with President Eisenhower. I love scones and these are a little different that what you may be used to, as they are more like pancakes.Queen Elizabeth's Drop Scones Recipe
* Prep time: 10 minutes
* Cook time: 15 minutes
The method has been changed just a little from the Queen's original, by adding the wet ingredients to the dry, instead of the dry to the wet.
Ingredients
* 3 cups (400 g) all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking soda*
* 3 teaspoons cream of tartar*
* 1/4 teaspoon salt**
* 2 eggs
* 1/4 cup of superfine sugar, or a heaping 1/4 cup white, granulated sugar
* 1 1/2 cup (350 ml) of whole milk (and maybe a little more if needed)
* 2 tablespoons butter, melted
*If you don't have cream of tartar, substitute the 2 teaspoons of baking soda and the 3 teaspoons of cream of tartar with 5 teaspoons of baking powder (make sure your baking powder is less than 6 months old or it may be flat and unable to provide leavening).
**If using salted butter, skip the added salt.
Method
1 Whisk together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt in a large bowl.
2 In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar. Then whisk in most of the milk.
3 Make a well in the middle of the flour and pour in the milk egg mixture. Whisk until smooth, adding more milk until you get the right consistency - thin enough to spread on the pan, but not so thin as to run. Fold in the melted butter.
4 Heat a griddle or large cast iron pan on medium to medium low heat. Coat the pan with a little butter, spreading it with a folded over paper towel. Drop large spoonfuls of batter on the griddle to form pancakes. When bubbles start to appear on the surface (after 2 to 3 minutes), use a metal spatula to flip the pancakes over. Cook for another minute, until lightly browned. Remove to a plate and cover with a clean tea towel to keep warm while you cook the rest of the drop scones.
Serve with butter, jam, or golden syrup (Americans sub maple syrup).
Yield: Makes about 16 American-sized pancakes.
Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones (Lord Snowden) are married.
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Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief
(last edited Jan 29, 2012 07:53PM)
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http://www.criticalpast.com/video/656...
One thing that is interesting is that Townsend told Margaret that he was going to propose to somebody else and the next day she accepted Anthony Armstrong-Jones' proposal. Odd timing. Of course, she had turned him down but obviously they had remained close and he wanted her to be privy to the news before anybody else which is quite telling.
The Marquess of Hartington, nephew of the PM MacMillan and his wife Kathleen Kennedy, sister of the JFK on their wedding day. They died in a plane crash in 1944.
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They were so happy. You could see it on their faces.
It is Joe Jr. who was also killed in WWII. You can't miss a Kennedy....the family resemblance of all the siblings was amazing.
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JFK was close to Kathleen, so the accident was pretty devastating.
And Joe Jr. was his father's great hope for POTUS.....it fell to John after Joe was killed.
Indeed, another devastating tragedy. It was a hard transition for JFK to fill his brother's shoes.
John Profumo, government official whose affair with call girl Christine Keeler set off a scandal in Britain. Ms. Keeler was also the mistress of a Soviet attache and it was suspected that she was passing on secrets that she learned from Profumo....but it was never proved.
And Christine Keeler, the shady lady in question.
message 81:
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Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief
(last edited Feb 02, 2012 01:58AM)
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I remember reading about the Profumo scandal - I was 15 years old living in North Dakota and sopping it up. (I was also pretty naive.)
It was quite the scandal......there were others involved; one of which, Stephen Ward, a physician, committed suicide.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_...
And Mandy Rice-Davies, another of the good time girls.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandy_Ri...
Mandy-Rice Davies and Christine Keeler during the trial.
Anthony Frederick Blunt (26 September 1907 – 26 March 1983) was a British art historian who was exposed as a Soviet spy late in his life.Anthony Blunt was Professor of the History of Art at the University of London, director of the Courtauld Institute of Art, Surveyor of the King's Pictures and London. Known as Sir Anthony Blunt, KCVO between 1956 and 1979 (when he was stripped of his honours), he was exposed as a member of the Cambridge Five, a group of spies working for the Soviet Union from some time in the 1930s to at least the early 1950s. Source: Wikipedia
An interesting video of Churchill's state funeral, narrated by Howard Thompson, Churchill's former bodyguard.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxBfrO...
Princess Alice of Greece, mother of Prince Phillip, in her nursing order habit which she wore until the end of her life.
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Anthony Blunt was Professor of the History of Art at the U..."
You could tell looking at this guy that he had something up his sleeve; and Princess Alice - yikes. I think Prince Phillip ended up quite well with Elizabeth and should be thanking his lucky stars.
And here is Princess Alice of Battenburg at the time of her marriage in 1903 to Prince Andrew of Greece. Quite a difference.
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Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief
(last edited Feb 07, 2012 09:28PM)
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I did look her up on wikipedia and it did state this:
In 1930, she was diagnosed with schizophrenia and committed to a sanatorium; thereafter, she lived separately from her husband. After her recovery, she devoted most of her remaining years to charity work in Greece. She stayed in Athens during the Second World War, sheltering Jewish refugees, for which she is recognised as "Righteous Among the Nations" at Yad Vashem. After the war, she stayed in Greece and founded an Orthodox nursing order of nuns known as the Christian Sisterhood of Martha and Mary.
She was known as a Holocaust Hero (a person who helped many and saved lives). She was also extremely religious.
Great picture, Jill. Wow. Apparently, there was a coup in Greece in 1922 that removed Phillip's family from power.
WWI played havoc with many of the royal houses across Europe and Greece was no exception. The ruling house was Danish (go figure) which was not well received by the nationalists and the Young Turks. The family was removed from the throne, although there were several more Kings of Greece in the years to come......the last being King Constantine II who abdicated in 1973 when the monarchy was abolished (again).Here is a short biography of Prince Phillip's father.
Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark (Andreas; 2 February 1882 (N.S.) - 3 December 1944) of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, was the seventh child and fourth son of King George I of Greece and Olga Constantinovna of Russia. He was a grandson of Christian IX of Denmark.
He began military training at an early age, and was commissioned as an officer in the Greek army. His command positions were real appointments rather than honorary, and he saw service in the Balkan Wars. In 1913, his father was assassinated and Andrew's elder brother, Constantine, became king. Dissatisfaction with his brother's neutrality policy during World War I led to his brother's abdication and most of the royal family, including Andrew, was exiled. On their return a few years later, Andrew saw service in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922), but the war went badly for Greece, and Andrew was blamed, in part, for the loss of Greek territory. He was exiled for a second time in 1922, and spent most of the rest of his life in France.
By 1930, he was estranged from his wife, Princess Alice of Battenberg. His only son, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, served in the British navy during World War II, while all four of his daughters were married to German royals, three of whom had Nazi connections. Separated from his wife and son by the effects of the war, Andrew died in Monte Carlo in 1944. He had seen neither of them since 1939.
Source: Wikipedia
Prince Philip is known for his public gaffes.....sometimes speaking before he thinks. Below is a link to some of his public utterances that caused the Queen and the government annoyance.http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/who/gal...
A famous portrait by Annigoni, unveiled in 1970. It is very stark and wistful.
Here is the second Annigoni portrait. He said, "I see you really alone as a monarch and I want to represent you that way" (225).
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Thanks to Cheryl for pointing out to me in a PM that the picture unveiled in 1970 was painted earlier. It is my favorite of the two. They are both very somber.
The Duchess of Windsor with the Queen at the Duke's funeral. She was heavily sedated and confused throughout the funeral.
This link is to an interview with Princess Anne and her husband in the mid-eighties, some years after the kidnapping attempt, in which she recalls the incident. It's quite funny in places - mayhaps she missed her calling as a stand up comic.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXoyjp...
She really looked like her mother in those days.....and yes, she is quite funny. Doesn't give her husband much time to say anything, does she.
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Books mentioned in this topic
Princess Margaret: A Biography (other topics)Authors mentioned in this topic
Sally Bedell Smith (other topics)Theo Aronson (other topics)
