UK Politics - Taking the Land Rover to Heaven

[Maltaran]

2 hours ago, Derfel Cadarn said:

Reform UK is George Galloway’s party isnt it? The man who vowed never to work with the Tories, only to ... work with the Tories.

Whenever I’ve had the misfortune to see his posts on Twitter, people always troll him by posting gifs of him pretending to be a cat on reality TV.

Surprised to hear UKIP are still a thing, assumed the faithful had jumped ship to Farage’s latest vanity party. Lost track of them after a previous leader disappeared into a midlife crisis with his racist younger girlfriend, having left his wife and kids.

Literally the only reason UKIP are still in the news is because their candidate for Msyor of London is a man named Gammons

[Fragile Bird]

That Land Rover hearse is pretty unusual looking.

I can just imagine Prince Phillip cracking a joke years ago about “when I die, just toss my body in the back of the Land Rover”, and then deciding to make it so.

[Fragile Bird]

That was a moving funeral, I must say. I especially liked the reading from Ecclesiastes, and The Last Post followed by Reveille followed by the announcement of the arrival of a war ship. 

The CBC interviewed historian Dan Snow who suggested the funeral was cathartic and stood in for the more than 100,000 funerals that could not be properly mourned in Britain. I can see that. 

They also did an interview with a Canadian journalist living in Vanuatu, where Philip is a cult figure worshipped on the island of Tana. They say he was born in Tana, rode a horse down to the sea, and using magic crossed the oceans to woo and win Elizabeth, and he was a part of them and an important figure of power. They will mourn Philip for 100 days. The journalist believes the majority view is Prince Charles will succeed his father in the cult. He visited in 2018 and was given a name of high rank and anointed as his successor.

And in case you wondered if the title, the Duke of Edinburgh, died with Philip, apparently once the Queen dies Charles inherits the title and afterwards Prince Edward, as the youngest son, will inherit it.

Finally, there’s an old picture of Philip on the cover of a 1957 issue of the Paris Match circulating on the internet that they showed. Philip is dressed in naval whites and is bearded and guess what, Harry is his spitting image. I think that picture just erased all doubts about Harry’s heritage for me.

[Derfel Cadarn]

1 hour ago, Fragile Bird said:

That was a moving funeral, I must say. I especially liked the reading from Ecclesiastes, and The Last Post followed by Reveille followed by the announcement of the arrival of a war ship. 

The CBC interviewed historian Dan Snow who suggested the funeral was cathartic and stood in for the more than 100,000 funerals that could not be properly mourned in Britain. I can see that. 

They also did an interview with a Canadian journalist living in Vanuatu, where Philip is a cult figure worshipped on the island of Tana. They say he was born in Tana, road a horse down to the sea, and using magic crossed the oceans to woo and win Elizabeth, and he was a part of them and an important figure of power. They will mourn Philip for 100 days. The journalist believes the majority view is Prince Charles will succeed his father in the cult. He visited in 2018 and was given a name of high rank and anointed as his successor.

And in case you wondered if the title, the Duke of Edinburgh, died with Philip, apparently once the Queen dies Charles inherits the title and afterwards Prince Edward, as the youngest son, will inherit it.

Finally, there’s an old picture of Philip on the cover of a 1957 issue of the Paris Match circulating on the internet that they showed. Philip is dressed in naval whites and is bearded and guess what, Harry is his spitting image. I think that picture just erased all doubts about Harry’s heritage for me.

Certainly an effective funeral; it’s buried all mention of Matt Hancock’s dodgy dealings.

[Fragile Bird]

7 minutes ago, Derfel Cadarn said:

Certainly an effective funeral; it’s buried all mention of Matt Hancock’s dodgy dealings.

I’m sure that will start up soon enough, lol!

I thought about lots of people while watching that broadcast, my parents, for example, and Captain Tom. Too bad the funeral of Captain Tom couldn’t have been broadcast. And I thought about the Queen, sitting there alone.

[Cas Stark]

I watched the funeral.  Beautiful ceremony and quite poignant.  The queen looked more frail than I have ever seen her look, but not surprising I guess.  Sophie Wessex also looked really grief stricken.

[Maltaran]

4 hours ago, Fragile Bird said:

 

And in case you wondered if the title, the Duke of Edinburgh, died with Philip, apparently once the Queen dies Charles inherits the title and afterwards Prince Edward, as the youngest son, will inherit it.

Not true. Charles is the eldest son, so he inherits the title. However, once he becomes king all his other titles disappear, and the intention is that he will then recreate the title and give it to Edward. This is the reason Edward wasn’t made a duke when he got married.

[Fragile Bird]

26 minutes ago, Maltaran said:

Not true. Charles is the eldest son, so he inherits the title. However, once he becomes king all his other titles disappear, and the intention is that he will then recreate the title and give it to Edward. This is the reason Edward wasn’t made a duke when he got married.

I’m just repeating what a journalist was saying during the funeral. Perhaps she was wrong.  

[Fragile Bird]

44 minutes ago, Maltaran said:

Not true. Charles is the eldest son, so he inherits the title. However, once he becomes king all his other titles disappear, and the intention is that he will then recreate the title and give it to Edward. This is the reason Edward wasn’t made a duke when he got married.

Double quote! A bit more detail.

I actually understood something else (that Edward would get it after the Queen dies)and decided I must have misunderstood and it was Charles, but I heard correctly after all.  Charles inherits the title: when Philip got the title from King George, a letters patent was issued by the king that states on Philip’s death the title will be inherited by Charles. I gather that’s been the way since King George I created it and gave it to Prince Frederick.

However, Edward was promised the title on his wedding day in 1999, despite being the youngest. But he can’t get it until Queen Elizabeth dies and Charles loses all his other titles when he becomes king and they merge with the crown, leaving room for them to be regranted.

What confused me is that Philip would not have the authority to leave the title to Charles, and he didn’t.

I know you roughly said the same thing but not exactly. Details!

I wonder if the letters patent from Charles will state Edward keeps the title until his death, and then William inherits it, or, that the eldest son of William gets it if William is the king by then.

That’s from an article in the WaPo. 

[Castellan]

I like Prince Philip because I heard a story about one of his "gaffes". His car (a land rover I think!) stopped at a traffic light in Kensington Gardens or wherever it is where the Royals living at Kensington Palace had to drive through to get to the gate. An American tourist went over picked his six year old up to hold him at the car window and said "its his birthday" to which Prince Philip replied "So what?".

Three tacky behaviours exhibited and reproved -

1. imposing on celebrities or royalty. Just because they're on the TV why do you think you can talk to them? Fuck off!

2. using small children to do it

3. making excessive fuss about birthdays and teaching children its their special day when everyone even total strangers have to be nice to them and can be approached to give em pats on the head and sweets just for being born.

PS It was a moving funeral except for the COVID emptiness. That made it seem quite desolate to me.

 

[Denvek]

9 hours ago, Fragile Bird said:

I wonder if the letters patent from Charles will state Edward keeps the title until his death, and then William inherits it, or, that the eldest son of William gets it if William is the king by then.

More likely it'll go the traditional route, from Edward down to his kids and so on (as per the Dukes of Gloucester and Kent, originally the younger sons of George V, now inherited by their sons, the current Queen's cousins). The only break with tradition I can see potentially happening would be a decision for Edinburgh to go to Louise (the elder child) rather than James (the son) after Edward's death.

[dog-days]

I didn't watch the funeral - by accident, I ended up in Morrisons when it was being broadcast. The aisles were semi-deserted compared to how it usually is. One of the quickest weekend shops I've ever done! 

The in-store announcement asked for a two minute silence. No one spoke, at the same time I didn't see anyone standing still with their heads bowed. For my part, I found a budget pack of sultanas. 

[HexMachina]

3 hours ago, dog-days said:

I didn't watch the funeral - by accident, I ended up in Morrisons when it was being broadcast. The aisles were semi-deserted compared to how it usually is. One of the quickest weekend shops I've ever done! 

The in-store announcement asked for a two minute silence. No one spoke, at the same time I didn't see anyone standing still with their heads bowed. For my part, I found a budget pack of sultanas. 

See this would have been the time to raid reduced to clear

[Raja]

You have to laugh at the Sewell report - Here is a statement from independent experts within the United Nations Human Rights Council

Quote

 “In 2021, it is stunning to read a report on race and ethnicity that repackages racist tropes and stereotypes into fact, twisting data and misapplying statistics and studies into conclusory findings and ad hominem attacks on people of African descent,” the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent.

“The report cites dubious evidence to make claims that rationalize white supremacy by using the familiar arguments that have always justified racial hierarchy. This attempt to normalize white supremacy despite considerable research and evidence of institutional racism is an unfortunate sidestepping of the opportunity to acknowledge the atrocities of the past and the contributions of all in order to move forward.”

 

“The report’s conclusion that racism is either a product of the imagination of people of African descent or of discrete, individualized incidents ignores the pervasive role that the social construction of race was designed to play in society, particularly in normalizing atrocity, in which the British state and institutions played a significant role.”

The experts said the report omits any recognition or analysis of institutional racism by international human rights experts, including the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent’s 2012 review after its country visit to the UK, the 2016 Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), and the UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance’s report following her 2018 country visit to the UK. “Without exception, these reports have highlighted the damaging impact of institutional racism and deep-rooted inequities in areas such as health, education, employment, housing, stop-and-search practices, and the criminal justice system in the UK,” the experts said.

“The reality is that People of African descent continue to experience poor economic, social, and health outcomes at vastly disproportionate rates in the UK.

“While racial disparities may not always stem from racism or racial discrimination, there is also compelling evidence that the roots of these disparities lie in institutional racism and structural discrimination as they clearly do not reflect the preferences or priorities of the communities facing structural disadvantage.

“Instead, many racial disparities in the UK clearly reflect specific nodes of power and decision-making by employers, teachers, and others who dictate the opportunities and advantages available to people of African descent. Too often this decision-making reflects legacy mindsets of racial hierarchy. In other words, institutional racism, structural invisibility, and longstanding inequalities have disproportionately impacted people of African descent living in the UK.

“Therefore, the suggestion that family structure, rather than institutionalized and structural discriminatory practices are the central features of the Black experience is a tone-deaf attempt at rejecting the lived realities of people of African descent and other ethnic minorities in the UK.”

Finally, the experts said, the report’s mythical representation of enslavement was an attempt to sanitize the history of the trade in enslaved Africans.

“This is a reprehensible, although not unfamiliar tactic, employed by many whose wealth came directly from the enslavement of others, ever since slavery was outlawed. Seeking to silence the brutal role of enslavers, the mind-numbing generational wealth they accrued, and the social capital and political influence they gained from exploiting Black bodies is a deliberate attempt at historical misrepresentation,” the Working Group said.

 

[DaveSumm]

Holy fuck, The Sunday Times actually printed this sentence on the front fucking page:

Quote

To her subjects, Prince Philip was the longest serving royal consort in British history - an often crotchety figure, offending people with gaffes about slitty eyes, even if secretly we rather enjoyed them.

But don’t worry, they’ve made it completely fine online by changing it to:

Quote

even if we secretly laughed at them.

Phew! Close call there.

[Spockydog]

50 minutes ago, DaveSumm said:

Holy fuck, The Sunday Times actually printed this sentence on the front fucking page:

But don’t worry, they’ve made it completely fine online by changing it to:

Phew! Close call there.

I mean, it's the Times, so, um, yeah....

[HexMachina]

1 hour ago, DaveSumm said:

Holy fuck, The Sunday Times actually printed this sentence on the front fucking page:

But don’t worry, they’ve made it completely fine online by changing it to:

Phew! Close call there.

I've seen similar sentiment echoed elsewhere, that apparently we all just laughed and laughed at those racist things he said/did and it was all part of what made him so charming. 

Also our news media is pretty terrible so no surprises that they printed that from me at least.

[Derfel Cadarn]

8 hours ago, HelenaExMachina said:

I've seen similar sentiment echoed elsewhere, that apparently we all just laughed and laughed at those racist things he said/did and it was all part of what made him so charming. 

Also our news media is pretty terrible so no surprises that they printed that from me at least.

Boris Johnson becoming prime minister despite similar gaffes depressingly suggests a lot of people did enjoy/laugh at the gaffes :<

[Heartofice]

I remember at school we would read about the stuff Prince Phillip would say and it would crack us all up. We all thought he was great, and there were hardly any white kids at my school for context. I'd say the sentiment is widely spread across the country. 

[Werthead]

12 hours ago, Spockydog said:

I mean, it's the Times, so, um, yeah....

The Sunday Times, which is effectively a tabloid. The Times itself would have made the same claim in a somewhat more circumspect way.

When I worked for one of their contractors, it was pretty entertaining seeing how the Times staff held the Sunday Times in pretty much total contempt, and seethed in anger at how massively they outsold them.