Today i watched the ceremony of accession on tv, and i am pleased i did. As i now know if the good lord grants me the time to see William succeed his father to the throne i will most certainly give it a wide berth to this event again. I am all for all the outdoor pageantry with all its pomp but no not this.
I'm feeling a bit detached from it all. On holiday in Spain, life going on very much as normal here (as you would expect). Keeping up with the news online but that's about it.
TBH mate, life here is going on as normal. Of course there are tourists and day trippers hanging around the gates of Buckingham Palace and Windsor talking photos, much like every other day. People are sad but I doubt if anyone's grief stricken.
We just had a new boiler installed and it has a hot tank next to it... senior management wanted it 'boxed' in didn't like all the pipes showing. So a carpenter i know made a smashing job of it. So it had to be painted, that showed the rest of the room up, so that had to be be painted as well. As well as having the washing machine in it, the beer/wine fridge resides there as well.
You have an annex, a separate building for boiler, washing machine, dryer etc... surely that is more posh than squeezing then into a glorified cupboard. I suppose you have a wine cellar . Something I have always hankered after, never lived on a house with a basement.
Utility room new boiler in a bespoke cabinet and beer/wine fridge, i bet you have an indoor lavvy too.
As far as I know, it was the first time that 'The Public' has been admitted in to watch all of that ceremony. Interesting as a bit of Legal Transfer of Power and Responsibilities, but boring for the most part. I hadn't realised that each Monarch had to agree that the income for the Crown Estates should be given to The State in exchange for The Sovereign Grant. ( for those who complain about the costs of Monarchy, that the treasury paying out about £85mil in exchange for getting over £300 mil of income).
Another little known, but interesting, (to ME), fact. When Queen Elizabeth was given the Regnal Number of 2, the Second, there was some disquiet amongst some Nationalists, in Scotland. who pointed out that in that Ancient Realm, she was The First Elizabeth. This was taken to the Scottish Courts, where a judge ruled that it was a Royal Prerogative how The Monarch was styled. Sir Winston, UK PM at the time, and an acknowledged Historian, nailed it with the dictum that where the numbers didn't agree, the highest would be used, For example, should we ever have a King James, he would not be James 111 but James V111. If in due course Prince William chooses to use his own name, he will be William V as Scotland has only had three kings with that name previously. Complicated old world, as if Scotland Becomes Independent, in this case PRESUMABLEY, he would be William 1V in Scotland and William V in England, presuming Scotland retained The Monarchy.
Not to mention the massive economic boost something like a Royal Wedding (or the upcoming Coronation) brings. Yes, we 'pay' for them but the money made in the build up and on the day goes into the pockets of local businesses etc.
In practical terms, British Rail, Airlines and bus companies will be busy. No doubt the London Hotels have already jacked their prices up. The Souvenir industry will be gearing up for The Coronation.
I'm no way a monarchist, and it's a bit strange having French people coming up to me giving me their condolences, but I've got a few mates who are all about getting rid of the monarchy and I really don't understand it. Cost for the tax payers? I reckon more than enough comes back in from tourism,and as some one said above, the crown estates. They basically have no power,or will never wield it. And it's crazy how the monarchy is held in such high regard outside of the UK (with some exceptions of course). I really don't think a president as head of state would work for the UK.
