I feel sorry for the family in the way I do for anyone when anyone loses an elderly family member. Can already see the absolute major ott coverage this is going to receive though. People using words such as ‘tragic’, journalists on the BBC on the verge of tears (all BBC radio channels have been switched to emergency coverage). Of course this is a man of significance, but there is nothing tragic about someone making it to the age of 99 having lived in mostly good health pretty much until the end. Maybe I’m just a cynical bastard
The death of anyone is a time of great sadness. I am not a Royalist but my heart goes out to the Queen who will be truly heartbroken. I feel the same sorrow that I feel for the the families of the 126,980 people who have died from this bloody virus.
Yeah, sadly, I was wondering when someone was going to trot that out, together with “oh will they be invited to the funeral?” and all that crap. Sad that he’s died? Yes, for family and friends, but at his age and health, hardly surprising. Give the Queen and her family privacy to mourn and get on with all the huge problems facing us right now. This’ll give the government and the media the perfect excuse to ignore everything and spend everything on this now. I’ve heard someone likening it to Diana. FFS! Hardly .....
We said goodbye to a good friend of mine 2 weeks ago. He was cremated on his 63rd birthday - so he got less than 2/3 of the time Phil got. He and all those who’ve died well before their time - now, that’s tragic ...
I am quite shocked by the out-pouring of grief for the passing of the Duke of Edinburgh. I have never understood why quite so many unquestioningly held him in such high esteem and had always considered him to be something of an embarrassment for this country. He was notorious for his "gaffs" which constantly amused readers of newspapers like the Mail and The Express but which should not be excused for being anything other than the racist vitriol they were. I think he was typical of that generation who grew up before World War Two where the aristocracy rubbed shoulders with Right Wing dictators and struggled to work out the implications of this before it was too late. You can envisage him as being a "moderniser" brought in post-War yet I feel he got overtaken by the cultural changes which say him increasingly out of step. By the 1980s, at best he had become cringeworthy. At worst, he just appeared to be a boorish, racist bigot whose faux pas made you deeply ashamed to be English. I feel sorry for the Queen having lost her partner after such a long time but my sympathy for these people can only go so far. It is staggering to someone to have been a head of state for nearly 70 years and equally staggering to have been so ineffectual and pointless for all of that time. In all this time, she has achieved a fraction of what someone like Greta Thunberg has done in only a matter of years. I think that common sense has started to prevail and that more and more people are seeing these privileged people not only as increasingly irrelevant but also increasingly problematic. There has been a lot in the press regarding many of the immediate members of the royal family which is deeply troubling, whether it is Harry, Meghan or Andrew. Unfortunately, our politicians have almost been complicit and even a supposed radical like Jeremy Corbyn's best offer of questioning their relevance is a timid and meek comment about "could do better." I would like to think that, one day, the British people (or even those from our former "colonies") will hold the Windsors to account. It is difficult to see how a monarchy can function with any credibility in 21st century politics and I would like to think that there will ultimately be some kind of peaceful reckoning whereby the residents of the British Isles can become citizens as opposed to merely being subjects under the vestiges of the Norman yoke.
I do find it quite sad that people feel the need to post comments that are either derogatory or in a negative manner towards him. If people can’t comment without comparing it to other people who have passed or finding a dig at him or his family then that is sad. Better not commenting at all. I’m not a royalist and I’m not anti-royal either, just don’t understand why people speak out in that way. Not just here, in my social groups too.
It’s not a contest. Feeling for someone doesn’t mean you don’t feel for others. I don’t think your sense of loss when someone dies reduces as they get older. Dying at 99 isn’t tragic...but I don’t think one person interviewed suggests it is....still going to hurt people who knew him.
He has always said he doesn’t want one, but Covid regs mean it will be even smaller than planned. Immediate family will take up most places....suspect the remaining mourners will be PM or first ministers of the 4 countries of the UK.
Agreed. Well I am a Royalist. I don't agree with some of the actions of the Royal family, but to me the Royals and their heritage make up a lot of what it means to be British. Just look how jealous the Americans are of our pomp and ceremony and heritage. The House of Windsor is by no means perfect, but what family is? They will always get caught out as they are under so much scrutiny. They are human after all. Their blood isn't blue, but red like yours and mine. The Queen has been a great head of state for for us, she has adapted over the last nearly 70 years - just think how much the world has changed and how much she has had to change the family. Not perfect and slow to react a few times, but I feel for her as she has given her life to public life for nearly 70 years and he has been her confidant for over 70 years. The Royal family is worth more to us than we pay out in global interest and what they bring to the country IMO. RIP D of E. Not perfect and known for his gaffs, but someone who has been by the side of our monarch through thick and thin.
The Story of a Man and his Chicken Back in the before-times, when people were allowed to go to these things called "movies". This one guy wanted to bring his pet chicken to one of these movies, but unbeknownst to him, chickens weren't allowed in the theatre. So, distraught, the man headed home with his chicken. But on the way, he was struck with an idea! He ducked into an alley and stuffed his pet chicken down his pants, believing he could sneak it into the theatre. His plan worked flawlessly and he was able to walk into the theatre, taking the only seat left next to two old ladies. And when the theatre darkened, he quietly unzipped the fly of his pants and let his pet chicken stick it's head out to watch the movie. One of the old ladies, noticing something strange happening next to her, leans over to her friend. "Ethel," she whispers. Ethel quickly shushes her, but finally relents. "What is it, Dorothy?" she whispers back. Dorothy points over to the man with the chicken and Ethel rolls her eyes. “So what? You've seen one, you've seen 'em all!" Dorothy looks over again and whispers back: “I know, but this one's eating my popcorn!"