Prince Philip is dead at 99

Ashiri

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I hadn't thought about going online to do it. I've never looked into it, so I don't know how quickly they're digitalising all the relevant UK and Irish records.
Sorry to derail further. Is there any indication this is being done officially rather than by third party genealogy sites?
 

Innula Zenovka

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Sorry to derail further. Is there any indication this is being done officially rather than by third party genealogy sites?
If you mean the UK, there's this




I also found this https://www.freebmd.org.uk
 
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Innula Zenovka

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Hmmm. There's a difference between "plain-spoken" and "punching down." Of course, he didn't care what he said; he sat on the topmost rung of society. Who was going to punch him back?
At least in my experience, people only got to be insulted by Prince Philip if they made the effort to meet him -- on the few occasions one of the royals has paid an official visit to anything with which I've been connected, people have been desperate for a few moments' royal attention even if it was from Prince Philip.

I've always turned down the opportunity to meet them, not because I'm opposed to the monarchy (I'm all in favour of monarchs, at least if they're ceremonial heads of state in a parliamentary democracy and leave me alone) but because I've no interest in exchanging smalltalk with them or their families, so I'd rather they talked to someone to whom it would mean something.

On the few occasions I've been in this position, the organisers have been so grateful when I've said I don't want my name on the list, because everyone else was fighting to get on it.

So I don't think many people can have been insulted by Prince Philip who hadn't gone to quite some effort to put themselves in the firing line.

But yes, I agree, he often wasn't anywhere near as amusing as he clearly thought he was.
 
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Innula Zenovka

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Never Meet Your Heroes - Final Boss Music Plays

ETA

 
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Kamilah Hauptmann

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Innula Zenovka

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A fortnightly bulletin of all complaints is due to be published on Wednesday. The broadcaster has yet to publish full details of its programming around the duke’s funeral on 17 April.

Viewers switched off their TVs in droves after broadcasters aired blanket coverage of Philip’s death, audience figures revealed on Saturday. Along with the removal of shows including EastEnders, Gardeners’ World and the final of MasterChef, BBC Four was taken off air and replaced with a notice urging viewers to switch to BBC One. It had been due to show the England women’s football team play France in an international friendly

Ratings for BBC One, traditionally the channel to which Britons turn at moments of national significance, were down 6% on the previous week, according to analysis of viewing figures by Deadline.

BBC Two lost two-thirds of its audience, with an average of only 340,000 people tuning in at any time between 7pm and 11pm. ITV also experienced a drop after it ditched its Friday night schedule to broadcast tributes to the duke.

The BBC had faced criticism both for the scale of its coverage and also for setting up the form.
 
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Beebo Brink

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I'm all in favour of monarchs, at least if they're ceremonial heads of state in a parliamentary democracy and leave me alone...
I'm not going to lose any sleep worrying about the trials of being royalty, but on principle I find the idea of a hereditary monarchy to be repulsive and barbaric. Repulsive because it reinforces the concept of inherent superiority based on who your parents happened to be, but also barbaric because the royals themselves are trapped into the family business without consent. They are born into the public eye and even an abdication from their hereditary responsibilities does not extricate them from that scrutiny. It is a gilded cage, and granted many millions of people are trapped in far worse conditions by their birth, but it's still a cage.
 
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Innula Zenovka

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I'm not going to lose any sleep worrying about the trials of being royalty, but on principle I find the idea of a hereditary monarchy to be repulsive and barbaric. Repulsive because it reinforces the concept of inherent superiority based on who your parents happened to be, but also barbaric because the royals themselves are trapped into the family business without consent. They are born into the public eye and even an abdication from their hereditary responsibilities does not extricate them from that scrutiny. It is a gilded cage, and granted many millions of people are trapped in far worse conditions by their birth, but it's still a cage.
I certainly wonder what sort of future the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge see for their children.

It's always going to be open to him, of course, whether before or after his accession, to let it be known that he would prefer the present constitutional arrangements to change, though I really fear we'd end up spending years arguing about what sort of replacement we wanted, before deciding we wanted very much the same thing only with an elected President William Windsor, or possibly President Sir David Attenborough (or whoever his equivalent is then), which seems a great deal of effort to achieve something that's really not high up on many people's lists of social and political priorities.
 

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I really fear we'd end up spending years arguing about what sort of replacement we wanted...
A more flexible royal model might work, keeping the trappings of monarchy without the trap. View it as the family business that it is, but one that can be passed to any one out of a group of candidates. Instead of automatically going to the eldest son, establish the line of succession based on who in the family is most interested in taking over the duties. Allow the list to change as aspirations and circumstances change over time. This would take some of the pressure off the children when they're younger; they don't qualify until they're of age and have actively participated in royals duties for a few years. Instead of opting out, you have to opt in.
 

Aribeth Zelin

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A more flexible royal model might work, keeping the trappings of monarchy without the trap. View it as the family business that it is, but one that can be passed to any one out of a group of candidates. Instead of automatically going to the eldest son, establish the line of succession based on who in the family is most interested in taking over the duties. Allow the list to change as aspirations and circumstances change over time. This would take some of the pressure off the children when they're younger; they don't qualify until they're of age and have actively participated in royals duties for a few years. Instead of opting out, you have to opt in.
Well, at least it now goes to the eldest child; so its not sexist anymore.
 

Innula Zenovka

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A more flexible royal model might work, keeping the trappings of monarchy without the trap. View it as the family business that it is, but one that can be passed to any one out of a group of candidates. Instead of automatically going to the eldest son, establish the line of succession based on who in the family is most interested in taking over the duties. Allow the list to change as aspirations and circumstances change over time. This would take some of the pressure off the children when they're younger; they don't qualify until they're of age and have actively participated in royals duties for a few years. Instead of opting out, you have to opt in.
Possibly. Any change would require an Act of Parliament and also the agreement of the legislatures of the Commonwealth countries that retain the British monarch as head of state (if any still do by then, that is, which would by no means certain), so it wouldn't happen quickly.

That, though, doesn't do anything about the undemocratic nature of the monarchy. I'd say that that, if we're going to change anything, then do a proper job of it, and replace the hereditary monarch with an elected ceremonial head of state, with the same constitutional powers and roles as the monarch.

I'm not at all sure what that would mean for all the various regiments, colleges, hospitals and other institutions that enjoy royal patronage or charters, but I'm sure it would be worked out.

Certainly it would be a welcome reform, at least to my mind, but I just don't see it as happening any time soon.
 
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It's always going to be open to him, of course, whether before or after his accession, to let it be known that he would prefer the present constitutional arrangements to change, though I really fear we'd end up spending years arguing about what sort of replacement we wanted, before deciding we wanted very much the same thing only with an elected President William Windsor, or possibly President Sir David Attenborough (or whoever his equivalent is then), which seems a great deal of effort to achieve something that's really not high up on many people's lists of social and political priorities.
Putting on my economist hat, and setting aside the student of history one, it seems today the British monarchy functions as a tourist draw. The number of people who visit Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London to see the sights brings in far more revenue than whatever it costs to maintain the monarchy. An elected monarch wouldn't have the same draw, because it doesn't have the same long history attached.
 

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God save the queen
We mean it man
We love our queen
God saves

God save the queen
'Cause tourists are money
And our figurehead
Is not what she seems

Oh God save history
God save your mad parade
Oh Lord God have mercy
All crimes are paid
 
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Innula Zenovka

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Putting on my economist hat, and setting aside the student of history one, it seems today the British monarchy functions as a tourist draw. The number of people who visit Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London to see the sights brings in far more revenue than whatever it costs to maintain the monarchy. An elected monarch wouldn't have the same draw, because it doesn't have the same long history attached.
It's a tourist draw, certainly, but back when I had connections with the tourism business (an ex of mine worked in inbound European travel and tourism) the Royal Family are an attraction, certainly, but they're hardly the main reason most people visit either London or the UK as a whole.

People are much more likely to mention things like historical and heritage sites and other cultural attractions, the landscape, art galleries and so on than they are the Royal Family.

I'm interested in the monarchy only for constitutional role the Queen plays.

The great thing about the Queen is the fact she has a lot of powers and prerogatives which she enjoys by the consent of Parliament and that keeps them out of the executive's hands, since her ministers merely exercise particular powers she has temporarily delegated to them, and which they exercise subject to the consent and oversight of Parliament and the courts.
 
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Innula Zenovka

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Interesting historical discussion of Philip's life and background -- it's surprisingly thoughtful, considering it's from Novara Media (normally I regard them with the same distaste I have for right-wing propaganda sites but Ash Sarkar is a bit different, and I have some time for her.).