Originally posted by Hot Pepsi
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Originally posted by San Bernardhinault View PostThe wikiholes are one of the best reasons for watching The Crown. Watching it triggers memories of things that people talked about as if everyone just knew them when I was a kid, that never really needed explaining when my mum and my gran talked to each other, or when they were mentioned on Radio 4 at a friend's house while we were playing with his Scalextric. But which I didn't actually know - so I go diving down into the wikiholes on my phone, ignoring large chunks of the actual show.Originally posted by San Bernardhinault View PostThe wikiholes are one of the best reasons for watching The Crown. Watching it triggers memories of things that people talked about as if everyone just knew them when I was a kid, that never really needed explaining when my mum and my gran talked to each other, or when they were mentioned on Radio 4 at a friend's house while we were playing with his Scalextric. But which I didn't actually know - so I go diving down into the wikiholes on my phone, ignoring large chunks of the actual show.
My mom has told me that watching the coronation on TV is one of her earliest memories of life - or certainly the earliest memory she had of watching something memorable on TV - (she was born in 1945) and she was very impressed.
It never occurred to me that putting that on TV would be controversial, but I guess I can see why it was. Given how stuffy and out-of-touch posh British people are now, it's easy to forget that they were much further out of touch in the not too distant past. Give credit to Philip for realizing the benefit of that. It really helped promote the Royal's "brand," for better or worse, and contributes to the perception that Britain is a magical place with knights and princesses and magical stones. I don't know how actually Britons feel about that, but it helps tourism a bit, I suppose. Not enough to justify monarchy, but still.
The Crown is pretty good at being whatever the audience wants it to be. If you want to think the monarchy is vital and lovely, it offers various characters explaining that point of view, and shows Elizabeth herself, at least, as a pretty sympathetic and likable character. But if you, like me, think it's actually completely ridiculous (though not much moreso than most of what people think is Really Important), there's plenty of evidence of that too for anyone paying attention - the racism, the love of slaughtering animals with minimal effort, and, of course, the massive expense and opulence.
I suppose that's how it is in reality too. Most of these people aren't what Fitzgerald called "the cruel rich," but none of them are willing to chuck it in the name of republicanism, humility, egalitarianism or even just to simplify their own life. Edward VII abdicated, but as the show portrays, he was a bit of a cake-eater (Minnesota expression, I believe). He still wanted a title. He wanted an allowance to continue living comfortably, and he was really put out that they wouldn't call his wife her royal highness. FFS.
I suspect that it isn't just the love of wealth and deference that these people love, because a lot of peripheral royalty/nobility don't actually get much wealth or deference out of it and yet I don't think many (any?) ever renounce their titles or claim to be the 41st in line for the throne or whatever. I can't think of any. For them to publicly, or even privately, rebel against the system would alienate them from their family and an identity that have been raised since birth to value. Like there's that scene where Elizabeth is sent to Eton - I can't believe the boys still wore those silly hats - to study with one tutor, alone, and the tutor only taught her stuff that he and/or her parents thought was relevant to being queen including the theoretical justification for having one. She couldn't get a real job even if she wanted one.
One of my wikiholes led me to explore all of the Scandinavian and low-country royal families. They are much more relaxed and fine with their kids marrying commoners. That cheesy movie with Julia Stiles where she falls in love with the Prince of Denmark at college without knowing who he was actually happened. The current princess in line to become the Queen of Denmark - not in her own right, of course - is just a fairly regular middle-class person from Tasmania. She met the prince in a bar in Melbourne. One of the guys married into the Swedish royal family declined to become a Swedish citizen (for business reasons? Taxes? Pride?) and so he doesn't have a title and that's fine, apparently. One of the princesses married her personal trainer. NBD.
* I couldn't figure out who that Duke of Hanover guy with the German accent was, other than being the Duke - or a Duke - of Hanover. What's his relationship to the queen and why was he hanging around?
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Good Christ, ep 2 of “How the ‘Celts’ ‘saved’ Britain” is even worse than the first. I could of course have our quote marks around “Britain” as well. Fucking Dan Snow. Now he’s hit Dal Riada/Scotland it’s even more fucked than the Irish episode. What a Britnat prick. Why does TV history have to be the school/first year uni Orthodoxy of 30 years back?
And again, church sources and church folk accepted as honest witnesses.Last edited by Lang Spoon; 26-02-2018, 23:12.
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It actually gets worse. The Synod of Whitby splitting the Iona and “Pictish” church, nada. The fucking Vikings doing more than most to meld two different (if similar, and in Pictland’s case, probably Gaelizing at an elite level pre any unification of Alba/Scotland) cultures, not a peep. Nah, it was Colombia and Pals that United Scots and Picts.
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Originally posted by Lang Spoon View PostIt actually gets worse. The Synod of Whitby splitting the Iona and “Pictish” church, nada. The fucking Vikings doing more than most to meld two different (if similar, and in Pictland’s case, probably Gaelizing at an elite level pre any unification of Alba/Scotland) cultures, not a peep. Nah, it was Colombia and Pals that United Scots and Picts.
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Today’s wikihole revealed that the royal family aren’t generally very well-educated or, perhaps, bright. Though Andrew’s girls did pretty well on their A levels.
I’d always assumed that they all went to Eton and Oxbridge and, if not smart, could at least pretend to be because they’d had the old-fashioned English education drilled into them. Apparently not. Privilege, eh?
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Go on HP and your history buffery. You can be US Consul General to the First Scottish Republic when the Brexit Wars start.Last edited by Lang Spoon; 27-02-2018, 00:03.
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- Mar 2008
- 9816
- Tyne 'n' Wear (emphasis on the 'n')
- Dundee Utd, Gladbach, Atleti, Napoli, New Orleans Saints, Elgin City
Andrew’s girls did pretty well on their A levels.
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William “was forced” to go to St Andrews, as his first choice Edinburgh would have been too hard to police. Probably didn’t get the grades. Edinburgh and St. Andrews especially of course being the cold cuts on Monday Too Stupid For Oxbridge step down for them richers and chin lackers.
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Originally posted by Lang Spoon View PostWilliam “was forced” to go to St Andrews, as his first choice Edinburgh would have been too hard to police. Probably didn’t get the grades. Edinburgh and St. Andrews especially of course being the cold cuts on Monday Too Stupid For Oxbridge step down for them richers and chin lackers.
Did Harry actually get a degree from Sandhurst or is that not how it works? I assumed it was like West Point.
It's hard to know if they're actually that stupid or just not very motivated in school since they know they'll get into a better university than their grades merit regardless, they'll have a shit time at college anyway because all their friends will be phony asslicking douchebags, and that their whole life is pretty much already mapped out as an endless series of photo ops and really shit parties, regardless of the degree they get.
It reminds me of that Twilight Zone where the gangster ends up in a place where everything always goes his way - cards, billiards, the ladies, etc, and after a while it's not fun, but boring and he discovers [spoiler]that he's not in heaven, but the other place.[/spoiler]
And why do they need so many palaces? There are so many, who can keep track? What a waste. They should convert them to ice rinks.
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Originally posted by Hot Pepsi View Post
And why do they need so many palaces? There are so many, who can keep track? What a waste. They should convert them to ice rinks.
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It's hard to know if they're actually that stupid or just not very motivated in school since they know they'll get into a better university than their grades merit regardless,
It's only recently they began attending university at all, I think Charles and Anne were the first. Mostly the men went into the military, and the women waited to get married off.
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Originally posted by Amor de Cosmos View PostIt's hard to know if they're actually that stupid or just not very motivated in school since they know they'll get into a better university than their grades merit regardless,
It's only recently they began attending university at all, I think Charles and Anne were the first. Mostly the men went into the military, and the women waited to get married off.
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Originally posted by Hot Pepsi View PostAnd why do they need so many palaces? There are so many, who can keep track? What a waste. They should convert them to ice rinks.
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Originally posted by Hot Pepsi View PostI thought St Andrews was really good. It sounds nice, anyway.
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HP, is this your german guy? Ernest of Hanover, brother in law to Philip. British Prince and duke and whatnot until deprived of his titles in 1917.
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