The Queen and a Wheelchair

[Nellielephant]

AIBU to be annoyed that the newspapers are reporting that the Queen does not want to be seen in a Wheelchair? For those of us who have no choice I find this attitude upsetting as if it is something to be ashamed of.
Giylrs Brandreth has said it would be undignified for her to use one!

@Nellielephant

AIBU to be annoyed that the newspapers are reporting that the Queen does not want to be seen in a Wheelchair? For those of us who have no choice I find this attitude upsetting as if it is something to be ashamed of. Giylrs Brandreth has said it would be undignified for her to use one!

She is the Queen. She is our head of state. She can't be seen looking frail ,under a blanket, in a wheelchair. She would need a flunky to wheel her about. It doesn't look statesman like. Can you think of any other leader who is pushed around in a chair. When the D of E came out of hospital, for the last time, he was shielded from the glare of the cameras until he was in the car. He looked absolutely horrendous. He was able to hide away from the public in the last year or so of his life. The Queen has decided to serve until the end. Unfortunately the end may be a slow and inelegant process.

[quote AllThingsServeTheBeam]@Thoosa granted, but she's old. So she is finding it tough AS an old lady. I'm sure she'd have felt the same at 30[/quote]
Well yes we all do if it happens to us.

I don’t think it’s worse (or better) because it doesn’t happen until old age. Swings and roundabouts. It’s always a shock and an adjustment.

She’s the head of state and needs to appear stateswoman like

It’s not relevant to draw comparisons to those not living a public life in a leadership position.

@ShowOfHands
"My Dad tries to never use his wheelchair around his grandchildren. It's his choice and a valid one."

He's giving the message that he is less when using a wheelchair.

"My grandmother is the same age as the queen and feels the same about using a wheelchair,"

They come from a time when having a disabled baby was a moral/character failing. Disabled babies/children were allowed to die and those that didn't would be put into institutions. The eugenics movement was still around and applied.
On top of the racism and Prince Andrew and the Palace's attitude towards pedophilia, it shows what a truly archaic, irrelevant bunch they are.

It would be marvellous if the Queen felt she wanted to be a proud representative for wheelchair users but she’s only human, she’s 95 and perhaps by 95 you can be allowed some compassion if you’re not up for that as well as your existing figurehead responsibilities?

@Thoosa right. So we agree? It's hard for anyone to accept? Just because she's old makes it no easier. Yes it's unfair we had our mobility taken away so young but it doesn't mean the queen can't find it hard to accept. I haven't (I hope) got death breathing down my neck as well as the thought of needing a wheelchair.

@AngelinaFibres there is a very senior Euro politician (name temporarily escapes me) who manages just fine in a wheelchair.

Roosevelt managed fine despite lack of a mobility, but because that was nearly 100 years ago, when nasty ideas such as yours prevailed, he had to go to great lengths to hide it.

Can you articulate why wheelchair use is necessarily “inelegant”, “not statesmanlike” or automatically involves blankets, in your peculiar view? Or why you think she she would need to be pushed? (Electric wheelchairs exist and she has plenty of room to practise.)

Yes absolutely @AllThingsServeTheBeam

The bit I was taking issue with was the idea it’s harder if you’re retirement age than working age.

Would a sedan chair solve the problem?

The Giles Brandreth in Life on Egg is all anyone needs to think about when he says something silly.

@AngelinaFibres now your comment just stinks. Being in a wheelchair does not equate frail. Ffs.

She’s got enough flunkies for a sedan.

A lot of the coverage of her husband’s funeral was about her being sat alone.

She likely doesn’t want the coverage of his memorial service to be about her sat in a wheelchair.

She probably want the focus to be on him, not her.

Surely there needs to be a point that the state goes "actually, you are too old for this" and the whole role goes to Charles whether she likes it or not.

Well if they do the thing that been reported of having a long covered tunnel or row of screens to smuggle her in through, that will excite more comment than matter of fact wheelchair use.

I do think in her case it has much to do with the constant speculation about her state of health, and by extension her expected longevity. Which I find to be disgusting and offensive.

@eddiemairswife

Would a sedan chair solve the problem?

I think a small carriage drawn by Shetland ponies would be fitting

The ableism on this thread is astounding. I think some of you need to visit the Franklin D. Roosevelt memorial in Washington DC and see the statue of him seated in his wheelchair. And then also see the children in wheelchairs rolling up to have their picture taken next to the president.

Of course, it is the Queen's choice. But it would be a much better choice for her to be willing to be seen in a wheelchair.

@CapMarvel

Surely there needs to be a point that the state goes "actually, you are too old for this" and the whole role goes to Charles whether she likes it or not.

That reads like you think she should be pushed out of her position as the queen because she now needs a wheelchair sometimes? Yet people wonder why she’d rather keep her health private…

Is the queen not supposed to always be higher than everyone else or something weird like that? I mean it’s not “normal” being queen is it?

Although I think commentators should be more careful about what they are implying about other wheelchair users when they discuss this.

I think some of you need to visit the Franklin D. Roosevelt memorial in Washington DC and see the statue of him seated in his wheelchair. And then also see the children in wheelchairs rolling up to have their picture taken next to the president.

Oh how lovely. I hadn’t heard of that.

Do you think an adult politics nerd could wheel up and do the same?

It’s her choice but it would be good for other people who use wheelchairs if she was seen in one. My grandmother refused to use a wheelchair and it limited what she could do quite significantly.

YABU for caring about anything Gyles Brandreth says. removes tongue from cheek Seriously though, the only person who should care about whether the Queen is seen in a wheelchair or not is the Queen. She should do exactly what she is most comfortable doing.

She is the Queen. She is our head of state. She can't be seen looking frail ,under a blanket, in a wheelchair. She would need a flunky to wheel her about. It doesn't look statesman like.

Maybe you need to change your mindset on wheelchairs. And on what does and doesn't look 'statesmanlike'.

@NoSquirrels

It would be marvellous if the Queen felt she wanted to be a proud representative for wheelchair users but she’s only human, she’s 95 and perhaps by 95 you can be allowed some compassion if you’re not up for that as well as your existing figurehead responsibilities?

I doubt she would be seen as a proud wheelchair user though. If someone like Prince William needed to use one it would be seen as someone who is otherwise fit and healthy but has a serious issue with mobility. The Queen would be seen as an increasingly frail ,very, very old lady who is desperately trying to get through her Jubilee celebrations without dying. She's not a wheelchair using paralypian by any stretch of the imagination.She isnt going to make it sexy.

I think Roosevelt is an amazing role model. Sadly, I suspect he would have found it much harder to be elected in the era of wall to wall TV.