I’m in awe of the Queen

[Nahhh]

I’m no royalist, I dislike the fawning, particularly towards younger members of the family. Somehow I find myself watching Trooping the Colour and I can’t help but be impressed by the Queen.

She’s 95, very recently widowed following 70 odd years of marriage. She’s just got back from Cornwall and is again on active duty, enjoying this event. I know she’s lived an incredibly pampered life with the best health care, etc. I’m just amazed by her sense of duty and her strength.

@SheldonesqueTheBstard

Don’t feel you have to be taken aback on my account roussette

I would do it for any member of society but my oath runs to my core.

I find this incredibly moving. Huge respect to the posters who have said this.

I also think the queen is remarkable and would easily say she is a role model - if I reach the age she is now and can look back at my life and see half the grit and determination and good humour that she has displayed in hers, I would be proud of myself.

I think she's wonderful. I'm not a royalist, and wouldn't care one way or another if we became a republic, but I do admire the Queen for her quiet dignity and sense of duty.

If I was born into the wealth and privilege that she was, I sure as hell wouldn't be doing half the things she does. I'd have taken early retirement and disappeared off to one of my tropical islands.

I think Princess Anne is cut from the same cloth as her mother. She certainly puts in the hours of charity and community work.

As an aside, my mum, husband and children saw the Queen drive past them yesterday - she was waving and smiling at everyone, late in the evening, after a long day 'at work' at the G7. Fabulous

I don't dislike her, but the reason she has had such a long and healthy life is because she's had everything handed to her on a plate.
Good food , warmth when it's cold, people to run about after her, she could go and exercise whenever she wanted to. I know she obviously hasn't smoked or drunk too much and is fit and well , but her lifestyle has helped enormously too. Something most older people can only dream of. Plus the taxpayer has paid a huge amount for her and her family to live this way.
She has served her country well, but let's not forget all the time and money spent on them all to have such a privileged life and to keep their many homes going too. Prince Andrews security costs alone are £300,000 a year. A huge amount of money that was found when austerity was the answer to ' balancing the books' : they have never had any meaningful 'cuts ' to their lifestyles at all. Or had to wait on a NHS waiting list for any treatment.
My Dh is a royalist he would rather all this than a republic, but I can see its appeal or a slimmed down monarchy as its rumored Charles wants to do ? I think that might be a better idea ?
I agree she has played a blinder at the G7 , but I am so torn over their future roles with Charles at the helm as I doubt he'll be as good somehow!
Have to see I guess.

I’m a stubborn contrary bugger with many, many flaws roussette.

The only constants for me really are that I will never just stand by and my word is absolutely my bond.

I want better qualities and fail miserably mostly but I keep trying.

However the two above have stood me in good stead so if that is all I manage consistently I’ll take it

I do respect her - not a royalist and literally the other end of the scale, but she’s gone at it steadily for decades, her and Anne are my sort of person - seem no nonsense and less flashy than you’d imagine ppl with access to loads of diamonds like the two of them a lot. The rest… fairly meh :) but the Queen gets my support. About 80% of that is her enthusiasm for the cow at the Olympics opening ceremony :)

m.youtube.com/watch?v=jXGeft7khSo Cows!

😍

I think the Queen would have loved to have been an ordinary country lady.

The only constants for me really are that I will never just stand by and my word is absolutely my bond

That is so admirable and so you should 'take it'.

I am a royalist, and remember once seeing the Queen at a distance during a walkabout. There was just something about her, like an aura. It's hard to explain, but it was back in 1977 and the impression has never left me.

To be honest, I think the Queen cutting the cake with a sword is a worrying sign. It was good to see the smile, though.

Sheldon

This loss of her husband - hadn’t Phillip retired years ago and spent his time living in a cottage off sandringham ? He was hardly her constant companion and didn’t he have affairs too? It didn’t seem to me to be a marriage to look up to or to be a loving relationship.

alwayswithhope I’d assume they remained good friends, lots of people separate and do :) maybe it was a very modern marriage! Maybe he was a prize shit… either way I’m not going to judge her

@Backstreetsbackalrightdadada I meant more everyone saying how she is keeping going despite the loss of a husband that in reality it seems she barely saw for years and didn’t even live with.

As if she would miss Ascot

I'm not a royalist but I do admire her, particularly as she's so recently lost her husband.

I have a great deal of respect for her.

I respect the queen as much as any other 90something year old in my family and community.

But I am just wondering what is it that she does in particular to change the fact that BoJo and his cronies are siphoning money out of us and handing big contracts all over the place while refusing to feed children, help the poor etc.

What is there to admire about her sitting there holding on to old rules and not necessarily making changes with important issues like racism even within her household, eg the report about non employment of black people within clerical roles, MM racism, MH etc. All human rights issues really.

If she is not political then how is she actually helping in regards with PM vs President - as we can obviously vote these people out if we feel they are messing up.

She is a figurehead. Our monarchy is not a political appointment. They represent the UK and promote the agenda of the elected government. They are not allowed to change any rules. If we want to change the government and what they do, we vote for a different one. It has nothing to do with the Queen.

So why is everyone linking her to the PM/ President debate as if her presence makes a difference?

They are not.

It has merely been noted that she has hosted many prime ministers and presidents and has had to be gracious towards them whatever she thought about them personally.

Ahhhh but smilesy don't we all do that? There's many people I've met in my life that I abhor... but no one would ever ever know.

Yes but my point was that we were discussing her personal qualities. Not her involvement or otherwise in politics.

We are all going to feel the loss the day she is no longer here. She is simply marvellous.

So she is not in a really needed, change making role then.
Because opening little curtains, smiling at babies etc. can be done by anyone, as most countries without a present monarch have shown. Athletes, presenters, actors and other celebrities seem to get on with this just fine.

Her personal qualities? I think being in 'awe' could be applied to Mother Theresa, women who spent time in jail (we have many all over the world etc. to free people), suffered horribly at the hands of some dictator / political circumstances and so on, maybe even severely pressed by patriarchy / race / religion etc. we have plenty of these women.