RIP to the lad. Great innings. Already had about a dozen people sharing news of his death on Facebook. As if anyone wouldn't know by now ffs. Idiots.
I would say he had been looking very unwell this last couple of years, almost like the living dead. It feels like the end of an era, I don't know if we can carry on with Kings and Queens after Elizabeth relinquishes her crown. He did some good things and said some bad things, so rest in peace Phillip.
Prince Edward is the figurehead. Don't know who is the driving force now, but towards the end of my involvement , an Admiral who was once in service on HMS Ark Royal was the chief administrator of the award. He used to do all the legwork by visiting the various units up and down the country.
RIP. I'm not a royalist, but the other option is an elected president. I shudder at the thought of the likes of Cameron, Blair, etc being in the running, as they likely would. Time for Liz to step aside & also Charlie & let William have a go & modernise the thing. Throw Buckingham Palace open to the public, keep all the tourist crap, like the changing of the guards, but cut back on all the unnecessary expense & use the lands for the public good.
Regardless of privilege and the life he led he did a remarkable job serving his country and the DOE Awards are a fantastic legacy to leave behind. Over 22,000 Royal engagements attended and was still happy to be out there meeting people well in to his older years. At a time of grief and sadness I don't get why people reply if they're not bothered. Just ignore the thread and move on.
Some people have very little respect. They provide a lot of jobs for people , tourism thrives because of them. I live near Windsor and without the tourists it would just be another dying town He also created the farm shop just outside Windsor and could be seen on many occasions chatting to the staff in a friendly manner As Loko says if you're not bothered move on
sure he will be greeted respectfully and thanked for the extra stress him and his missus put on the old lad!
France has more tourists to its former palaces than the UK - and they got rid of their royal family centuries ago (although Louis XX has a partial claim). Tourists would still continue to visit Windsor in sizable numbers even if the royal family no longer existed. There are two major front page stories already written for the Daily Mail - 1: Meghan Markle shows disrespect to the Royal family by attending the funeral. 2: Meghan Markle shows disrepect to the Royal family by *not* attending the funeral (although I've read she is unable to attend for medical reasons).
As a kid, he was trained to be King. In his 20's he was ready to be King. In his 30's he was desperate to be King. From his late 30's onwards he has trained his own to be King. William would be a logical choice, to some.
We should do what Thatcher did to most of the 'family silver' in the 80's and privatise the whole thing.
Nothing to do with a lack of respect if some people on this board criticise the royal family as an institution. What I personally find disrespectful is people not being empathetic when an individual has died. The guy was a very old bloke and his wife and close family will be extremely distressed so on a human level they deserve as much space as is needed at the moment. They have just lost a loved one and its horrible having to go through that. On the other hand it doesn't change my views about the institution either. The Royal Family is an anachronism and is not relevant on many levels. Some people on here will no doubt disagree with me.
Some will disagree. Others won't disagree. Where I fall out with people is that their only contribution to this thread is to bring that opinion in to this thread when they could just stay out of it and ignore the whole thing. 73 years the Queen was married to him and obviously idolised him. It's a terribly sad time for anyone and should be treated with respect.