Let me start by saying that I believe it’s inappropriate/creepy for an American citizen to have strong opinions about the British monarchy. Living on the outside you grow up seeing pictures of fat Henry VIII, you sit in the theatre watching Richard III mince around on stage, and you settle into a life-long awareness of a reserved lady who looks vaguely like your posh friend’s grandmother. So it’s easy to get a confused picture of what it means to be the head of state. But with all apologies I do have an opinion, and it is overwhelmingly positive. There’s no doubt that the House of Windsor looks like only one part of the experience of being a Briton, but the sense of continuity, the ability to rise above the fray of current politics, and the reassuring pomp of an institution that transcends hundreds of years, made the ceremony and drama of Queen Elizabeth’s death, and the collective outpouring of emotion surrounding the celebration of her life, truly moving.
Return to Albion: King Charles’ Highgrove
Return to Albion: King Charles’ Highgrove
Return to Albion: King Charles’ Highgrove
Let me start by saying that I believe it’s inappropriate/creepy for an American citizen to have strong opinions about the British monarchy. Living on the outside you grow up seeing pictures of fat Henry VIII, you sit in the theatre watching Richard III mince around on stage, and you settle into a life-long awareness of a reserved lady who looks vaguely like your posh friend’s grandmother. So it’s easy to get a confused picture of what it means to be the head of state. But with all apologies I do have an opinion, and it is overwhelmingly positive. There’s no doubt that the House of Windsor looks like only one part of the experience of being a Briton, but the sense of continuity, the ability to rise above the fray of current politics, and the reassuring pomp of an institution that transcends hundreds of years, made the ceremony and drama of Queen Elizabeth’s death, and the collective outpouring of emotion surrounding the celebration of her life, truly moving.