Who Died And Made You The King?
I was born in a land called The United Kingdom; it loves its monarchs so much, one is even mentioned in the name of the country.
On this auspicious day, I present to you some royal viewing (and reading) that might hopefully take you away from all the Coronation Street-like soap operas the masses are forever hypnotized into watching…
Throughout my childhood and beyond, at least whilst I lived in the UK, virtually everyone in my midst would get excited by news about The Royal Family. Any time one of them appeared on the TV, there were “oohs” and “aahs,” and admiration was expressed for their “dignified” demeanours and pricey togs.
For the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977 — 25 years of Purple Reign! — the whole nation held street parties with Union Jacks and red, white and blue bunting draped across their homes and gardens. We all gathered outside and partied in our sensible English manner. I think my best memory of the day is of eating cheese and cucumber sandwiches with salt & vinegar crisps in them (try this delicious combo and you will understand). But I still own the commemorative coin that every British child received; it’s somewhere amongst all my treasures, pristine within its transparent plastic envelope.
I wonder why, from an early age, I seemed to be the only person I knew that thought it unfair that a few people could be born into such immense economic and social privilege. As a child, I would question why we, the commoners — the non-royal plebs — were subsidizing one family’s extravagant lifestyle, paying for their palaces, mansions and several stately homes, non-stop international travel, galas, receptions, pageants, weddings, clothes and jewelry, and constantly fawning over them as if they were divine beings. Adults would laugh at me for expressing impudent thoughts. “But everybody loves the Queen!” Also: “the Monarchy is good for tourism…” that was another explanation I often heard.
These popular justifications never seemed logical to me.
MUSICAL BREAK!
Decades later I wrote a song called But The Queen:
And then last year, when I finally went back to the UK after 4 years, it just so happened to be the week of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Lizzie was now celebrating 70 years of being a monarch! I watched the pageant with my youngest sister and her family — it was on the telly all day, it being a media event — and tried not to be a killjoy even though I found it sickening to watch celebrities tripping over themselves to express their sycophantic perspectives on the national treasure that is our dear, beloved, Queen. And I’m proud of myself for not ruining every one’s fun by bringing up the fact that it was costing UK taxpayers £28 million (over $35 million).
And then, a few months later, at the age of 96, she died.
And of course the people cried. (“Gawd Bless the Queen, she was such a dear…”).
I skipped watching the funeral but I’m sure it was lovely, after all a lot of money was spent to make sure that was the case.
And today we just had King Charles III coronated, at the tender age of 74. There were, of course, lots of special guests.
I’m glad to hear they did a “low-budget” version which meant the 'trimmed-down' coronation only cost about £100 Million).
Did you watch it? Large surprise, I didn’t. However I did watch, and read, the following pieces yesterday and today.
The first, a 34 minute video by the always thorough James Corbett:
While most of the the public's attention is falling on the obvious issues—the monarchy's increasing irrelevance to the 21st century, the colossal waste of taxpayer resources that go towards the upkeep of the world's richest family and their multiple palaces, the dark history of slavery and other colonial abuses for which royals of the far-distant past are responsible—few are aware of just how dark the history of the royal family is, or just how twisted Charles' vision for the future of the United Kingdom—and, indeed the world—really is.
This three-part series — What the Media Won’t Tell You About King Charles III — by ReallyGraceful is muy interessante too:
Now this, written by Chaz’s “astrological twin,” was a surprising read when it landed in my inbox this morning:
Charles, my dear astrological twin brother, will you help the Commoners of the world turn the world away from the forces of dispossession, depopulation, and destruction and to move into a consciousness of profound respect for the creative forces unfolding evolution, of harmoniously blending with the “autopoesis”– life’s capacity to be self-organizing. There is a universal wisdom that is so much deeper than any human science. This wisdom can help us put in place an economic system that will enable each and every member of our human family to secure basic material needs while protecting the earth’s ecosystems for future generations. Everyone can then enjoy the adventure of mental, creative and spiritual expansion during their brief sojourn on Mother Earth.
Methinks Charles should abdicate toute de suite and surrender his crown to his cosmic twin.
As I was about to hit publish on my piece, I received this post from Black Death with WiFi, written by former NBVD colleague, Irina Metzler, who explains “how Charles is (involuntarily?) making monarchy irrelevant”:
The irrelevancy of this half-hearted, transitional coronation could be felt in the lack of engagement by the Good People of Britain. The spectators' area in Hyde Park had been erected to cater for thousands, but only a few hundred bothered. My town in Wales saw the supermarket packed with people doing their weekend shop instead of clustering round the TV as they did when Charlie's mum was crowned in 1953. It makes me wonder if the people are beginning to turn their back on the monarchy, not because they have become ardent Republicans overnight, but because Charles's brand of transitional royalty is not the genuine thing. Whereas in the past political or even royal opponents were done away with by decapitating them, these days it is sufficient to deplatform them.
Irina’s whole essay, A Transitional Coronation, can be read here.
Finally an image by the gifted artist, Bob Moran (who, for me, is a national treasure), which consolidates all the deserved disdain many of us have for this #notmyKing:
I was born in a land that blindly loves its monarchy (meaning the self-ordained subjects literally turn a blind eye collectively to the monarch’s wrongdoings). I now live in a land that fought valiantly to rid itself of the monarchy’s control. It has its own royals however. Let's continue to fight the tyranny of invisible rulers, crowned or otherwise.
I was hoping you'd weigh in on this! It's felt like we in the US are transitioning to that kind of 'monarchy' vibe ... this past inauguration day here in SF felt surreal with the bizarre Biden street parties....
Ooh, I forgot to add this gem: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=747151083531946