British Royal Family News and Pictures

[Chanel]

Starting a new thread, as the other was getting long!

[Dennism]

Has anybody ever seen a show called "The Royals and their Pets". It was pretty good. They taked mostly about the Windsors and some about the Russians and the French monarchies. Anyway, they talked about the history of pets at the various estates and palaces. Also about how the pets lived and the importance of them in the lives of the various royals. It also mentioned the scandalous behaviour of some royal pets including Prince Charles´dog Harvey. It was pretty funny a lot of it. They talked a good deal about the breading programs and they talked about the Queen and her orgis and dorgis.
They talked a little bit with Princess Michael who talked a good deal about her cats. Such beautiful cats. Anyway, I can see why a lot of people think she is rather snobbish. I think it´s her voice. But she was hilarious in some of the antics of the cats that she and the Prince own. They also had a good bit about the dogs that Queen Alexandra had. It was a good show.

[GrandDuchess]

I don't know if this really belongs here, but I found it interesting, and it's rather important news which concerns The Queen.

From BBC Online:

Honours system outdated, say MPs

The honours system is outdated and secretive and needs overhauling, an influential committee of MPs says.

Civil servants, diplomats and the armed forces are unfairly favoured, they say.

In a hard-hitting report they say the Order of the British Empire is now inappropriate and should be replaced by an Order of British Excellence.

Knighthoods and damehoods are "redolent of past preoccupations with rank and class", the MPs argue, recommending they should also be phased out.


Public 'unease'
The report by the Public Administration Committee, entitled A Matter of Honour: Reforming Our Honours System, also says the machinery for making recommendations for honours lacks independence and rewards too few outsiders.

The use of honours as the tools of political management by Number 10 casts suspicion on the whole system, it says, although the MPs find little if any evidence of "serious corruption".

"There was special concern about the use of honours as the 'lubricant of the state' and some scepticism at the claims of those who run the system that it is entirely based on merit," says the report.

"The regular conferral of knighthoods on MPs is sometimes viewed, cynically, as a mere tool of political party management."

The MPs are worried that women and people from the ethnic minorities appear to get fewer honours than their white male counterparts.

They want "indicative targets" for honours which reflect Britain's diversity.

The report says "automatic honours" for senior civil servants and diplomats simply for doing their job "create a sense of unfairness and undermine the credibility of the system".

Such honours as the Order of the Bath and the Order of St Michael and St George -should be ended.

New OBE
It rejects suggestions that changing the name of the Order of the British Empire reflects political correctness.

The MPs say: "The title 'Order of the British Empire' was now considered to be unacceptable, being thought to embody values that are no longer shared by many of the country's population."

The new Order of British Excellence should as far as possible have the same three levels of Member, Officer and Commander as the current award, keeping the old initials of MBE, OBE and CBE.

The proposed changes would mean there would be only four national honours, instead of the current 16.

'Bold'
A new Honours Commission should also be set up to remove civil servants from decision making on honours.

Mr Wright said: "Honours are a way for the nation to recognise service and achievement."

"In our view, the system now needs radical and systematic reform, which our recommendations are designed to achieve."

"These are bold proposals, and we hope the government will be equally bold in its response to them."

The government is running its own internal review of the honours system which is expected to be published this week but will consider the appointments process, not the awards themselves.

The government will have to respond formally to both reports.

Constitutional expert Lord St John of Fawsley branded the MPs' proposals as "absurd", saying that everybody knew the British Empire no longer existed.

He said: "We would be cutting ourselves off from a system which is understood by the people. It would create confusion."

[Elspeth]

By the time the Blair Administration has got through remaking and/or destroying every institution that's focussed on something other than the Prime Minister, the country is going to be unrecognisable. I wonder what the Queen thinks of all this.

[hrhcp]

I think there are some good points to the "report"
- namely changing the name of the awards to another "E" word, because "Empire" is outdated (and racist?).

- getting the civil servants eliminated. Ha ... in a pig's eye.

- if it is a source of embarrassment, then the rules need changing, because the wrong people are being rewarded, and the right ones aren't.

Remember ... summer is the "silly season" .... where "trial balloons" can be flown, and most people don't see them, because they are away on vacation.

What QE-II thinks ..... baa hum-bug, how about that ?

[gaggleofcrazypeople]

Originally posted by Dennism@Jul 8th, 2004 - 9:59 pm
Has anybody ever seen a show called "The Royals and their Pets". It was pretty good. They taked mostly about the Windsors and some about the Russians and the French monarchies. Anyway, they talked about the history of pets at the various estates and palaces. Also about how the pets lived and the importance of them in the lives of the various royals. It also mentioned the scandalous behaviour of some royal pets including Prince Charles´dog Harvey. It was pretty funny a lot of it. They talked a good deal about the breading programs and they talked about the Queen and her orgis and dorgis.
They talked a little bit with Princess Michael who talked a good deal about her cats. Such beautiful cats. Anyway, I can see why a lot of people think she is rather snobbish. I think it´s her voice. But she was hilarious in some of the antics of the cats that she and the Prince own. They also had a good bit about the dogs that Queen Alexandra had. It was a good show.

When is this on? And what channel?

[Dennism]

Well, it was on again tonight on my local PBS channel. It should be coming around again soon. Perhaps.

[sara1981]

i got articles!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_3531554.stm

Sara Boyce

[sharon_rose]

http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackage...4&section=news

http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1076762004

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3655596.stm

[Martine]

I think it's really frightening that he could get up there...in this age of terrorists...

[sara1981]

i read articles in BBC News about that and i watch tv its really horrible for me! im hope HM Queen and family not there because HM Queen at Scotland

Sara Boyce

[Lord Williams]

That is the stupidest picture I have ever seen....batman on Buckingham...what will they think of next...no that is totally scary, the Queen could be assassinated very easily, a scary thought. BP needs to get tighter security, it seems nobody can get into the White House but people can get into and onto the home of one of the worlds most recognizable people and greatest sovereign...to boot, did you see he had time to hang that banner below him...quite odd, ja.

[sara1981]

Originally Posted by Lord Williams

That is the stupidest picture I have ever seen....batman on Buckingham...what will they think of next...no that is totally scary, the Queen could be assassinated very easily, a scary thought. BP needs to get tighter security, it seems nobody can get into the White House but people can get into and onto the home of one of the worlds most recognizable people and greatest sovereign...to boot, did you see he had time to hang that banner below him...quite odd, ja.

i totally agree with you!

years ago some people wanted to killed HM Queen 2 i think its would be in 1981 like as Assassination that aint good one i read that articles in BBC i never knew that when before i was born im sure about that.

Sara Boyce

[sharon_rose]

http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=1085762004

Prince wants troops for Holyrood Palace


THE Prince of Wales is demanding the Army take control of security at Holyrood Palace and all other royal residences after the high-profile breach by an intruder dressed as Batman.

The call comes as security is tightened at the new Scottish Parliament after a series of similarly embarrassing lapses.

[sharon_rose]

http://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty...arlessecurity/

PRINCE CHARLES CALLS FOR ARMY TO GAURD ROYALS

[GrandDuchess]

MPs look for waste on royal estates
By Toby Helm

The royal finances are to be the subject of a new inquiry by MPs, who fear that the public might not be getting value for money because of waste and poor management of estates.

The latest investigation by the House of Commons' public accounts committee will examine the Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster, which provide incomes for Prince Charles and the Queen.

Ian Davidson, a Labour MP who sits on the committee, denied last night that the investigation would become a focus for republicans in his party to try to undermine the Royal Family.

"We are trying to get a better bang for the buck by making sure that public expenditure is done properly," said Mr Davidson.

"Past investigations into the use of the palaces and royal transport have turned up many examples of waste and uneconomical running."

He said the committee wanted to show that the duchies were not "some sort of tax fiddle for the royals".

Last year Prince Charles, who is the 24th Duke of Cornwall, saw his pre-tax profits rise by almost 20 per cent to about £12 million, while the Duchy of Lancaster, the Queen's landed estate, is worth about £7 million a year.

The secretary of the Duchy of Cornwall, Bertie Ross, has been asked to give evidence to the MPs on February 7.

[GrandDuchess]

Christmas Day Service at Sandringham Church - Part 1:
Pictures from Getty.