The Queen: Would She Consider Abdication or Retirement?


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I can see Prince Charles gradually undertaking more of the Queen's duties as she grows more elderly and is less physically able to do things; but I can't imagine her voluntarily stepping back at any particular time.

I find suggestions that the Queen will go into a 'retirement' after the Diamond Jubilee and for Chalres to undertake most of her duties odd. then I cannot see her giving up the role she pledged her life to carry out.
 
I think that as long as Her Majesty is healthy and can continue to be active then I don't see her abdicating at all. I think she knows how much she can and cannot handle. If she feels the need to step down, enjoy the rest of her life and let Charles take over then she will. I think she has fulfilled her duties as Queen and has done them beautifully.
 
As the Queen becomes older and more frail Charles and the younger crew will lighten her load but, HM will not abdicate. Not now, not ever. She vowed to her duty for life and unlike criminals there is no time off for good behavior! :whistling:

Should the worse come to the worse, Charles could become Regent before he becomes King. Either way she will be buried as Queen Elizabeth not some made up sort of title like . . . . . Dowager Queen! :eek:
 
Hi,

The history of her ancestors has several long-lived people in it:

George III - even though mentally incapacitated
Queen Charlotte
Queen Victoria
Queen Alexandra
Queen Mary
Queen Elizabeth, QM

and she has herself gone on to 84 now and is still upright & healthy.
So, I can see her reigning on for another 10 years - hopefully!!!

I hope to be in London and see her on her Diamond Jubilee Celebrations in June 2012....

Larry
 
Like any woman she has her mindset on something and when she's ready she is going to let her next heir take there rightful place.
 
The Queen is proving to be a right tough old bird just like her mother. No way will she ever abdicate.
 
The next king will reach the throne one way and one way only - after Elizabeth II has died.
She regards it as her God given duty to serve as the monarch until death and only God can take her from that appointed role. She will never abdicate. She may allow Charles to do more things for her but she will remain as the monarch until death.
 
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# Vecchiolarry:
It's great that you want to see the Queen on her Diamond Jubilee!

I think that she is such an exceptional monarch that it will be impossible to find another like her.

Many of us "more mature" persons are fervently wishing for the Queen to hang on for as long as possible!
 
110 years ago people were saying the same thing about Victoria and guess what - the world has found another monarch like Victoria.

History shows that Victoria's heirs were as good as she was at doing their job (with the exception of Edward VIII) and I do believe that the heirs of Elizabeth will be the same. The problem is that so many of us have never experienced another monarch so we are worried about change which her death will mean but that doesn't mean that a future monarch won't be as good.
 
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The only way that Elizabeth will be living and NOT H.M The Queen is if the UK (and the other 16 commonwealth realms) abolish the monarchy! Charles (or William, if Charles should predecease his mother) may become Regent but will never be sovereign until the "The Queen is Dead; long live the King" moment.
 
shes not abdicating

Elizabeth has recently said she doesn't intend to abdicate.
 
I really doubt she would ever abdicate because I don't think she considers the British Throne to be a mere " employement", I feel she sees of her position more as a life long duty. So, if there is ever a need for someone to replace her in her lifetime I think there would be a regency, just like things were done in the past, not abdication. But I really think she will ghand over duties to the next generation in a few years because , even if it tunrs out she is a long lived person like her mother I don't think that a woman if her mid 90s lets say , no matter how sharp her mind is, would be able to travel abroad (Australia, Canada etc) or even inside the country if the weather is bad.
 
Elizabeth has recently said she doesn't intend to abdicate.
I've looked to find a recent article and cannot find one.
I have found several older articles one says yes, she will abdicate, the other says she will not. All articles say they have it from "reliable sources".
:whistling:
 
Hi,

Sometimes I wonder who and where these "reliable sources" are.

It's the same as "they" - who are 'they'?

Certainly I think you will agree, that The Queen would not abdicate before her Diamond Jubilee!!!
After that, I can see her retiring more and more into the background as far as public appearances go; but carrying on he constitutional monarchical duties....
Victoria, Mary and the Queen Mother all held their mental capabilities right up until death and so should The Queen, one would think....
I'm not sure about Alexandra at the end, but she was deaf so maybe she was OK too but just couldn't hear; a touch vague perhaps!!! But, her mother Queen Louise was cognazant in her old age and she's an ancestor of The Queen.
The prognosise is good I think for The Queen to carry on till death....

Long Live The Queen!!!


Larry
 
Sometimes I wonder who and where these "reliable sources" are.

It's the same as "they" - who are 'they'?
They Larry! You know, the THEY people. THEM. They are kind of like the Keebler elves that go around and clean up Vegas at some nebulous hour so it looks all sparkling clean in the morning. You know THEY are there, you just can't see THEM. :D
 
I've looked to find a recent article and cannot find one.
I have found several older articles one says yes, she will abdicate, the other says she will not. All articles say they have it from "reliable sources".
:whistling:


There is a difference between what sources say and what the Queen says. I too have read various sources (for well over 30 years mind you) saying that she intends to abdicate and that she has no intention of abdication but my question was in relation to a definitive statement Elizabeth has recently said she doesn't intend to abdicate. This is what I have never seen or heard and what I am looking for - Elizabeth saying something herself not 'sources close to her' etc.

The only statement I can remember her making was made 63 years ago in South Africa and is along the lines of: 'No matter how long my life it will be dedicated to the service of my people' I don't have the exact words in front of me but the Queen takes what she says very seriously and that comment made on her 21 st birthday will hold true until such time as God calls her to her eternal rest.
 
I agree, until they hear from HM herself, it's all conjecture.
Long Live The Queen, BTW! :royalstandard:
 
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The British Coronation service is very religious and very serious. The Queen, it has always been said, takes her Coronation promises very seriously. She has lived through the traumatic time when her Uncle David (Edward VIII) abdicated, which was felt to be a total abnegation of his duty and obligations. She does not think that 'Kingship' is something that you just decide to give up.

Even if she becomes infirm physically and mentally, the tradition is that that there would be a Regent (just as there is if a Monarch is under 18), until such time as she died.

I can see her gradually handing over more and more duties to Prince Charles - in fact I think this is beginning to happen. After all, she is 84!
 
I can remember seeing a "Royal" programme on TV, where The Queen was complaining that she could not resign, unlike a Dean of Windsor or some other religious person. She was in the process of appointing someone to the vacant position.
 
After what she saw her father go through with her uncle, I doubt very seriously she would even entertain the idea of abdicating or retiring. If she became incapacitated in any way and unable to do her duties as Queen, I'm sure Charles would step in as Regent and do those things for her until her death. He wouldn't be the King, but he would be the Queen's Regent.
 
She shouldnt even consider it at the moment
 
She should continue to reign unless she is physically incapacitated, or until she takes her last breath on earth. If she want to retire, then that is her own decision, not one that someone else makes for her. I've never heard of any monarch retiring.
 
Which Russo fervently hopes is not for a while yet!
 
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The Dutch monarchs regularly abdicate but British monarchs don't.
The Queen will reign until she dies. There might be a period of a regency when Charles acts as monarch because she is menatlly incapacitated. A physical incapacity wouldn't mean a regency however.
 
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I don't see abdication as a problem. It is the same as 'normal people' retiring. Why shouldn't QEII enjoy life out of the public eye for a few years. I would have thought that handing over the throne to the next in line while she is still able to give advice would be the better option. I know that if I were Charles I would be more confident in my role having The Queens living support than having her memory. The Queen has been loyal to England and her people for almost 60 years, does she not deserve a rest? :sad:
 
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The reason that the Queen cannot "retire" is because her coronation oath was not a "fixed term contract" with retirment provisions but a commitment for life. Being monarch is something you do for life, with no opt-out clauses, no weekends or vacations or retirement.
 
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We may think so but her own opinion is that at the age of 21 in South Africa she made a promise to the people of the then Empire to serve those people for the rest of her life 'whether it be long or short' and she wouldn't consider breaking that promise. She reaffirmed that promise in 1952 at her Accession and again the following year at her Coronation.

I have read a number of times that she would love to retire and live in the country but she also believes that she was given a task by God - to be the British monarch for the rest of her life and she won't slacken from that duty.

Charles also would never be able to command the love and respect of the people if the Queen was still there in the background but once she is gone then a lot of the natural love the British people have for the monarch will be transferred to Charles. This is not a love or respect for Charles the man necessarily but love for the position he holds (like an army officer where the concept is not to salute the man but to salute the uniform he wears so it will be for the Crown Charles wears not necessarily for the man himself). While the Queen is alive that simply won't happen.
 
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Hi,

The Queen & Prince Philip just completed a very grouling tour of Canada and NYC in unprecedented heat and drew large cheering crowds everywhere.
Charles & Camilla also did a tour of Canada months before and not many people were out and the media didn't even cover much of it.

I do think that after the Diamond Jubilee in 2012, that The Queen should ull back on her public appearances and let the other members of the Royal Family do more public duties.
This may already be occurring; I hope so.

Larry
 
The day HM and the DoE were in NYC, I believe the temperatures rose to (with heat index) to 103F. Many of the people that might have gone out to see the Queen probably opted for their air conditionings and TV sets. HM looked as cool as a cucumber and not one bit bothered by the heat. This woman is the epitome of the word stamina and regal grace. Its no wonder that after almost 60 years on the throne that she is so well loved and welcomed everywhere she goes. Diana may have had iconic crowd drawing appeal but to me in no way can she hold a candle to HM the Queen.

Charles and Camilla as King and consort, nor any other monarch, will ever match the rapport that QEII has had with the entire world. Maybe because for most of the world's population, Queen Elizabeth is the only monarch of Great Britain any of us have known. I do think as Charles and Camilla do start taking on some of the more strenuous duties of the Queen, they also will make their own marks and impressions with the world at large. I do believe I've read somewhere that the Queen and the DoE are planning on taking things a bit easier in the future but in no way believe that they'll retire from public duties. As HM has said "whether my life be short or long... "
 
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