The Queen: Would She Consider Abdication or Retirement?

[wyevale]

As an Englishman, from a monarchist family. i can say i have never heard HMQ referred to as 'Betty'. 'Lilibet', yes, 'Betty' NO !

 

[Iluvbertie]

The only time I have ever heard 'Betty' is in those satirical programmes or in articles that satire her but never by anyone who actually knows her in person e.g. Philip calls her 'cabbage' I believe while her cousins still call her 'Lilibet' or 'Elizabeth' but never 'Betty'.

 

[Princess Xenia]

There is no way. And there is no tradition of abdicating in GB like we have seen in the Netherlands. She is really popular and a beloved queen. And she doesn't seem fragile or weak for her duties, as we see her attend the important ones regularly. Even if she doesn't want to attend, she has lots of close family members to represent her.
I would also like her to stay, so that she can break some records.
Long Live the Queen.

 

[britishboy]

I couldn't agree more. She is only two years and two months away from beating the record of Victoria and she has done her job so perfectly she should continue as long as possible she can still be Queen and pass on more work to Charles/William/Harry and as she gets older do the most important roles e.g. opening Parliament/xmas message/C of E duties etc and let the younger royals do the day to day stuff

 

[padams2359]

I think there is a better chance of her running down The Mall wearing nothing but the Crown Jewels than abdicating.

 

[NGalitzine]

^^^^
OK that is a mental image I did not need.

 

[Ish]

^^^^
OK that is a mental image I did not need.

While a mental imagine that I didn't need... I almost want to see this happen now.

 

[royal-blue]

As an Englishman, from a monarchist family. i can say i have never heard HMQ referred to as 'Betty'. 'Lilibet', yes, 'Betty' NO !

I have often heard HMQ called 'Liz Windsor', both in everyday life and in the tabloidsm and she has been called Mrs Windsor by republican groups and polititians in Ireland, but I have never come across her being called Betty.

 

[royal-blue]

I would like to see Prince Philip at least retire this year. There is no reason for him to still be working so hard at his time of life. He could still attend all the important events with the Queen, but he could spend the rest of the time with his family, including 4 new great grandchildren.

 

[Royal_Royal]

I would like to see Prince Philip at least retire this year. There is no reason for him to still be working so hard at his time of life. He could still attend all the important events with the Queen, but he could spend the rest of the time with his family, including 4 new great grandchildren.

Although I believe The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh deserve some rest, I don't think they want it. In my opinion, Her Majesty and His Royal Highness acquire all their stamina from their work. In my opinion, both will quickly fade away if they stop serving the country and the Commonwealth the way they believe it's their duty.

 

[Iluvbertie]

Philip was never required to do anything to support The Queen - he had actually done his job before she became The Queen as the father of the heir and the spare. He has chosen to devote himself to her service for over 60 years and will continue to do that until his dying day. He also made two promises to her - one on their wedding day and another on her coronation day when he promised to be her 'liege man of life and limb' so the only way he will stop doing public duties is if his sovereign orders him to do so - but she won't do that because she loves him and knows that he enjoys appearing in public and working in that way.

 

[TLLK]

Although I believe The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh deserve some rest, I don't think they want it. In my opinion, Her Majesty and His Royal Highness acquire all their stamina from their work. In my opinion, both will quickly fade away if they stop serving the country and the Commonwealth the way they believe it's their duty.

I agree Royal_Royal.

 

[GracieGiraffe]

I have often heard HMQ called 'Liz Windsor', both in everyday life and in the tabloidsm and she has been called Mrs Windsor by republican groups and polititians in Ireland, but I have never come across her being called Betty.

I believe she was referred to as Baby Betty by the press when she was a baby, late 1920's. Read it in some biography or another.

 

[royal-blue]

I was reading some online news articles from Philip's 90th birthday which said he would retire from public life at 90 but he is still going strong nearly 3 years on

 

[Marty91charmed]

I strongly believe that HM will never abdicate! (Obviously if she stay healthy as she is)

 

[Lumutqueen]

I was reading some online news articles from Philip's 90th birthday which said he would retire from public life at 90 but he is still going strong nearly 3 years on

I doubt any of the retirement nonsense actually came from Philip. It was probably all made up.

 

[Hans-Rickard]

Don't think she will abdicate as long as she feels that she can do her duty. It's all about health at this age and from what we see of her she appears to be in a very good health for a woman of her age.
I do belive that she wants to break Victorias record before even think about retirement. What i fear is what will happen with her health if Philip leaves her and us during the way. It's not uncommon for older couples who have been together during almost their whole life that when the first one dies, the other follows not long after.

 

[Osipi]

Don't think she will abdicate as long as she feels that she can do her duty. It's all about health at this age and from what we see of her she appears to be in a very good health for a woman of her age.
I do belive that she wants to break Victorias record before even think about retirement. What i fear is what will happen with her health if Philip leaves her and us during the way. It's not uncommon for older couples who have been together during almost their whole life that when the first one dies, the other follows not long after.

Although I'm sure HM knows what Victoria's record is, I don't think it really has any impact on her resolve to keep doing her job as long as she can. You mentioned how it could/would affect her should Philip be gone. I'm of the mind that thinks that it will be her dutiful resolve that just might get her through the grieving period. She's a strong willed woman and although we have to know that she'll miss Philip terribly, she's not of the kind that would sequester herself away for years like Victoria did.

 

[scooter]

I couldn't agree more !

 

[Dman]

I think The Queen will try to go on as much as she can, until she can't go on anymore. You just never know what tomorrow will bring and I think she takes things one day at a time.

The palace is already prepared for when she's too ill to do things and Charles will have to step in on her behalf. I just don't think the media and public are prepared for any of it.

 

[RoyalDaisy]

I think The Queen will try to go on as much as she can, until she can't go on anymore. You just never know what tomorrow will bring and I think she takes things one day at a time.

The palace is already prepared for when she's too ill to do things and Charles will have to step in on her behalf. I just don't think the media and public are prepared for any of it.

None of us are, in reality. Ive had family members that I've known to being dying but that didnt prepare me for the moment they died. As a friend said - you never get used to it.

 

[Dman]

None of us are, in reality. Ive had family members that I've known to being dying but that didnt prepare me for the moment they died. As a friend said - you never get used to it.

That's very true, you never get used to it. I'm actually talking about when The Queen becomes sick but not dying. There will be times when she's not up to carrying out engagements as we are used to seeing her doing though.

 

[royalistbert]

When I heard the news that Juan Carlos was going to abdicate. I thought well if he abdicates maybe The Queen will be a little bit tempted. I still don't think she will abdicate I am just saying it might just cross her mind that its ok to abdicate.

I personally think Monarchs should reign for life by the way.

 

[Mbruno]

That's very true, you never get used to it. I'm actually talking about when The Queen becomes sick but not dying. There will be times when she's not up to carrying out engagements as we are used to seeing her doing though.

I don't think the Queen will abdicate. If she becomes too sick or somehow incapacitated, Parliament will appoint the Prince of Wales as regent (it happened before in British history !), but Charles won't be king unless he outlives his mother.

 

[Ish]

When I heard the news that Juan Carlos was going to abdicate. I thought well if he abdicates maybe The Queen will be a little bit tempted. I still don't think she will abdicate I am just saying it might just cross her mind that its ok to abdicate.

I personally think Monarchs should reign for life by the way.

The Spanish vs. British circumstances are very different.

JC is under a lot of public scrutiny both because of his own actions and his daughter and son-in-law's actions. He is visibly suffering in health. Support for the monarchy in general and JC in specific has been plummeting in recent years. There was already a strong republican movement in Spain, which is only bolstered by the various separatist movements.

JC's decision to abdicate can be seen as something that he's done to help save the Spanish monarchy. He should be applauded for his role in transitioning Spain to democracy, but now in many ways he's outlived his usefulness and if he were to continue to cling to power he would risk the downfall of the monarchy. While republican beliefs are strong in Spain, there is also a lot of support for Felipe, so it's possible that under his reign he could improve the image and standing of the institution.

EII is not under public scrutiny for her actions, and is frequently one of the most popular royals in Britain. Whatever health problem she has (and at 88, she surely has some), they've been kept private. There isn't nearly as strong of a republican movement in Britain, and while there are separatists movements (particularly in Scotland) they're also linked to a debate about achieving independence while maintaining a connection with the crown, like the other Commonwealth Realms. Further, the existence of the Realms makes it that much harder for EII to abdicate - each one of her parliaments would have to pass legislature to allow her to do so (while only Britain would have to act if a Regency were established).

Further, EII abdicating could actually have serious repercussions on the institution of monarchy in Britain. Since the 90s there has been a push for Charles to abdicate in favour of William - fueled by a combination of comments made during the War of the Waleses and a common misunderstanding of the circumstances under which Edward VIII abdicated. While Charles' popularity is increasing and the demands that he abdicate in favour of his son are decreasing, if EII abdicated then it could reignite this - if she can abdicate then why can't Charles? And as such it could very easily turn the British monarchy into a popularity contest. Not to mention the fact that regardless of where people stand on the issue of the Cambridges' duties to date, I think few would argue that William and Catherine are at this point in time ready to b King and Queen.

JC abdicating has the potential of saving his realm, at least for the time, while EII abdicating would have the potential of destroying her realms.

 

[royalistbert]

Since I live in the UK I know all that. I just maybe The Queen may have given it another thought with events in the past 12 months. I don't think she will do it.

 

[GracieGiraffe]

Having had chats and seeing several elderly people now in my own family, it can truly be a case of the spirit being willing and the flesh being weak - I no longer believe in the notion that a monarch has a duty to reign until death, because old age is brutal. I believe a monarch should reign as long as he or she can without putting too much strain on themselves.

 

[Roslyn]

Having had chats and seeing several elderly people now in my own family, it can truly be a case of the spirit being willing and the flesh being weak - I no longer believe in the notion that a monarch has a duty to reign until death, because old age is brutal. I believe a monarch should reign as long as he or she can without putting too much strain on themselves.

I totally agree.

I also think a monarch can best serve his/her people by knowing when to step down and yield the floor to the successor, and by doing it graciously.

 

[GracieGiraffe]

I totally agree.

I also think a monarch can best serve his/her people by knowing when to step down and yield the floor to the successor, and by doing it graciously.

Yes, that too. Sometimes, it's just time to pass the reigns.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

I can imagine that it will happen with QEII once the Duke is gone and she reaches a very old age/is plagued by severe health problems.

She might think about it in order to give Charles the chance to reign, it will be a short reign but an important one in order to possibly make some important changes after the QEII age and adapt to the 21st century. So Charles might be only a 'reformator' before William takes over, but those changes cannot come from William because he is (naturally) lacking gravitas and experience. It takes a senior figure to do a new set-up and implement changes.

So considering this background and the bigger picture with Charles and William following only closely behind, I think QEII might consider abdication at some point, especially after the possible death of her husband.