Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh Current Events 25: April 2013-December 2014


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Iluvbertie said:
Charles has been seeing the Red Boxes for more than a decade now to my knowledge...
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It has also occurred to me that perhaps with Philip in his 90s, they want to ensure that Charles will be well prepared should something happen to Philip. It will be very appropriate and understandable that the Queen would go into a period of mourning. Charles then would be well able to step in and cover for his mother. No need for a regent but someone to allow the Queen a period of mourning in peace.
 
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Betting suspended on Queen stepping down - Telegraph

Has this article been posted?

I didn't think the Queen would ever abdicate, but now I'm not sure. There has never been a monarch who reached the age of 88 before either, or an heir to the throne as old as Charles.

Maybe the royal family is going to set a precedent for modern times, as people increasingly live longer. After all, if Charles lives as long as the Queen Mother, William will be in his 70s before he becomes king. Maybe abdications will become inevitable?
 
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I think HM would sooner wear a hot pink wig and lime green polka dotted slacks before she would ever abdicated a duty she has professed to serve quite a few times over her 60+ years on the throne.

Personally I think some people are reading too much into all of this. The Firm has a long history of very precise planning and with the advancing ages of both the Queen and the DoE, its not surprising that they are planning and implementing measures to assure that all bases are covered no matter what happens.
 
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:previous:
Wonderfully put. No abdication, just forward planning which is IMO, a good thing.
 
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I very much doubt the Queen will ever abdicate more likely Charles is just helping relieve some of the strain she is almost 90. It would be a very strange time to abdicate because she is only a year and a half from over taking Victoria's record.
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Osipi said:
It has also occurred to me that perhaps with Philip in his 90s, they want to ensure that Charles will be well prepared should something happen to Philip. It will be very appropriate and understandable that the Queen would go into a period of mourning. Charles then would be well able to step in and cover for his mother. No need for a regent but someone to allow the Queen a period of mourning in peace.
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Charles has been ready to take over since he was 18 as that was the age at which he would have been King without a Regent had The Queen died.
 
I think the argument about getting Charles ready to take over is more about the BRF moving to have things established so that when the transfer of power does happen, Charles is in more of a position of strength. Of course he is no closer to becoming king now than he was 60 years ago, that's obvious. It's not so much that he's actually getting closer to becoming king like you or I would get closer to a job promotion or a degree, etc, but rather that they're slowly passing more roles, responsibility, and power to Charles so that when he does become king he already had the foundation of what he needs in place.

Take the stuff with the staff merger. Typically you would expect someone from HM's team to head that, but as her top person has recently moved to other employment, Charles' top person is getting the role. This means that when Charles becomes king he's not going to have to restructure the staff again - or insult a cherished member of HM's staff - in order to have his team in place. Little things like this don't make him closer to becoming King, but they'll make the transition once he is King easier.
 
Martin ‏@MartinRoyalUK 2h
On whether The Queen’s visit to Rome was still going to be rearranged, Buckingham Palace told me it’s ‘too early’ to confirm at this stage.

Martin ‏@MartinRoyalUK 2h
Other sources have told me that there are still plans to rearrange the trip, though nothing has been confirmed yet.
 
Please note all posts regarding the health of Prince Phillip and the Queen have been deleted as speculative.

Any and all additional posts will be deleted without notice.
 
Summary from The Times article today - keeping up with this is making me dizzy! :lol:

Please note the contradiction between the headline (will go) and the text (is planning)

SUMMARY

"Queen will go to Italy and make state visit to France"

The Queen is planning to visit Italy later this year and make a state visit to France,

As Buckingham Palace dismissed reports that she is reducing her workload so much that it amounts to a job-share with the Prince of Wales, it became clear that while the 87-year-old Queen is cutting out long-haul travel, she is far from giving up on overseas visits.

She will visit the beaches of Normandy in June for the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings, when she will be accompanied by the Prince of Wales.

There are also plans afoot for her to reschedule the visit to Italy which was cancelled when she was ill last March. The visit is yet to be confirmed.

Re further state “The fact that there is no definite agreed state visit in the pipeline does not mean that there won’t be another,” the source said.

The joint D-Day visit, along with the forthcoming announcement that Charles’s press office is being merged with that of the Queen under the control of one of his senior advisers, is being seen as an indication of the Prince’s increasing influence.

In a sign that the power structure within the Royal Household is still subtly balanced, Ms Osman will report to the Queen’s Private Secretary, Sir Christopher Geidt.

The Queen’s desire to reduce her long-haul travel is motivated at least in part by thoughts for the Duke of Edinburgh, who turns 93 in June and has been admitted to hospital four times in just over two years. However last year the Duke surprised his staff by accepting an invitation to make a weekend visit to Canada to present new colours to one of his regiments.

The sensitivities surrounding the Queen’s age, her workload and the transition to a new reign are a constant challenge for the Royal Household.

A royal source said that on the domestic front, the Queen was “as busy as she has ever been”. With a number of senior royals working to support the Queen, he said, the merger of the press offices was designed to improve co-ordination. He added: “To call it a job-share is plain wrong. That suggests that the Prince of Wales is doing the work that she would be doing as sovereign.”

END

Queen will go to Italy and make state visit to France | The Times
 
rmay286 said:
... Maybe abdications will become inevitable?
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I think that the Queen would have to at least consider the possibility. Yes, she never planned to abdicate and has said in the past that she would not. When she became Queen, I am not sure that one could contemplate living until 100. There is much talk about a modern monarchy and ensuring the continuity of the Monarchy. I am not sure that having a series of extremely elderly Monarchs is the way to do this. If Charles doesn't become King until he is 80, he could live another 20 year himself making William 66. With strives in medicine William could live until 110, putting George at 80. Without an untimely death this could go on for many generations. Will a century or more of Monarchs who can not fully perform the role really be good for the Monarchy. Even if 40 is the new 30 and 70 is the new 50, the average person that lives into their 80's, 90's, etc suffers some effects of aging for 10 or more years. There could be a decade or more that the Queen can not fully travel or has other health issues. Charles could be good for say 10 years and then he would need to slow down for another decade. Having Monarchs who are less visible will not enhance the image.

I think that the world was stunned when Pope Benedict "retired". The role of Pope was one for life. Over time, I have come to believe that he did a great service to the Church. He has set a precedent that will allow future Popes to retire and will allow new leadership to emerge. I think that if the Queen abdicates in the next few years, it could be the same situation. She could set a new tone that would be followed by Charles, William, George, etc. In the end, each Monarch could still have about the same number of years to serve but would maybe serve from say age 50 to 80 instead of from 70 to 100.
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The likelihood of three monarchs in a row living to 100 is not likely. And not to sound gloomy but The Queen living to 100 is not impossible but is unlikely. I don't see why The Queen needs to even consider it when she is still in her state of mind and still healthy enough. She is going to France In June and the Italy cost could likely be rescheduled
 
BritishRoyalist said:
The likelihood of three monarchs in a row living to 100 is not likely. And not to sound gloomy but The Queen living to 100 is not impossible but is unlikely. I don't see why The Queen needs to even consider it when she is still in her state of mind and still healthy enough. She is going to France In June and the Italy cost could likely be rescheduled
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It must be remembered that she can't abdicate once she is mentally incompetent, if that ever happened, as she has to be 'of sound mind' to sign the necessary legislation.
 
Completely random post but I am beginning to wonder what is going on; to me something really didn't sit right with the 'Sandringham church flowers' thing and there are a few articles that tend to back up a stepping down of the Queen - Yes I know, never listen to the papers (trust me, I don't). I have really gone into rambling mode but something just isn't sitting right with me and I am the strongest believer in Queen for Life!!

Time to shut up Helen!!
 
Iluvbertie said:
It must be remembered that she can't abdicate once she is mentally incompetent, if that ever happened, as she has to be 'of sound mind' to sign the necessary legislation.
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The issue of whether a person has capacity to make a decision and perform a legal act such as making a will, or abdication, is not straightforward and varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. I'm guessing the situation in the UK is similar to that which applies here. A person can have full capacity at some times and lack it at others. A person may experience increasing confusion as the afternoon progresses ("sundowning") but can be quite lucid in the morning, and people who are suffering from various conditions which affect their capacity can have windows of lucidity during which they are quite capable of attending to the most complex of their legal and financial affairs. I think that if there was any doubt about a monarch's capacity to abdicate, appropriate expert evidence could and would be obtained.
 
There is actually a list of officials who have to sign off on the monarch's ability to carry on - three of - spouse, Lord Chancellor, Speaker of the House of Commons, the Lord Chief Justice of England and the Master of the Rolls - on medical advice of course.

One other note - I think I might have said earlier in this or another thread that the Regent has to be over 21 but that was changed in the 1953 Act to being over 18 although Counsellors of State have to be over 21, except for the heir apparent to the throne at the time (hence Charles has served since he turned 18 but everyone else who has done so since they were 21). The reason behind this makes sense if you think about it - child is under 18 and next in line is between 18 and 21 but can't be Regent until 21 but then child dies and next in line - who couldn't be Regent becomes Monarch and can now exercise all the responsibilities that he/she was deemed too young to do for the younger child.
 
BritishRoyalist said:
The likelihood of three monarchs in a row living to 100 is not likely. And not to sound gloomy but The Queen living to 100 is not impossible but is unlikely. I don't see why The Queen needs to even consider it when she is still in her state of mind and still healthy enough. She is going to France In June and the Italy cost could likely be rescheduled
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I think all the media attention about the merging of the press office to Buckingham Palace is being blown way out of proportion. There is no sign that the Queen is really slowing down all that much. Yes, she's not going abroad as often, but she is almost 88 it's responsible and no longer practical or comfortable for her to fly long ways and undergo grueling tours. So it makes sense that Charles and William will take on more duties in that regard. But there will be no job sharing, or regency or abdication the Queen will be Queen until she passes on.

The Queen is going to France in June, likely Italy later in the year and there's even talk she'll go to Malta next fall to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting.

Honestly, all this makes me sad. The fact that the succession is being talked about so publicly does put me on edge to be honest. I know the Queen is in good shape for someone pushing 90 but she has noticeably aged over the past year and is actually starting to look frail. We are now in the final years of her reign but rather than predict what's going to happen and when, we should celebrate this amazing Queen and look forward to her beating Victoria's record next year!!!!
 
A succession plan should always be in place for anyone in a top level position, whether you are a 30 year old Queen or 90 year old CEO. It is simply a responsible thing to do. Just looking at photos of the queen there has been a very visible change in her during the last year. To expect her to not show her age would be very un- reasonable. I am sure she is very concerned about a smooth transition when the time comes as anything else will give any opposition to the monarchy a reason for action. I doubt the queen would leave the very important job of planning for the inevitable transition without plenty of input from her.
 
timtonruben359 said:
...We are now in the final years of her reign but rather than predict what's going to happen and when, we should celebrate this amazing Queen and look forward to her beating Victoria's record next year!!!!
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Agree. And at age 87 I don't expect her to travel thousands of miles like she did 30, 20 or even 10 Years ago. I wouldn't be surprise if she doesn't make another state visit. the trip to France is an exception because it the 70th anniversary of The Normandy landings.

You are correct the media (and we as a whole) need to focus more on the fact that Queen Elizabeth will surpass Queen Victoria as the Longest Reigning British Monarch and Longest Reigning Female Monarch. There are now less then 600 Days until Queen Elizabeth beat Victoria and it will be a cause for great celebration. There us doubt Queen Elizabeth herself is counting the days!
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:previous:
I doubt that HM is the type of person to be "counting down the days" to establish a new record. Her attitude, in my view, would be more "by God's grace..." and what will happen will happen.
 
CBC News is reporting HM has sent a Condolence Message to the town in Quebec where that horrific Nursing
Home fire took place Wednesday night. The pictures and video the last 24hrs are just beyond terrifying and heartbreaking. That poor Town and People will never be the same again. :(
 
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