Thoughts on King Charles' Coronation

This web log has always had fun with the House of Saxe Coburg-Gotha, more recently known as the House of Windsor, and I have spent some time watching videos of King Charles' coronation.

I did not get up at 5 a.m. to watch it! Oddly enough I do think I was up at 5 a.m. however I did not think of it. I watched footage later and also read comments. That is a vice of mine, reading comment sections. However you learn a lot that way.

And so ... here are some thoughts on King Charles' coronation.

1. Enough with the "I can't accept Camilla as Queen -- I will always be thinking about Diana." Diana was not a good fit for that family. She should never have married Prince Charles. She could not handle it. You cannot become a Royal and expect to live the life you could have aspired to had you not made that move.

 2.  I wonder what Princess Diana would be like if she were around now. I wonder what people would think of her. It is like imagining if JFK Jr. had not died in that plane crash. They would both be different people.

3. Kate Middleton, the new Princess of Wales, has really walked the walk. She wears the hats, she wears the smile. Now there is a good woman for that job.

4. I miss Prince Philip.

5. Prince Harry was something of an outsider, as I understand it, having to wear a suit and not royal robes. However... what a suit. Dior made it and is proud of it, as well they might be. Looking good, sir, whatever your title is.

6. I dropped the ball on whatever happened with Prince Andrew. However a lot of the comments condemning him say "he was accused of..." and "allegedly." I do not have a good feeling about that whole thing, however here in the United States the rule is "innocent until proven guilty." I recall that he was stripped of some royal titles however I do not think anything was proven.

7. Speaking of No. 5 there, I think a lot of people on this side of the pond as well have forgotten that rule.

8. About Charles and Camilla ...

 

...I think he should have been allowed to marry her back when they were kids and liked each other. He was not allowed to, and that paved the way for an awful lot of trouble.

9. Now that she is a divorcee and the Queen Consort, you cannot tell me that Edward VIII is not rolling over in his grave. Look what he had to give up to marry the woman he loved.

10. Princess Anne looked pretty cool on that horse. Prince Philip made that joke, remember, that if it wasn't a horse, she wasn't interested. I miss Prince Philip. Did I say that before? Sorry. I just do. 

And I miss Queen Elizabeth and her handbag.

However, a good show. I will have to watch more.

And opine more!

Queen Elizabeth and Me

 

People are waiting for me to make a statement on the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. And so here it is.

To be honest I am not sure what to say. It struck me as a shock. In early afternoon, I got on YouTube looking for something and I saw a video by Lady Colin Campbell that said, "The Queen is dead. Long live the Queen."

That is ridiculous, I said. That cannot have happened. I have not heard this anywhere else. I got on YouTube and looked around at a few other videos and saw nothing. So I went into denial and I forgot all about it until I went to church and got a message from my brother Tony. I was at church because it was the Nativity of Our Lady today and we had a sung Mass and I was singing.

My brother wrote that he would be playing Elgar's "Nimrod" on the organ after mass in honor of the Queen who had died.

The "Nimrod" variation is kind of unfortunately named, you know? This beautiful music and it is called Nimrod. But anyway.

This was up in the choir loft. My friend Nora who is in the choir was at the dry-erase board, writing down what Mass and what Credo and what hymns we would be singing. Nora is about 16 but is always well informed. I approached her.

"Nora," I said, "Did Queen Elizabeth die?"

"Yes," she said.

And so I make my statement.

I feel bad about it. I do not like change, I will come right out and say it. Queen Elizabeth II was the Queen of England for as long as I have been alive. When I was little I collected stamps that pictured her, like the one pictured up above. As the years passed I actively enjoyed that she was a constant in my life. I mean, I appreciated it.

The office of the pope, that turns over like crazy. But the Queen, it was as if she went on forever. And I will miss her, the way I miss Prince Philip. Well, not quite the way I miss Prince Philip. You know me, I really loved Prince Philip.

However.

I do like new experiences in my life. I like to be able to say, "For the first time in my life..." At least under reasonable circumstances.

For the first time in my life, there is a King of England.

Charles is now king. I do not like him. However I can refer to "King Charles" on the throne and that is a new thing. For the first time in my life I can refer to the King of England. I can be like Mozart who, when he was around, the King of England was George III. He referred to the King of England and now I can too.

It is like my glasses situation. For the first time in my life, I do not have to wear glasses when I drive. My eyes have improved and I passed the test (easily!) without them. I appreciate that whenever I get into my car. I reach instinctively for my glasses and then I remember, wait. Fie on those glasses! I do not need them!

"For the first time in my life..." There can be a kind of magic in that. Depending, of course, on what completes the sentence.

We will have to see what the future brings!

Farewell to Prince Philip

I am saddened to hear of the death of Prince Philip. Howard told me this morning. He yelled down the stairs about something while I was making breakfast and when he does that you know it is something important.

That is too bad. I will miss Prince Philip greatly.

Prince Philip of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Gluckberg. I love it how Prince Philip is being referred to simply as a Greek prince, you know? Yeah right.

This web log will not be the same!

Looking around the Internet, a bad thing to do under any circumstances, I am depressed by the people wishing him ill in the hereafter. I know little about the private life of Prince Philip but nobody else knows anything either. I have said a prayer for him and I wish him the best.

Can I have a mass said for Prince Philip?

Why not?

Anyway beset by nostalgia I found myself looking back on his prominence on this site. 

The list of gaffes -- i.e., glaringly politically incorrect things -- that he said.

The times when my mother would be concerned for his health and I would fib confidently: "Oh, Mom, I read that Prince Philip is better." Sure enough he was better! That was what, five or 10 years ago?

The story my friend Stephanie sent me about the island where Prince Philip is a god.

When Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth gave Pope Francis a bottle of whiskey. What a perfect gift. So British. Anyone else would be tied up in knots, thinking, what do I give the pope? A rosary? A statue? No. This was perfect.

There was even the time I noted seeing a portrait of him in Toronto at the Royal York.

So much history we share! How could I have ever become so involved with Prince Philip without ever meeting him?

The poor queen. I feel bad for Queen Elizabeth with him gone. 

Prince Philip was one in a million!

The Prince meets the Pope

The big news today is that Prince Philip met the Pope. We are fans of Prince Philip Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Gluckberg here at the Leonard Pennario desk because we like worldly, devil-may-care older gentlemen who are not afraid to speak their minds.

Catch the story here and while you are at it here is the Web log post that is the clearinghouse for all things Prince Philip. Read of the island where Prince Philip is a god! And is top 10 gaffes (or one-liners, as we think of them).

It is funny that two years ago we were worried about Prince Philip being ill. Back when I wrote that post I was fibbing to my mother about it because it sounded serious.

But now, in the video with the Queen, there he is, looking hale and hearty. Prince Philip lives!

Here he is in the picture looking as if he is just waiting for an opportunity to cause trouble.

He and the Queen gave the Pope a bottle of whiskey. A very, very cool gift.

Yay, Prince Philip!

So glad you are well!