July 24, 2019

Boris and the Queen.



What's your favorite detail in that photograph? The Queen's handbag? The Dyson air purifier? The finger-clasp handshake? The pair o' parrots on the parapet??

167 comments:

CJinPA said...

They photo-shopped out the hair brush she was actually clutching in her left hand.

Nonapod said...

Well, my least favorite thing is a distinct lack of corgis.

Justin said...

Awww look. He finally got a haircut and suit that fits.

Michael K said...

The comments after the photo are interesting. "Dupont Circle " doesn't like Trump or Boris.

Lucid-Ideas said...

That painting of St. Paul's on the Thames is quite relaxing. She's looking spry. Sorry William, I know George is only 6 but you might want to start prepping him to be next in line. There's life in the old lady yet!

tcrosse said...

"Do me a favour, Boris. Say "moose and squirrel"".

Wince said...

What struck me is how grubby the chair rail and the moldings appear alongside the old switch box by the door.

Like you see intentionally added to the background on movie sets.

mockturtle said...

No comment on the photograph but I hope the Queen lives at least as long as her mother. I'm sure she's horrified at what will become of the monarchy after she's gone. She is a conservative lady and she hates what has happened to Great Britain in the last few decades.

John Borell said...

I'm thinking she's met so many PMs. Can she remember all of them? Half of them?

Not an age thing, a "there have been so many" thing.

Sally327 said...

My favorite part of the picture is that even on such a momentous occasion he still looks a bit shambolic. And jowly. The Queen looks as stately as always. It will never happen but it would be great if we could know what she really thinks...about everything...and what a huge disappointment it would be if we found out that she didn't really think anything.

chuck said...

The wear patterns on the rug are interesting, or is it just the lighting. I'm sure Holmes could tell us much more.

Rob said...

For sure the air purifier. Prince Philip must be gassy.

Seeing Red said...

It came from NBC. Even NBC is bored with the Mueller nothingburger.

tim maguire said...

The handbag.

Always reminds me of Monty Python.

rightguy said...

Where's Waldo ?

Paddy O said...

I was just going to say what Tim just said.

Definitely the handbag. Did Boris just catch her on her way out the door to pick up something from the store? She's been avoiding him for weeks and he finally was able to ring the bell before she left on her errands?

Is the purse where she keeps her mace?

StephenFearby said...

"What's your favorite detail in that photograph? The Queen's handbag? The Dyson air purifier? The finger-clasp handshake? The pair o' parrots on the parapet??"

The handbag. It's a little known fact that the Queen carries a can of Mace in it. (So many break-ins by intruders in Kensington Palace.)

The Mace in the handbag can also be easily deployed by the Queen if a Prime Minister tries to get too frisky with her.

CJinPA said...

The handbag. Always reminds me of Monty Python.


Batley Townswomen's Guild Presents the Battle of Pearl Harbor.

Etienne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
madAsHell said...

Is there a particular room where the Queen receives guests in Buckingham Palace?......like the Oval Office in the White House??

Yancey Ward said...

The Queen herself is the most interesting thing in that photograph. When she finally passes, it will be a great loss for the British.

gspencer said...

He's certainly consistent. Doesn't comb his hair for anyone.

gspencer said...

"She's got an Uzi in the bag."

I've often wondered what exactly she does carry. My guesses run from hot sauce (following the Hillary practice), some loose change, some paper money, probably a few condoms (gotta be prepared cuz ya never knew), some sticks of chewing gum. A gun's a good guess; maybe some Mace (probably used more than once on her goofy son Charles).

What else?

PM said...

He must be eight feet tall because I'm pretty sure she's six-five.

Tina Trent said...

The brooch. Keep waiting for something to happen in my life that makes me say, I need to wear a brooch today.

gspencer said...

Oh, yeah, probably some subway tokens when Phillip forgets to pick her from a day of drinking at Brick Lane.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

"Do me a favour, Boris. Say "moose and squirrel"".

Wonderful.

JVJ said...

The fact that her dress is the colors of the Conservatives (dark blue) and the Brexit Party (turquoise).

Big Mike said...

The Dysonis most interesting. Message to Boris is “you stink”!

The UK’s new PM is named Boris. So the Russians won the Cold War after all?

I can picture the FBI starting a new investigation because Donald Trump spoke to a guy named “Boris.”

traditionalguy said...

One wonders where the British Empire stole each those things she shows off as heir of the Saxe-Coberg and Gotha Family,now using the fake name Windsor. The stuff Queen Victoria stole would fill up thousands of wharehouses if they had not sold it to convert it into family loot.

Darkisland said...

Wait, you mean the Queen appoints the Prime minister? He is not elected in any kind of democratic manner?

And people are always telling me how England is a "democracy"

Oh well, at least the English Constitution says she has to appoint someone to be Prime Minister, right?

Oops. No Constitution. No legal basis other than custom going back in the mists of time to the 18th century.

Some Democracy. Our Founding Fathers did the right thing.

John Henry

narciso said...

heh, his grandfather was turk, and his great grandfather was Lithuanian,

Darkisland said...

Had BoJo not given up his Amarican Citizenship 2 years ago he could move here for 14 years (or maybe only 9 since he already lived here 5 years) and run for president as PDJT's 3rd and 4th terms.

That would be kind of cool for the history books "What person served as both president of the US and PM of England?"

John Henry

Nichevo said...

The Queen's dress. She could have got it at Target. No being dressed like a female Emperor Ming or a painted mule like Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama.

Tina Trent said...

What the queen keeps in her handbag is Lyndon LaRouche's embalmed head.

One can hope.

dustbunny said...

The two landscapes on either side of the fireplace, Canalettos? No just kidding, the purse! What’s in it that she has to carry it in her own house.

hawkeyedjb said...

According to lore, the handbag serves as a signal. Moving it to the other arm tells the handlers, "I'm outta here. Get rid of these people."

She's quite something, the Queen. I'm convinced she stays on the throne to prevent Charlie from becoming King. She's afraid of what he'll do to the family business. She's probably right to be worried.

narayanan said...

Mantel : the finish around a fireplace

parapet

1 : a wall, rampart, or elevation of earth or stone to protect soldiers
2 : a low wall or railing to protect the edge of a platform, roof, or bridge

Birkel said...

It's the handbag.

tcrosse said...

That's the secret Illuminati handshake, just after she made him pinky-swear not to fuck things up.

policraticus said...

Fourteen times she's done that. From Churchill, born in 1874, to Johnson, born in 1964. Will she see another PM?.

john said...

The teeth. On both of them. They're British.

narciso said...

striking that's exactly ninety years apart,

tcrosse said...

When Helen Mirren won the Best Actress Oscar in 2007 for The Queen, she carried a similar purse up to receive the award.

sykes.1 said...

Parapet? Isn't that a wall atop a castle?

Here it is a mantle.

RBE said...

The public figure I most admire. Glad to see her greeting another PM...I doubt there is anyone who has met more world leaders than her.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Inga insists that the brexit vote was fraudulent. she has no proof - other than she heard it on Maddow.

Darrell said...

Donald Trump was exactly right about Theresa May.

Funny how that keeps on happening.

mccullough said...

Boris looks like a member of Herman’s Hermits

stevew said...

The queen resembles my paternal grandmother as she heads out to the grocery store.

johns said...

I'm looking forward to Boris being elected President of the U.S. after he spends some time fixing Britain.
As for the queen's purse, I think she likes to prowl around Harrods to mix with the people; with a little less jewelry she could pass unknown easily.

rehajm said...

Striking they all ask to form a government. Seems like someone would have begged forgiveness. Obama would have done that, without the begging...

Bill Peschel said...

Like someone above, the painting. I'd love to know who did it.

Also, there seems to be a cigarette box in the lower left corner, on the table, with Prince Philip's picture on it. Did she pick it up as a souvenier?

johns said...

I'm looking forward to seeing Boris elected POTUS after he fixes the UK.

as for the queen's purse, i imagine she likes to prowl around Harrods without her retinue so she can mix with the people. With a little less jewelry, she could easily pass.

rehajm said...

Tony Blair fumbled the meeting. First rule of the Queen's reception- don't talk about the Queen's reception.

Bill Peschel said...

I wouldn't worry too much about Chuckles. The English have had quite a bit of experience with mad kings. At least he can't turn the country over to the Germans like Eddy 7 would have.

There should be a statue of Wallace Simpson in Westminster Abbey to thank her for giving her life for England.

stevew said...

I looked up the definition of parapet and it seems the word can correctly be used in this context, though I can't imagine anyone doing so; most would use the word mantle, no? Perhaps it is used here for the alliterative effect?

johns said...

the room in the picture looks incredibly boring. Why all 19th and 18th century stuff? The British crown has been around for many centuries. why not either make the room a museum of artifacts from all those centuries, or else go more contemporary? What is sacrosanct about this dull 19th century stuff?

MayBee said...

I like the lamp- looks like a ginger jar lamp from the 80's that cost about $15. Hahhahahaha about the Dyson air purifier.

Hagar said...

Here the parapet is on top of the river embankment in the painting.

And the process today is that the majority party in the House of Commons elects a new leader who then seeks an audience with the reigning monarch who then asks him/her to become His/Her Prime Minister and form a new Government (US cabinet).
All quite democratic these days though cloaked in the forms of the past.

Gahrie said...

Those are pheasants on the mantel.

Xmas said...

Those aren't parrots. I'd say their some form of game bird.

Hunter said...

gspencer said...
I've often wondered what exactly she does carry. My guesses run from hot sauce (following the Hillary practice), some loose change, some paper money, probably a few condoms (gotta be prepared cuz ya never knew), some sticks of chewing gum. A gun's a good guess; maybe some Mace

Shoot, a fella could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff.

tim in vermont said...

Johnson’s haircut.

dustbunny said...

And of course, Boris’ hair. Does he cut it himself? That seems to be the message he is sending, that he just chops away randomly while talking on the phone. Interesting to have two world leaders with such eccentric hairdos. Immediately identifiable and both bizarre. No one wears their hair like Boris or Trump.

Molly said...

(eaglebeak)

That's not a parapet. It's a mantelpiece or chimneypiece.

Also, they can't find LaRouche's head. They never could.

madAsHell said...

The Western world is now governed by two men with perpetually bad hair days.

I can see the NYT headline: "Is proper grooming dead?"

SDaly said...

I hadn't thought about the color of her dress being a signal for Brexit, but that is an interesting spin. The palace knows that people look for tiny clues to Elizabeth II's thoughts on major issues.

Darrell said...

At my age and in these times, I'd prefer to meet the Borg Queen.

Howard said...

I liked her better when Clair Foy was playing the Queen. The blondie looks a bit like Captain Kangaroo

Daniel Jackson said...

The angle of the shot put's the PM's head within the oil painting on the wall behind him--it makes him part of the painting giving the hint that Boris is FINALLY in the picture.

The next Disraeli.

Hagar said...

Sorry. Didn't even look at the fireplace. It did not occur to me that AA could call a mantelpiece, or mantelshelf, a parapet.

Xmas said...

They are pheasants. Originally acquired by George IV, according to the Mirror

Ralph L said...

The stuff Queen Victoria stole would fill up thousands of warehouses if they had not sold it to convert it into family loot
That was klepto Queen Mary. Much of the Windsor's fortune was given to Victoria by rich Indians.

The Queen keeps an S hook in her handbag so she can hang it on the table when eating to reach it without bending down.

Hagar said...

The silver thing on the table in the lower left looks like a piece of Nambe ware. American enterprise?

LordSomber said...

I can't stand "finger-clasp" handshakes.

Is that a chick thing? Or a Royal thing?

YoungHegelian said...

In a press conference afterwards, the Queen told the assembled reporters "It's really all gone to 'ell since you commoners took over, aisn't it? I mean, 'e's the bloody PM, and the bugger doesn't even know 'ow to comb 'is hair!"

LordSomber said...

I wonder if they have Roombas at Buckingham Palace.

mockturtle said...

I can't stand "finger-clasp" handshakes.

Is that a chick thing? Or a Royal thing?


Neither. It's an old arthritic hand thing.

SDaly said...

All of that gilt furniture! Were they meeting at Trump tower?

Leland said...

I love the handbag. She's the ruler of a vast commonwealth, but she is also an grandmother that can't be anywhere for a moment without her handbag. She can wield a royal scepter, but she prefers a simple black purse.

Ralph L said...

It is a Canaletto. The City of London from Somerset House terrace.

victoria said...

Boris Johnson's douchiness?


vicki from Pasadena

buwaya said...

The fact that the Queen is alive.

buwaya said...

"Boris Johnson's douchiness?"

This is a tradition.
Churchill was a pain.
Disraeli, I think, was worse.

buwaya said...

"The Western world is now governed by two men with perpetually bad hair days.

I can see the NYT headline: "Is proper grooming dead?"

In retrospect this may explain the wearing of wigs.
Imagine these gentlemen got up as Robert Walpole -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Walpole#/media/File:Jean-Baptiste_van_Loo_-_Robert_Walpole.jpg

It would suit them.

TheDude said...

“I wouldn't worry too much about Chuckles. The English have had quite a bit of experience with mad kings. At least he can't turn the country over to the Germans like Eddy 7 would have.”

Perhaps you meant Edward VIII? Edward VII reigned from 1901-1910, succeeding Victoria.

gilbar said...

definitely the purse; she's ready to belt him if he turns out to be masher

rehajm said...

Boris Johnson's douchiness?

You're not even trying anymore...

mockturtle said...

This is a tradition.
Churchill was a pain.
Disraeli, I think, was worse.


Gladstone was no cupcake.

rehajm said...

In the purse:

Today's Racing Form

Losing punter tickets

expired PetPlanet coupons

Walther PPK

I'm Full of Soup said...

What are the odds that USA and England would each have a leader with unusual hairstyles and same colors? It's like God ordained it to fix the West's PC culture run amok.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

Do you suppose that the handbag contains the nuclear codes? Perhaps she presented it to Boris Johnson after the picture was taken and, when he eventually steps down, he will have to give the handbag back. Or perhaps she keeps the codes. You never see anyone carrying her handbag for her. I did a google search on "prince philip handbag" and found nothing.

Gahrie said...

Boris Johnson's douchiness?

I object to the implication that there is something offensive or unpleasant about women's hygiene products, and find it to be stigmatizing of women. Minus ten intersectionality points.

Sebastian said...

"What's your favorite detail in that photograph?"

The queen being alive and doing her job.

Known Unknown said...

"Mantel : the finish around a fireplace"

Okay, the Macaws on the Mantel then.

Ken B said...

My favourite bit: it’s still Elizabeth not Charles.

tim in vermont said...

It’s douchey to win elections against liberals.

I bet that if they shut down the traffic in Central London again, that will put them over the top to take back power! After all, working people in London loved that! And “Labour” represents working people.... right?

mikee said...

My favorite detail is the guy who will remove Britain from the European Union in October.

Big Mike said...

She's the ruler of a vast commonwealth, but she is also a great-grandmother that can't be anywhere for a moment without her handbag.

@Leland, FIFY

JRoberts said...

Queen Elizabeth's father worked with Churchill to save British sovereignty from Germany.

Now, she will work with Johnson in an effort to regain British sovereignty from Germany.

Seeing Red said...

She keeps a 5 pound note in her handbag I think. Just in case she needs to make a donation.

Freder Frederson said...

Queen Elizabeth's father worked with Churchill to save British sovereignty from Germany.

And her uncle collaborated (and possibly spied) for the Germans.

Narr said...

"Pull my finger, dearie!"

Narr
That's the secret test

Gahrie said...

And her uncle collaborated (and possibly spied) for the Germans.

Half of FDR's cabinet were spies for the Soviets.

alanc709 said...

The best thing in that picture is that Boris is meeting with Queen Elizabeth II and not King Charles III. Hopefully she will live long enough to be succeeded by her grandson William.

tcrosse said...

VIcki thinks he's a douche, unlike that nice anti-semite Jeremy Corbyn.

mockturtle said...

And her uncle collaborated (and possibly spied) for the Germans.

But he was too stupid to be consequential.

SDaly said...

Question: Why did Elizabeth name her first son Charles? Charles I and Charles II did not have happy reigns.

404 Page Not Found said...

You would have thought that he would get a haircut for this, but no I guess.

Tank said...

Boris has that haircut where you put a bowl on your head.

mockturtle said...

Boris has that haircut where you put a bowl on your head.

The Moe Howard look.

rehajm said...

I think that's just what it looks like when he gets a good haircut.

rehajm said...

'We did what we could with what we had to work with'

traditionalguy said...

Russia-Russia alert.
The name Boris is the give away. Has any one seen the Badenov family tree. And Natasha Fatal is a known associate. The Brits will need to hire Mueller now, and he is available.

Look For Exoneration everywhere, But Boris is a Russian name, so Johnson is done for.

traditionalguy said...

The Churchill in May, 1940 and Johnson in 2019 have one thing in common. Fighting the European continent ruled by the Germans. And behind his back the Pro Germans in the English Government want and expect him to fail so their names aren’t on England’s surrender.

Go Boris, go Boris go.The FDR of today wants you to succeed.

Unknown said...

I wouldn't have thought of this if you hadn't asked, but now I'm really curious what the pictures on the end table are.

Known Unknown said...

I can see the NYT headline: "Is proper grooming dead?"

Do you even NYT, bro?

"Nazis were style icons, but their successors are not."

Known Unknown said...

"Question: Why did Elizabeth name her first son Charles? Charles I and Charles II did not have happy reigns."

They're inbred retards, that's why. I hate the Queen, but not personally. I hate the fact that she still exists, sucking at the teat of British productivity (or lack thereof) for decades.

narayanan said...

What is in her bag?

Shears for hair

Gordon Scott said...

The corgis have all died, I think, and she will not have replacements that would outlive her. That's fairly thoughtful, although if Chuck and Camilla didn't want them, I imagine the line would be long for folks who would adopt them.

Bobb said...

Question: Why did Elizabeth name her first son Charles? Charles I and Charles II did not have happy reign.

Third time the charm?

madAsHell said...

Do you even NYT, bro?

I'm sorry! Was it that obvious? I guess I need to up my game!!

Amadeus 48 said...

The china birds are pheasants. The painting on the wall is a Canaletto. It looks like London: The Thames from Somerset House Terrace towards the City, which is in the royal art collection.

Amadeus 48 said...

My favorite thing in the photo is the handbag. She uses it to signal her staff.

If you were in conversation with her at one of her summer garden tea parties, and she shifted her bag from one arm to the other, expect that a lady or gentleman in waiting would promptly join the conversation, allowing her to move on to other guests. The bag shift means "I am bored stiff. Come rescue me."

traditionalguy said...

Just heard Boris’ first speech. Dragon Energy has crossed the pond to Angle-Land. He is , like DJT, an excellent communicator, but with a Cambridge accent instead of Queens accent.

traditionalguy said...

CharlesII had a heck of a reign. He was the Bill Clinton of the Restoration...loved sex and foreign money.

dreams said...

Brexit is a coming. Two geniuses...

"The British elected Boris Johnson as their new prime minister, meaning both the United States and the United Kingdom will be led by blond natives of New York City."

https://donsurber.blogspot.com/2019/07/now-brexit-begins.html#more

Tina Trent said...

All I can say is dead Lyndon Larouche will be very sad if his head isn't embalmed in the lizard Queen's purse. Also the Sino-Asian Land Bridge isn't done yet so Monarchy 2, dead LaRouche 0.

Quaestor said...

My favorite detail? There appears to be two many bits of furniture for Johnson to make three bows and seven backward steps before departing majesty as the Queen's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather required of Sir Robert Walpole. Else the poor guy might fall backward over an overstuffed ottoman or something.

~ Gordon Pasha said...

Rees-Mogg has apparently been appointed to the cabinet. #Moggmentum!

Quaestor said...

The British elected Boris Johnson as their new prime minister...

No, the ruling party elected Boris Johnson as their leader in Parliament and then the reigning monarch asked him to form a government as most interpreters of the British constitution conclude she is obliged to do — the normal state of affairs since at least William Wyndham Grenville (1806). I believe George III was the last monarch to actually reject Parliament's elected leader, and he was nuts at the time.

Amadeus 48 said...

Sorry--I see Ralph L got there long (12:33) before I did. Oops.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Lots of pairs.
two vase, two lamps, two birds.
The furniture is French - what style? eh I'm too lazy to look it up. Louise XV perhaps?

Hagar said...

George III was indeed the last monarch free to choose his "prime minister," but because there were no organized political parties yet, just factions. And he was not "nuts" at the time. He had had one attack of porphyria, but had recovered and was quite in his senses again for a long time.

Achilles said...

Freder Frederson said...
Queen Elizabeth's father worked with Churchill to save British sovereignty from Germany.

And her uncle collaborated (and possibly spied) for the Germans.


Obama admitted on video collaborating with the Russians and proceeded to do everything they wanted in office when he had more flexibility.

Then he let them interfere in 2016 elections.

For Hillary.

Along with 5 or 6 other governments.

Quaestor said...

She's afraid of what [Charles] do to the family business.

What will she do with Andrew if his name comes up in Jeff Epstein's trial? Force him to renounce his titles and claim to the Throne, change his name to Andy Windsor, and move to Hackensack, New Jersey?

Narr said...

It's been a while since my art history class (furnishings and decor?) but I'm pretty sure that furniture isn't Ahm-peer.

Narr
And not a bearskin in sight

DanTheMan said...

>>Russia-Russia alert.
The name Boris is the give away. Has any one seen the Badenov family tree. And Natasha Fatal is a known associate. The Brits will need to hire Mueller now, and he is available.

Can't do it.... The UK has a "loser pays" system.

BJM said...

"Question: Why did Elizabeth name her first son Charles? Charles I and Charles II did not have happy reigns."

He may not choose to become Charles III. Prior to Acclaimation and Cornation the ascending Sovereign may chose his/her regnal name. Charles could use any of his given names; Charles Philip Arthur George or an entirely different name as a tribute to an ancestor or beloved Brit as did his grandfather.

King Bluebottle? Nah.

One suspects that having waited this long Charles will use his given name.

Gahrie said...

One suspects that having waited this long Charles will use his given name

One hopes Charles will be skipped.

CWJ said...

I know I'm way late making this comment, but Elton John went through my mind after reading Althouse's post. I kept silently singing Boris and the Queen to "Bennie and the Jets."

traditionalguy said...

FTR: Geo III was stupid, but he was driven insane by another George from Mt Vernon, Virginia whose Scots Irish Army slugged it out 8 bloody years with the best Europe had to offer and then refused to make himself a nasty little King. Very embarrassing that.

tcrosse said...

The Telegraph is having a lot of fun with this:
Boris cleans house at Number 10. Seventeen ministers bite the dust

traditionalguy said...

But...but what about the Prince of Whales? His son out of Diana Spencer who married a great little lady, Kate, is going to become the next King. Monarchy is all show business today, so the show must go on with attractive actors.

BJM said...

Boris and the Queen are Hanoverian descendants; thusly distantly related.

narciso said...

seems like a good start,


https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1157545/jacob-rees-mogg-boris-johnson-cabinet-latest-no-deal-brexit-prorogue-parliament-commons

Quaestor said...

Freder wrote: And her uncle collaborated (and possibly spied) for the Germans.

A typical Freder claim — overblown, hysterical, and with less fact than myopic speculation.

While it is true that when Edward VIII was Prince of Wales he made pro-Nazis comments during table talks at Balmoral and other informal gatherings of the British ruling class he never said or did anything in public that was overtly pro-fascist. It is also true that he was filmed in the company of Hitler and other Nazis while on a private visit to Germany in 1937, but he was the abdicated Duke of Windsor then, and it was quite an embarrassment for the Royal Family and particularly for the Conservatives. The affair could have led to the fall of Chamberlain's government because it supported the denial of a royal title for Wallace Simpson. Edward wanted her to be styled Her Royal Highness, but George VI, backed up strongly by Chamberlain, would have none of it.

The Duke and Duchess made the German trip because Ribbentrop flattered the ex-monarch and assured him that if he visited Hitler his wife would be received and addressed with the respect and deference the insulted former King-Emperor thought was her due. The stupid man took a big bite of the offered "cheese" like a doomed mouse. He even got himself photographed in the company of a gaggle of minor Nazi officials giving what looks like a half-hearted Nazi salute*. Hitler got what he wanted, a propaganda coup and a psych-war victory over Chamberlain's beleaguered government. Edward got nothing but temporary relief from his wife's hectoring — and a more or less one-wat ticket to Bermuda.

As for the "possibly spied" bit, the notion is rolling-on-the-floor risible. One would need an education derived from "fun facts" printed on the inside of Bazooka Joe bubblegum to give that more than a passing thought. The poor man didn't know anything the Abwehr could not have learned from reading Country Life.

(* The Duke told anyone who asked that he wasn't giving a salute, but that he was simply waving to the crowd who were waving at him. Given the bent elbow and the somewhat relaxed hand his claim is just barely plausible.)

Quaestor said...

And [George III] was not "nuts" at the time.

I think the Duke of Portland would dispute this.

BUMBLE BEE said...

In the purse? Easy... 4 inch Smith model 29, smoothed tuned and Magna-Ported. Bangers ain't just sausages you know!

MountainMan said...

I've been about as close to the Queen as Boris Johnson in the photo. It was in March, 1980. I was in the little coastal town of Workington, Cumbria, on the coast of the Irish Sea, near the Lake District. It was on a Friday and I had just finished a 6-week project there. I had a mid-afternoon train to London and she and Phillip came there to open an arts center that morning and were going to do a walkabout at noon. I stood along the street outside the building and she stopped and talked to the woman standing just in front of me.Philip, of course, walked about 5 feet behind her. She was very nice. One of the highlights of my international travels during my career. I have a picture from the local paper that a friend there sent me that has me in the photo as she is talking to the woman. She came back again for another visit about 10 years ago. The paper ran a commemorative issue from the 1980 visit in preparation for the event and put the same photo on the cover of the special edition.A visit by the Queen to a small town like that is rare and a cause for great celebration in the community.

tcrosse said...

Joke as we might about HMQ packing heat in her purse, but it has been established that she has been trained how to shoot. All reports are that she's a lot tougher than she looks.

Hagar said...

I think the Duke of Portland would dispute this.

But Billy Pitt would not.

Ralph L said...

"Oh, Somerset House," said Miss Marple.

rcocean said...

Young man, hold on a second. I've got the address of a good barber somewhere in my purse.

rcocean said...

Its Driving Miss Liz.

She's a proud, crotchety old Queen - who's used to giving orders. He's a free-spirited young scamp of a PM with a bowl haircut. Together they laugh and learn about life.

With special guest star Jeremy Corbyn as the "wacky neighbor"!

Ralph L said...

He had had one attack of porphyria

A Brit show said some historians think it may have been bipolar disorder. Could be both.

The affair could have led to the fall of Chamberlain's government

Stanley Baldwin's.

Victoria rejected Robert Peel in the Ladies of the Bedchamber scandal early in her reign. Albert showed up soon after and boinked her in line.

Nichevo said...


BUMBLE BEE said...
In the purse? Easy... 4 inch Smith model 29, smoothed tuned and Magna-Ported. Bangers ain't just sausages you know!

No, it's a chopped and channeled Webley, of course. Target loads in deference to arthritic hands. That .455 is enough of a stopper, the English have always been light in the loafers on pistol calibers anyhow.

BJM said...

@traditional Guy

Charles can't be "skipped" there is no legal mechanism to do so. The Monarchy is part of the government and the Brits take governance of the Monarchy seriously. To insure the Crown can never again hold real power succession is clearly set out in The Succession to the Crown Act 2013, which modified the 2011 Perth Agreement and repealed the Royal Marriages Act 1772 governing succession. He would have ascend to the throne and abdicate as his great uncle Edward VIII did and the line of succession would be to the next heir; William, then George, Charlotte and Louis.

It's not a job, it's a life sentence...albeit in a gilded cage, but a cage still. What little freedom Charles has to speak and/or hold opinions will cease when he becomes King. It's rumoured that William doesn't want the job, but neither did Great Uncle Bertie.

cf said...

what strikes me is the Queen's Sturdy Stance, and to my eye, hers is a match to Boris Johnson's Sturdy Stance.
They might be Made for each other!

Quaestor said...

Stanley Baldwin's.

I believe Baldwin was already gone before the Duke's visit.

Julie said...

The deference! This little old lady has seen more than most people, And Boris knows it!

Ralph L said...

Wiki says Chamberlain was PM May 1937 to May 1940, so we're both right. Baldwin kebboshed the HRH at the abdication.

Edward lied to his brother about the million pounds he'd stashed when they negotiated a financial settlement.

JML said...

Pheasants and not parrots? There goes my Monty Python quote.

David Duffy said...

Detail?

It's 9:17 on the clock. I'm assuming that's a.m. How early did the guy start his day to get into the queen's office by 9:17?

Ralph L said...

How early did the guy start his day to get into the queen's office by 9:17?

He's commuting from Moscow.

traditionalguy said...

@ BJM...Don't worry. When he spent those hours in London with her,Trump must have briefed Liz on how do do the deal so as to skip Charles, get all she wants from the EU Fourth Reich and build a better Channel between England and France paid for by Mexico.