September 8, 2022

Queen Elizabeth has died.

 The NYT reports.

ADDED:
@caspolnews #hermajesty #thequeen #queenelizabeth #queen #queenelizabethii #queenelizabeth2 #londonbridge #londonbridgeisdown #fyp #britishroyals ♬ I Vow to Thee, My Country - Choir of King's College, Cambridge & Peter Stevens & Stephen Cleobury

90 comments:

Dave Begley said...

A long life and well lived.

Achilles said...

Sad day.

Iman said...

RIP…

“Oh, finish your tea and shut up…”

rcocean said...

Too bad. But 96 is a ripe old age.

Inga said...

God bless her soul, what an extraordinary life she led.

Jefferson's Revenge said...

My wife is half Brit and has been a "fan" of the Queen her whole life. We also had an opportunity to meet Edward a few years ago- nice guy, not like Charles or Andrew. This is a tough day for my wife and, for reasons I can't comprehend, it also seems to have created a hole in me as well.

The woman truly had a life though. Life with a capital L to be sure. Chuck is a pale comparison.

RIP

Narayanan said...

any report on who was first to proclaim

The Queen is dead : long live The King

rcocean said...

She was a very good Queen. For what's its worth. Does Prince Charles take over now? Or his son?

Beasts of England said...

Very sad news. She was an impressive person. RIP

Mike said...


It is sad. The English do love their monarchs and the Royal Family. And she was a source of stability for a long time.

Beasts of England said...

Odd that Stacey Abrams will now be queen, but I don’t really understand those archaic rules of succession.

Rory said...

RIP.

Craig Ferguson's career could get a boost.

Rabel said...

Sad. She did her duty with grace and honor.

GRW3 said...

Check out the Shakespeare style play Charles III. It deals with the intrigue that follows Charles's accession to the throne. It's off a little, particularly in regard to Harry but it's still interesting.

tim maguire said...

Dave Begley said...A long life and well lived.

Indeed, very few Brits alive today lived under any other monarch. Generations were born, grew up and died with her in Buckingham Palace. What next? Do they have the nerve to skip Charles? They should.

Joe Smith said...

Too bad they can't skip over the jug-eared moron.

She seemed like a nice gal, and she did good work in WWII.

Gotta give her a lot of credit for that...

Jamie said...

God rest her. She may not always have acted perfectly correctly (no particular examples in mind, just an awareness that no one does), but she always took her duty seriously.

Gospace said...

Something to take Trump and Covid off the radar for a few days.

But maybe her death will have people looking closer at Biden's lack of health.

No one I know has been looking forward to King Charles. The monarchy is about to enter turbulent times.

Yancey Ward said...

Symbolic for what is happening in her country and the world?

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I wish Vic was here. She would have all the latest insights about the royal house.

Readering said...

A good innings, but leaves the crease one boundary short of her century.

Carol said...

Great monarch, stayed in her lane.

I was about 4 when my parent said we needed to keep the house neat and clean because "you never know when the Queen might stop by..." In Eagle Rock, yet.

Boy was I impressed.

That one must have gone back to Victoria's reign.

Leland said...

A great leader, she will be missed. RIP.

tim in vermont said...

Good, I needed a break from the internet.

Balfegor said...

God save the king.


M Jordan said...

Great woman. Truly will be missed.

john said...

Her biggest self-acknowledged failure was she couldn't outlive her wretched spawn. Well, one at least. But still, an amazing life.

I hope Biden goes to her funeral and doesn't send his VP.

M Jordan said...

The moment that triggered Shakespeare’s most eloquent passage was this by a minor character to Macbeth.

“The queen, my lord, is dead.”

Macbeth responded:

“ She should have died hereafter;
There would have been a time for such a word.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”

I hope the nihilism expressed here is not the response of the British people as they digest Elizabeth’s passing.

rehajm said...

I'm okay with King Jughead III, mostly because Elizabeth will never be replaced. More important- the next one in line will be a woke mess...

Gospace said...

Carol said...
Great monarch, stayed in her lane.

I was about 4 when my parent said we needed to keep the house neat and clean because "you never know when the Queen might stop by..." In Eagle Rock, yet.

Boy was I impressed.

That one must have gone back to Victoria's reign.


In ALL the Roman Catholic familes I knew growing up, the house was kept clean in case the Bishop dropped by. And in many there was a sitting room with all the chairs and couch covered in plastic, in case the Pope dropped in. Might be used for a lowly Bishop... That was a joke- it was a room for even such as the local Priest and other important people.

Joe Smith said...

'I was about 4 when my parent said we needed to keep the house neat and clean because "you never know when the Queen might stop by..." In Eagle Rock, yet.'

A variation on the classic 'clean underwear' scenario...

Aggie said...

Won't be another like her, and it's a sad thing to say. She was tops in my book.

Drago said...

A real loss.

Now the Brits are staring at a clownish Charles the Woke-ster who will never really be respected...nor should he be.

Joe Smith said...

Now they have to recall all that money and all those stamps...

Scotty, beam me up... said...

Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl
But she doesn't have a lot to say
Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl
But she changes from day to day
I want to tell her that I love her a lot
But I gotta get a bellyful of wine
Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl
Someday I'm going to make her mine, oh yeah
Someday I'm going to make her mine.

And Sir Paul McCartney did make her majesty his own when Queen Elizabeth knighted him in 1997.

traditionalguy said...

The Monarchy was a ritual play put on for the benefit of the extreme wealthy families of England, Russia, France and Spain. And those were all dead as doornails by the end of May,1940. But a stubborn son of an American mother saved them all with the help of FDR’s wisdom that turned over his Socialist New Deal to the President of General Motors and won two global wars at once. Elizabeth was a good little girl while that happened.

Dave Begley said...

Recall that skit with the Queen and James Bond (Daniel Craig) jumping out of a helicopter and parachuting into the Olympic Stadium in London.

That was awesome!

traditionalguy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Michael K said...

Brits will miss her more than they know now. Charles is an idiot.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Was it MonkeyPox?

Too soon?

n.n said...

Good woman, daughter, wife, mother, and queen. A life worth emulating.

Scotty, beam me up... said...

Rest in peace, Elizabeth. I don’t know if Harry told her what is in his tell-all book coming out in two months, but rumor has it he and Meghan are going “scorched earth” on the royal family. Maybe it is a good thing she didn’t live to see what is going to happen. She tried to keep a tight lid on “The Firm”’s private lives but starting withe Princess Diana’s death, it was increasingly hard to do. It must have broke her heart when the news of her favorite son, Prince Andrew, broke about his association with Jeffrey Epstein and the allegations against Andrew of sexual assaults on young women provided to him by Epstein. And with the ups and downs caused by Harry and Meghan in the last several years, along with her husband Phillip’s death in April 2021, she was one tough women to have survived the tumult until today.

rhhardin said...

To the tune of “Won’t You Come Home Bill Bailey”

The Lady Is A Queen by Lazlo Toth (1978)

She likes America even when it’s cold and damp,
She’s real classy, that’s why she’s on all the stamps,
She eats all they give her but she always stays lean,
That’s why the Lady Is A Queen.

The pound may be falling, but her nose, it remains high.
It’s like she’s from the House of Wax, except she’s alive.
She’s really something royal, if she was a he she’d be a King,
That’s why the Lady Is A Queen.

rhhardin said...

Plant some milkweed so she will have what she needs in the next life.

mikee said...

I am reminded of the Python Dead Parrot skit, for no obvious reason.

I appreciate that the British press used the very polite technique of first reporting that Queen Elizabeth would be missing some of her appearances due to health concerns. Then that the Queen wasn't feeling well, and was being seen to by her physicians. Then that her family was warned the health concerns were serious, and that the family was gathering to her bedside. Then, finally, with everyone prepared for it, an announcement was made that she was dead. Nicely done.

In other news, that Twit of a royal, Charles, will be crowned as king in a year or so unless he, too, shuffles off this mortal coil. One can hope.



gahrie said...

Classy dame. R.I.P.

One can only hope that Parliament is smart enough to skip Charles and make William the king.

Unknown said...

It's only sad because she was merely a figurehead. Otherwise this would be cause for celebration.

Kate said...

Expected, but still a gut punch. She was an exemplary Queen, at least to my American eyes. May she RIP.

Temujin said...

We simply don't have world leaders with the loftiness that she had. Class, dignity, honor, strength, courage, and smarts. She was respected worldwide, the last of a generation of leaders that is gone now. Her time overseeing Great Britain covered so much history, so many historical figures.

Today's world leaders and politicians seem like clowns next to someone like her. Maybe it was always that way. It just seems more accentuated by comparison today.

May she rest in peace, for a life well-lived, a purpose carried out to the end.

Temujin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tom T. said...

King Charles will be addressing the nation tomorrow night.

Richard Aubrey said...

Europe still has various little nobles and even royals. Always in some kind of uniform.
Only the Brits earn their uniforms. And it's usually not a courtesy commission, either.
As Elizabeth once said of her time as a driver for, iirc, the RAF during the war, she's the only royal who knows how to change a tire.
Even the execrable William got his flight time in flying the Falklands.

Richard Aubrey said...

Europe still has various little nobles and even royals. Always in some kind of uniform.
Only the Brits earn their uniforms. And it's usually not a courtesy commission, either.
As Elizabeth once said of her time as a driver for, iirc, the RAF during the war, she's the only royal who knows how to change a tire.
Even the execrable William got his flight time in flying the Falklands.

BUMBLE BEE said...

we got two black labs on coronation day. Duke and queenie. Duke lived a long and well loved life. Queenie was a bully.
R.I.P. Majesty.

Display Name said...

I don't really understand the British monarchy and thanks to our revolutionary ancestors I don't really have to. Attraction and fondness for them seems to mainly be nostalgia. They appear to serve roughly the same role as the Kardashians in American society. QE II was certainly the most useful of them. As living symbols go she was top notch. RIP.

Maynard said...

She brought a great deal of dignity to her role.

RIP.

tim in vermont said...

Looks like NATO is involved directly in Ukraine now, so we held off WW3 until she passed. I hope I am wrong.

cubanbob said...

I wonder if Biden is going to attend the funeral and which ex-presidents he will ask to attend. The British are sensitive to these sort of things. I suspect Zelenski will attend as well.

If Charles has any sense he would stop bloviating about climate change and other Lefty idiocy especially now that the Queen is dead and the UK is heading into a hard, cold winter thanks to those very same idiotic policies.

The Queen was as good a monarch as can be realistically expected and will be missed by the Brits and Harry should be ashamed of himself.

Michael said...

Poor Charles who cannot possibly fill her shoes. He is not the stoic and given to foolish pronouncements unbecoming a monarch. The Queen did as she promised working to the end of her life receiving the new PM two days ago to form a new government. A remarkable life, a good life lived in the vow she made in her twenties. The Queen is dead long love the King.

YoungHegelian said...

A person has to be 75 or so before you could even remember another monarch on the British throne! And 70/71 before there was another monarch! She has been the face of the monarchy for the entire lives of over 80% of her subjects.

She performed her duties to God and country until the end. May she rest in peace and rise in glory.

Susan in Seattle said...

We had profound respect for her and she will be missed. When I read here, earlier today, that she was at Balmoral and being seen to by medical people, I had a feeling we would be saying, 'goodbye' to her before too much longer.

hawkeyedjb said...

I always know the answer to the question, "When did Elizabeth become queen?"

It was on the day I was born.

Narr said...

Charles, third of the name. Last one came a cropper.

To think, Liz's first PM was Churchill (IIRC).

This will test the theory of a history prof of mine--that in the Western cultural sphere men grow beards and facial hair when a woman is on the British throne.

alanc709 said...

I was surprised how sad it made me to learn of her passing. She was a voice of sanity for the UK.

gspencer said...

Sadder news as Chuckie becomes king.

stlcdr said...

She was a driving force of what remained of British civility, and positive influence around the world.

rhhardin said...

Queen Elizabeth dies: continuing coverage, they're calling it. I bet it's not as good ratings as a royal wedding. A combination might do okay.

Narayanan said...

Too bad they can't skip over the jug-eared moron.
==========
USA leads by example

Narayanan said...

Wondering if Trump would be asked to the funeral?
as personal friend perhaps?
if so who will ask him?

what is the protocol?

will be instructive against funeral for McCain!

FullMoon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
JPS said...

She was truly admirable, and I'm not one to admire royalty automatically.

I appreciated her friendship toward our nation, her restraint toward her own, and her example of dignity and duty.

She seems to have been a real character, too; and the fact that she had to keep that largely under wraps made her less guarded moments all the more delightful.

Joe Smith said...

The British Queen is dead!!??

Awe...I loved 'Crocodile Rock.'

exhelodrvr1 said...

Richard Aubrey - I think you mean execrable Andrew in the Falklands

Tofu King said...

It surprisingly has hit me harder than I thought. She had such grace and always served the empire and commonwealth well. Difficult to find her qualities in most of our elected leaders.

Rosalyn C. said...

It's been a very heavy day for me because this is my (late) mother's birthday; not so much because we were close but because we had such a conflicted relationship and she had such an enormous influence on me. So this is always a somber date for me.

Shocked and sad then to hear the news about HM the Queen's passing. She who was the ultimate lady and mother figure for a nation and known by so many around the world. Micro becomes macro.

I also wanted to say I am very impressed how The Queen left this world so expeditiously -- 48 hours after her last official duty, when she appeared frail but was still standing with her handbag and in full command. We all knew she would pass on sometime soon, but this was a quick announcement that her family had gathered quickly and then she was gone. RIP

Ceremonies are going to be mindboggling.

Kevin said...

Queen Elizabeth has died.
The NYT reports.

ADDED:


Added? That's it. There's nothing more that can be added.

To quote Ferris Bueller: “You’re still here? It’s over. Go home. Go.”

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

Send Obama to the funeral.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

Send Obama to the funeral.

Joe Smith said...

What does Monty Python have to say about this?

Lurker21 said...

I guess she was okay. I didn't think much of the rest of the family. The world that she adapted to and served so well is long gone. It must have been tough for Charles to have to wait so long, but it's good for their country that he hasn't been ruling all this time.

I thought of my aunt, long gone, who told me when I had a beard that I looked like the King of England. I guess that was the long forgotten George VI or George V.

Narr said...

Yes, it was Andrew in the Falklands--helicopter pilot on one of the Brit carriers.

rcocean said...

THe Brits were extemely lucky she lasted as long as she did. The rest of the family is an embarrassment.

Tofu King said...

It surprisingly has hit me harder than I thought. She had such grace and always served the empire and commonwealth well. Difficult to find her qualities in most of our elected leaders.

alanc709 said...

The thing for which I will always honor her majesty, was her ordering the Coldstream Guards at Buckingham Palace to play the Star Spangled Banner to honor the victims of 9/11. That was the first time in history anything other than God Save The King/Queen was played. That was class.

Marc in Eugene said...

At this hour, the BBC is broadcasting only classical music (on Radio 3; the others-- 1, 1 Dance, 2, 4 et cetera-- ordinarily broadcast a range of genres or sports and are still doing interviews, remembrances etc etc), as they have done since they returned to music at midnight their time. In this mournful period, I rather like the idea of a state broadcaster. Radio 3 began with Elgar's Cello Concerto in the recording of Jacqueline Du Pré and the LSO conducted by Sir John Barbirolli, from 1965.

Marc in Eugene said...

I knew that the shock had worn off when I started speculating about how the UK government and Church of England bishops are going to disfigure the coronation service next year with woke innovations.

Breezy said...

RIP, Queen Elizabeth. A true leader and role model.

It is curious that more leaders don’t emulate her sense of duty and service to their country, given how much adoration she inspired in the UK and beyond.

gpm said...

>>She was a very good Queen

IIRC, one of the Anglo-Saxon chronicles had a similar statement about the death of the mostly reviled Richard III: "He was a good king."

--gpm

Tina Trent said...

She outlasted Lyndon LaRouche, which must have amused her.

Narr said...

LaRouche! Good one.