The whole world is changing - waking up and rejecting trillionaires, billionaires, rulers and the ruled. It certainly seems inevitable…
The ardent crowds gathered in the London drizzle presumably got exactly what they had come for, but among the coronation’s garish costumes, impenetrable rituals and perfectly timed salutes and processions, there lurked an unavoidable sense of anticlimax. There he was, hanging on to his orb and sceptre: a very familiar, remarkably glum-looking 74-year-old man, sitting atop a very damaged institution, honoured with a ceremony based on a national religion that no one really follows any more, in a country whose collective mood is not exactly cheerful.
No one needs any reminders of why this is: living costs remain impossible, more strikes loom and the cliche of a country where nothing works perpetually rings true. It is easy to think of the UK – or, more specifically, England – as somewhere that is simply stuck. In that context, as royal rituals always do, the coronation spectacularly served its purpose, presenting nostalgia, continuity and deference as virtues rather than vices.
But the events of the past few days have also provided reminders that this may not be the hidebound, small-c conservative country that its elites and establishment still imagine it to be. By their very nature, societies are always changing – and underneath its outward sullenness and stalemate, ours seems to be entering a very interesting phase indeed…
I agree it does have some good articles but this is not one of them .
It is the middle classes that are being hit left right and centre , and a lot of people consider themselves middle class .
The ruling lot are completely out of touch and that includes Justin Welby who seemed to talking in some ancient language more suited to a re run of Robin Hood than 2023 .
The entire crackpot hypocritical ceremony with the ridiculous emphasis on service by the most serviced family on the planet makes idiots of us all .
We dont want the incredibly arrogant self seeking Tories ( who in their right mind ever voted for Boris Johnson ? )
We don’t really want the Greens either but there is little alternative .
After the disaster of Corbyn and now Keir Starmer who insults our intelligence by not knowing what a woman is .- he really should by now he’s married and has three children .
The man is barking up the wrong tree if he thinks that will endear him to voters .
The article makes out that many of us plebs are ignorant Sussex hating racists .
No one with even half a brain gives the Sussex pair any real thought ( the Guardian thinks everyone is a mindless mail reader ) we could not give a monkeys what colour Mrs Harry is or their children we just wish they would shut up and go away .
Also most people who have any sense do have concerns about immigration .
Most people are not against immigration what they are against is unlimited illegal immigration of unqualified young men from countries where life is cheap and who subscribe to a radical theocracy .
This is not racist or anti immigration its called common sense .
Moreover the Guardian is not above a bit of racism itself especially as regards its anti semitism,
I fear that the once proud Manchester Guardian has lost it way .
This article goes all over the place. Perhaps because focusing on the royals wouldn’t have padded the article as well as correlating the lack of enthusiasm for the coronation with the local elections results.
I think people were relatively enthusiastic about royal events when the Queen was alive. The King will never be as popular. Particularly when he has made his former lover during his failed marriage to the much-loved Diana, Queen. This was surprising.
I am not a big royalist, but also have nothing against the royals. I think it’s an important institution here for reasons of national identity. I don’t see what would replace that point of reference. It’s also a big draw for tourists, & international political/economic standing. There’s a certain prestige which other countries lack. International delegates etc invited to Buckingham Palace for banquets vs what exactly? I just see it as value-added. Not sure how the new King will carry it off though. His mother is a hard act to follow.
I also don’t think people in general are so alienated by the royals as the article makes out. Some are and some aren’t and it’s not a class or political divide but very much a personal opinion divide across classes/politics. I know a number of friends who had coronation parties and also Harry and Meghan royal wedding parties. We were also glued to the screen watching the Queen’s funeral.
The guardian is going the way of many newspapers as a result of ever reducing revenue from the online news revolution. That of courting (no pun) controversy in order to generate clickbait type headlines. When you drill down into the articles there’s often little substance. I prefer FT weekend if I buy a paper and often now inwardly heavy sigh when I see a guardian link. It was once my favourite broadsheet, but that was before I caught them totally misrepresenting something I was personally involved in as part of my job at the time. They are just as bad as the others.
The monarchy is the PR Dept for the government,an essential part of the state machine.Any dictators and or despotic regimes they want to sell arms to,they send around to Buck House for high tea.
The opening post shared an article in the Guardian by John Harris. While I’m a regular reader of the Guardian, I’m not a fan of this chap Harris. The column shared exemplifies why I’m not a fan - he is very, very left in his thinking, he is naïve in his ideas and far too idealistic in his conclusions. For me, it’s as if he has not matured beyond his student politics days.
There are far better columnists in the Guardian, Will Hutton is excellent. And so is Martin Kettle who wrote the below. This is a much more insightful criticism of the coronation just witnessed.
Rulers and those who are ruled has always been that way, the changes should be less rulers and more local governance who live local to the area, aware of local issues and work their way through a fair system to gain high positions of authority. Serve an apprenticeship if you like.
Not going to happen, there can never be equality there never has.
Aristotle supposedly wrote, “The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal .”
True equality has never existed and never can. Good governments can give people an equal chance to rise but can never raise those who fail in school or those who won’t work; pure luck plays a big role, too.
Bad governments take all they can from those without power and turn their leaders into new elites. This includes “socialist” governments, especially including Communist dictatorships.
The Aug. 29 letter seemed to support “race hustlers,” squalid people who promote racial hatred for their own advantage. It means nothing if indeed both the Confederate and Nazi flags flew at Charlottesville, Va., because this long has been a standard tactic of crooked radical leaders. “False-flag” deceptions are common throughout history.
