<p>“There was not much motivation. She went to finishing school. I knew a number of English girls who did the same.”</p>
<p>We had students at Oxford who did the same. They received “pass” degrees. The only requirement was that they ate dinner in hall four nights a week for the required 24 weeks a year (for three years) - and some were known to pay others to eat for them. I have some funny stories, but you’ve seen these folks on Monty Python skits.</p>
<p>“While it is true that Diana flunked her O-level exams…I like to think that what she lacked in book skills was more than made up for in people/heart skills. My recollection is she was the first world “leader” to be photographed hugging someone with AIDS. She was a strong proponent for stopping Land Mines.”</p>
<p>That is exactly why we loved her? Although she was born into royalty and was evidently affluent, she always had the common people in mind. Most aristocrats were too condescending and pretentious to care about us mere plebeians and yet she continually opened her heart. She helped people around the world and dedicated her time to a number of altruistic campaigns. She was a great mum and she responded to Charles’ ignominious behavior with probity and dignity. Her death was absolutely devastating. I remember during the summer my entire village gathered together, holding candles and photos in the square; even my eight year old school mates were there, most of which were sobbing. Many foreigners don’t comprehend the profound impact of her life and her death.</p>
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<p>She was born into nobility but not royalty. She didn’t get royal until she married Charles. And she was stripped of it when they divorced.</p>
<p>Not to be pedantic, but she actually has quite a few family ties (though most are distant) to the royalty. Sarah Ferguson being one of them.</p>
<p>Umm…Kate Middleton? Am I supposed to know who she is? I confess to profound ignorance of celebrity culture.</p>
<p>Kate Middleton is Prince William’s girlfriend. They met at university. She’s a very pretty young woman from an extremely affluent but not the least bit noble family. She has dealt well with the British press.</p>
<p>Time was when a large segment of the British public would not have accepted a young woman as a possible future queen if she cohabited–even if she did so with the prince she wanted to marry. Supposedly, Queen Elizabeth felt this way very strongly. Her youngest son, Edward, lived with Sophie for about 5 years before they married. He’s the only one of her children who is still married to his first spouse–and the tabloid press reports that this has changed the Queen’s view of the wisdom of her view. </p>
<p>She apparently thinks that Charles and Diana married too quickly. She doesn’t want William to make the same mistake–and therefore is accepting Kate as his girlfriend and not issuing edicts that he marry rather than co-habiting. Kate was invited to join the royal family for Christmas…and declined.</p>
<p>This thread is becoming more and more like an issue of Country Life…</p>
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<p>Not be even more pedantic, but having a bunch of distant ties to the royal family doesn’t make one royal, and especially not ties to Sarah Ferguson, since she lost her royal status too when she and Andrew divorced. </p>
<p>If you are not legally entitled to put HRH in front of your name, you’re not royal.</p>
<p>Saw it. Loved it.</p>
<p>“If you are not legally entitled to put HRH in front of your name, you’re not royal.”</p>
<p>I have an Esq. after my name, and am not an attorney! It allows me to wear a silver dress sword on my left side.</p>
<p>I figure I am only about 2.5 billion people, and one sex-change operation, away from being the Queen of England. I better start workin’ on it.</p>
<p>Fergie may no longer be royalty, but she’s sure lookin’ awful good these days.</p>
<p>Di’s lack of royal instinct, lack of functioning family support and lack of education may have prompted her charitable ambitions in fact. It may have been her way of digging her heels in as a ‘thick plank’–on behalf of thick planks and those less fortunate everywhere. That her work made her ‘thick’ star rise higher than the royals who snubbed her must have been sweet indeed.</p>
<p>Um…UM…the title of the thread is ‘The Queen’. It is a bit Country life…but you were expecting to read…?</p>
<p>Has anyone here read Mark Helprin’s Freddy and Fredericka? It’s an over-the-top satire of Charles and Diana, with some very funny moments, and actually treats them rather well, all things considered.</p>
<p>Cheers,</p>
<p>As your OP was about the movie entitled “The Queen” I presumed this thread was about that subject, i.e. the movie, not the life and death of Princess Diana. Silly me…</p>
<p>By the way, Country Life is a weekly UK magazine.</p>
<p>“If you are not legally entitled to put HRH in front of your name, you’re not royal.”</p>
<p>Tell that to all the members of the House of Windsor.</p>
<p>“And she was stripped of it when they divorced.And she was stripped of it when they divorced.”</p>
<p>No, she is still recognized by the Crown as a member of the royal family.</p>
<p>UMDAD, the movie was about the week between Diana’s death and her funeral, and the way that the royal family reacted to that event. It would be impossible to discuss the movie without discussing Diana.</p>
<p>I’ve always enjoyed reading about English monarchs and watch films about them but I’ve got to say that increasingly I am of the opinion that the monarchy is a relic, one that may not be worth perserving. What bothers me the most is that the British public pays for the ultra-extravagant lifestyle of these multimillionaires. QEII is one of the richest persons on Earth. And they are so removed from the life of the ordinary man and woman. The monarchy today exists essentially to maintain the prestige of the “nobles.” People don’t realize that there are hundreds (if not thousands) of members of the royal family and associated nobles. I believe that either Time or Newsweek did a story years about "the royal cousins, et al years ago.</p>
<p>My favorite humourous fact about the English monarchy; at the time of the acendancy of George of Hanover (I), German was the language typically spoken at the royal court. It wasn’t until his grandson George III (the guy who LOST America) that the Hanover kings fluently and regularly spoke English.</p>
<p>There is a photo from Queen Victoria’s funeral which shows (the future) King George V of the United Kingdom, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, who were cousins, walking together in a row.</p>
<p>In the photo they almost look identical.</p>
<p>Amazing how many of the European royal families are/were related.</p>
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<p>A pretty good definition of the Royal Family can be found here:</p>
<p><a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Royal_Family[/url]”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Royal_Family</a></p>
<p>For a couple of centuries after the Battle of Hastings, the official language of the English court was French. The royal family changed its name during WWI to the less Germanic-sounding Windsor.
It isn’t at all surprising that the European royals and aristocrats are inter-related. It’s called marrying your own kind. The Queen Mother was the first one of non-royal blood to marry into the royal clan, and probably because her husband was not expected to inherit.
Cheers wrote about another movie, Marie-Antoinette. She never was liked by her French subjects who called her L’Autrichienne (the Austrian).
Actually, some of the biggest supporters of British royalty are members of the working class. The aristocracy can do very well without the royal family. French aristocrats are still enjoying their perks despite centuries of republicanism. Having a “handle” is still prestigious.
I don’t think Americans can really sneer at Europeans, what with Britney Spears, J-Lo, Brangelina…</p>
<p>Thanks UMDAD. The movie is about Di’s position in the Royal family history and her funeral. Having spent considerable time in the UK and surrounded by many UK friends, I am familiar with Country Life, the magazine, but also thought Frears went to a lot of trouble to show Country Life, the lifestyle in the movie. </p>
<p>As I said inthe original post, there is much about the concept of the monarchy and what it means to the British that is beyond my understanding–although like most Americans I get the glamour and appeal of Di.</p>
<p>Thanks for the explanation though. ;)</p>