Royalty Thread #7: Do They Get Frequent Flier Miles?

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Twitter/social media sure has changed the world as every news organization--legit and semi-legit was trying to one up each other with what was going on.

All the best to Prince Philip as he retires from public life. Its been a long, long, long journey from an 18 year old naval cadet in 1939 that connected with his cousin Elizabeth to this point. I hope he is feeling all right and enjoys being "retired".
 
Even though other members of the family will be taking on Prince Phillip's duties; this is "the end of an era" in many ways.
I'm sure that the Queen will miss his supportive presence at her side.
 
WoW! Did not see that coming. I am sure lots went into that decision. I admire them greatly and wish them the best.
 
taf2002 said:
I don't understand the panic. Did people think he would go on forever with the same vigor he's always had? So he's slowing down - I don't think it even needed an announcement. He's 95.
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I don't see any panic in regards to the announcement. Yes prior to that there was much speculation as all the senior staff were called to Buckingham Palace for a meeting with the Queen and as we know rumours spread easily. However since the announcement there has just been regular reporting and a sense of an era being over - which it is. And yes there had to be an announcement because if he had just stopped doing public appearances then the rumour mill would have taken off and the media would have made up goodness only knows what.

The announcement also states that he could well make some public appearances from September on but I suspect they will be the more official ones like accompanying the Queen on Remembrance Day and the Trooping of the Colour. He is also staying as patron to many charities and organisations for the moment so I suspect there will be some private functions he will still attend.
 
PDilemma said:
Again, because I'm reading elsewhere, I'm seeing other comments as well. Sorry that you find it odd or humorous or obsessive that some of us read things online outside of FSU. Over on two Kate pages on Facebook, they have decided that Charlotte's sweater in this picture is a "tribute to Diana" because someone diligently searched until they found a picture of Diana wearing a sweater with a sheep on it. Everything Kate wears is deemed a tribute somehow--if they can find nothing else, they latch onto Diana having at one time worn the same color. Because in the millions of pictures of her, it isn't like you can find every color on the spectrum.
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So what, though? What a lot of people think and talk about on the Internet is :eek: :yikes: You can read it and laugh, and still maintain your own sensibilities and opinions, without attributing the same way of thinking to those who are simply making reasonable, personal observations, can't you? We live in a very weird universe, and now in very strange times. But likely, it has always been thus. Probably maintaining a sense of humor, wit, sarcasm and holding onto your own intelligence without going batshit crazy is paramount. And we can and do have differing opinions here about Princess Diana that are perfectly legitimate, that we should be able to air and debate without taking it too personal. If you are over-emotional about the saga of Princess Diana either passionately for or violently against her, then there's a reason possibly related to your own life experiences. What does it matter about Princess Charlotte's sweater in any case?! People like to say that Prince George's outfits resemble some of Prince William's old outfits when he was a similar age. Who cares, except for the clothing manufacturers, or people who fancy buying similar togs for their own youngsters? :lol:

I've heard that what some people are writing about Prince Harry's girlfriend on some tumblr and Facebook pages on the Internet is unreal. There are some spiteful, jealous people out there who are still determined to believe that Prince Harry dating Meghan Markle is a fake story. :rolleyes: :p Some idiots have resorted to constructing diagrams to prove that the photos of Harry entering Meghan's apartment in Toronto at night for the Easter weekend, are photoshopped and not real. :rofl: :drama: Kind of scary to think about what some of these tumblr crazies might resort to when/if Harry marries his Meghan! It's unfortunate that Meghan's own estranged half-sister, who is at least 19 years older than her, is part of the crazed, jealous, resentful brigade. Some people feel an engagement will be announced between Harry and Meghan by the end of this year. We shall see. :watch:

If you want heavy debate, sparked by some intelligence (but warning: heavily monitored and censored by admins), head on over to the Royal Forums site. They talk about all things royal, including every royal family in the universe, and then some. :lol: There are people passionately for and passionately against Diana on that site, but there's also a lot of tempered, reasonable, evenhanded discussion. The admins do not allow arguments to get out of control -- to the point of periodically closing threads. And they also keep threads strictly on topic, removing off-topic posts to appropriate threads or deleting posts whenever they deem necessary. I'm not saying it's bad or good, it's just interesting, and sometimes boring too. :yawn: The heavyhanded monitoring can be a bit much, but it does keep the voluminous topic-heavy, thread-heavy site under control, I suppose.
 
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skatesindreams said:
Very interesting view of Prince Phillip:
http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/04/opinions/prince-philip-gaffes-are-charming-mount-opinion/index.html
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Thanks for sharing @skatesindreams. Prince Philip seems quite a character: very much no-nonsense, tough, and also as this writer realizes, Prince Philip has a gruff, down-to-earth sense of humor. Apparently, his larger than life personality is off-putting to some. But not to Queen Elizabeth, although they surely have had their disagreements and ups and downs in their decades of life together. :)

Prince Philip is looking very worn and tired around the eyes, but I'm sure his spirit and his essence are as sharp and full of vim and vigor, as ever.

Life continues, and as the younger royals are entering their late thirties and early forties, there is a subtle but definite changing of the guard occurring. Although, the Queen will soldier on indefinitely, unless and until her health drastically suffers. Probably Prince Philip will be the first to pass on. When you reach your nineties, even if you are in good health, seemingly you are no longer fazed about facing death, especially if you are still energetic and filled with life.
 
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taf2002 said:
I don't understand the panic. Did people think he would go on forever with the same vigor he's always had? So he's slowing down - I don't think it even needed an announcement. He's 95.
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I am not sure that anyone is panicked. And yes, to some extent, we do think they will go on forever. Heck, they have been married longer than I have been alive.....and that is saying something.

Certainly in our memory (and I claim no expertise) not a lot of Royals have stepped out of public life.

Is he entitled. Yep.

Now, if we could just skip over the nasty bit of the next in line for the throne, and skip to Kate and Wills when the time comes.........in years from now, of course.
 
AxelAnnie said:
I am not sure that anyone is panicked. And yes, to some extent, we do think they will go on forever. Heck, they have been married longer than I have been alive.....and that is saying something.
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FTR there was some scurrying around when someone thought the meeting was in the middle of the night and even panic from some people. In my opinion it is completely a non-story but then I don't expect a news flash every time a royal blows their nose. And I think this announcement was completely unnecessary. He's old - did anyone think he was going to increase his appearances? Of course, my attitude may be influenced by the fact that I've never liked him.
 
taf2002 said:
And I think this announcement was completely unnecessary.
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It is my understanding that it is considered wise public relations to get ahead of the story if it's about you. It's also common courtesy if you're the patron of a charity to tell the charity that you're retiring. And once he tells one charity, it's inevitable that the public will find out. So why not make a simple announcement, which is what was intended?

Unfortunately, the "most trusted of the staff" felt compelled to leak something to the press, generating more :drama: than a statement from Buckingham Palace would otherwise have done.
 
Good for him. He has been doing the job for decades and deserves retirement after always stepping up to the job. How many other jobs require you to work at age 95? I guess maybe the Pope, but even the last one retired. Royals may get fantastic perks, but I would certainly not want to be out doing engagements when I am older and my good days become fewer.
 
taf2002 said:
FTR there was some scurrying around when someone thought the meeting was in the middle of the night and even panic from some people. In my opinion it is completely a non-story but then I don't expect a news flash every time a royal blows their nose. And I think this announcement was completely unnecessary. He's old - did anyone think he was going to increase his appearances? Of course, my attitude may be influenced by the fact that I've never liked him.
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An announcement was necessary as engagements would be being scheduled for the fall by now. Organizations that the Prince is patron of (and others as well) would perhaps be requesting his presence at an event. In the absence of an announcement, they would just be told, "no, he is unavailable". People and groups who would expect him to accompany the Queen at an engagement would wonder when the event is being finalized why he is not going to be with her. Then the questions would begin as to why is he constantly unavailable all of the sudden. Is something wrong? Is something anticipated in September/October that the public has not been told? Surgery? A wedding (cue the paparazzi to chase Harry & Meghan more than they currently are)? What is going on? Is something wrong with the Prince? Now that there has been an announcement, organizations who may have expected or wished to request a visit from Prince Phillip will make other plans. No rumors. No craziness.
 
PDilemma said:
An announcement was necessary as engagements would be being scheduled for the fall by now. Organizations that the Prince is patron of (and others as well) would perhaps be requesting his presence at an event. In the absence of an announcement, they would just be told, "no, he is unavailable". People and groups who would expect him to accompany the Queen at an engagement would wonder when the event is being finalized why he is not going to be with her. Then the questions would begin as to why is he constantly unavailable all of the sudden. Is something wrong? Is something anticipated in September/October that the public has not been told? Surgery? A wedding (cue the paparazzi to chase Harry & Meghan more than they currently are)? What is going on? Is something wrong with the Prince? Now that there has been an announcement, organizations who may have expected or wished to request a visit from Prince Phillip will make other plans. No rumors. No craziness.
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Others have already set me straight. But thanks.
 
Vagabond said:
The ship has already sailed on that one.

ETA: I have actually seen him in person. Much, I suppose, as Elwood P. Dowd saw Harvey. :shuffle:
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My sister's husband once received some sort of award from Prince Edward. Or so he claims. Jury is still out on whether I think this is strong enough proof of his existence. :lol:

ETA: Same sister saw Harvey, or more accurately created a six foot tall likeness to advertise the school production of the play. FSU thread drift: from Princes to pookas!
 
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Vagabond said:
If I understand the captions correctly, the Countess of Wessex attended without her husband. :huh:
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I was more interested in who was best dressed. So many options to choose from! I thought Queen Maxima looked fabulous - also here (and Queen Mathilde looking good in the second link, too).

And since I mentioned Haakon's mid-event shave...

Then-Prince Harald and Sonja dated for almost a decade before marrying; he threatened to stay single and leave the royal family with no heir if he couldn't marry her.
 
Japanese Princess’s Engagement Revives Debate on Women in Royal Family: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/17/world/asia/japan-princess-mako-marry.html
Under the Imperial Household Law, which governs the succession of emperors in Japan’s monarchy, the world’s oldest, women are not allowed to reign on the throne. And women born into the royal family must officially leave it once they marry.

So when the princess, a 25-year-old doctoral student at International Christian University in Tokyo, marries Kei Komuro, 25, an aspiring lawyer, she will become a commoner, narrowing the prospective pool of heirs to the throne.
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