Two Thoughts For The Day

~ beetleypete

This is the official portrait of King Charles III.

At a time when most people are struggling to pay heating bills in the winter, and many are using charity food banks to supplement their weekly food shopping, the government has spent £8,000,000 on producing framed photos of this portrait to be hung in schools and public buildings.

Why?

Nobody knows why he has all of those military medals, or what he ever did to earn them.

This is my other thought this morning.

71 thoughts on “Two Thoughts For The Day”

  4. You have an interesting discussion here, Pete. In Canada, most people don’t think much about the royals unless they’re in the news for some reason. There are some fervent royalists, and those who think we should be a republic, but most just don’t care.
    Since we just heard about Denmark’s new king, I’m wondering if monarchs in other European countries are as privileged as Britain’s. I didn’t even know Denmark had a monarch, to be honest.

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    1. Kings and Queens in other European countries certainly have degrees of privilege and wealth, but in some countries like Sweden, Belgium, and Denmark, they live more normal lives, less grand and ceremonial, and more accessible to the public generally. Some are known to cycle around capital cities with no vehicle escort.
      Canada is still classed as a monarchy of course, with Charles III as your king. You might be interested in this list of monarchies around the world.
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_monarchies
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  5. Pete, we have a similar problem here in the states, it’s called the presidency, congress and the senate. At least, you have one poor sap to shift the blame to, Charles. We have millions that are on the dole and gifting off us taxpayers, and more on the way every day. I once visited England, back when it was England, in 1970. Not sure I would recognize it now. Best of luck with all this mess.

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    1. I was 18 in 1970, Phil. Some parts of England have changed since then, notably the larger cities, but if you came to where I now live, in Norfolk, it is much the same as it was then.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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      1. I was only in London. My wife and I plan to return and see the smaller villages and countryside. I was 19 and my pal, who backpacked with me was 18, right before we went to our separate universities.

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    1. The day after I post this, the headlines are full of Royal news. Princess Kate having a stomach operation, and Charles due to have a ‘prostate procedure’ soon. They are both lucky they don’t have to wait on NHS waiting lists for surgery or clinics.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  7. Agree with Keith’s comments, especially about those that take the handouts, we see many holding their hand out, often using a new smart phone wearing expensive training shoes (that I cannot afford) while just sitting around.
    In saying that I’m sure there are many who genuinely need assistance and are grateful.

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  8. (1) My first thought was to skip this blog post. But on second thought, I thought read the two thoughts might be worth the time to read them.
    (2) The official portrait of King Charles III isn’t even a good portrait. He has a strange expression on his face. Is he smiling or gritting his teeth?
    (3) Vast privilege and grotesque unearned wealth. According to history scholar Mel Brooks, King Louis XVI once proclaimed: “It’s good to be the king!”

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  10. I have the same feeling about the expenditures of the Church, Catholic and otherwise. I thought Christianity was about being humble and helping the poor. It is obscene, all of it.

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  11. Pingback: Two Thoughts For The Day | beetleypete | Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News

  12. Pete. You say ‘nobody knows why he’s got those medals…’ but a simple Google search will tell you.
    Did he ‘earn’ them? That’s a loaded question. It might be better to ask “Why does he wear them?” Most of his medals, the jubilee medals and at least one of the NZ medals have been issued to ordinary people and politicians of all viewpoints as a thank you for their service. Charles wears the same medals to show that those medals are ‘valued’ by the Royal family. It’s a personal choice whether a recipient takes a medal or not, or if they attribute any value to them. I doubt Charles cares about them but it’s a sign of leadership to wear them. If you want an example of meaningless medals, look no further than the gong laden jackets (and even trousers) of the generals of the (royalty free) Soviet Union, China or North Korea.
    If you think destroying the Monarchy will end privilege, power, patronage etc you’re very much mistaken. I don’t like Charles, I think he’s a fool, but it’s not ‘his’ monarchy, he’s just the present custodian.
    It’s easy to tear everything down, but building new stuff is much harder.

    As for food banks, their presence speaks more to the generosity of citizens than it does poverty or dire need. I’ve attended them when I was working and saw plenty of people taking handouts of £1 pasta packs while wearing Apple Watches or smoking £11 a pack cigarettes. People often take free stuff whether they need it or not. It’s not the clear indicator of poverty people might think it is. Yes there’s poverty in the U.K. but I don’t believe it’s worse now than at any time in the previous century, perhaps the food banks show that more ordinary people are now wealthy enough to help others than in previous decades.
    Keith x

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  13. I’m very sorry to hear that. As an American, I’ll refrain from further comment. To criticize your government would be a clear case of the pot calling the kettle black. God help us all, particularly the poor and disadvantaged.

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  14. And while you are getting rid of the monarchy, let us here in America demolish all those useless tax-wasting structures in Washington, D.C., — things like that Capitol building, the Lincoln memorial, the Washington Monument and all the rest of them….useless waste of concrete and marble…. all of them could be done over in much smaller scale and at a helluva lot less cost to the taxpayers ….and let us cease making all those damned red, white and blue flags because once Trump gets into office they won’t be worth the cloth they are printed on…or how the hell the make them these days….probably all bought from China or something….. Yes, let us both, England and The United States abolish every sign of our heritages and get on with our lives in the New World Order that is about to explode in our faces. Good ideas!

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      1. It has worked well for centuries — why ruin it all now? That sounds like something the right wing political mugwumps are trying to do here in the States– upend the established order and replace it with something much darker…much more sinister….

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        1. It’s not right-wing, John. We should not have a monarchy because the very idea of people born into privilege and monumental inherited wealth because they are ‘better’ than other people is wrong.
          Best wishes, Pete.

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          1. I need for you to explain to me, because I do not know, why is it that the people of Your Country have maintained the Monarchy for as many years as it has — and, apparently, willingly so!

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            1. I think it is the same kind of people who like Trump who are happy to have Kings and Queens. Those opposed to the monarchy are in the minority, approximately 40% of UK adults as of 2023.
              Imagine if Trump’s children could inherit the presidency, then their children, and so on, forever. No election, just privilege of birth. That’s the comparison.
              Best wishes, Pete.

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      1. I think you are missimg the point here Pete. Monarchy is apolitical and can improve relationships with other countries with no strings attached. A few, and I have seem quite different statistics to the one you post above, do not want to abolish over 1,000 years of history, a monarchy which brings in thousands of touriasts annually, costs each UK citizen approximately £1.20 per annum, and who also pay taxes on the Crown estates. It’s so sad that modern Britain no longer has any pride in her heritage and wishes to destroy that which makes it unique and different to most other places in the world. I would hate to be a royal. All that hard work. All that publicity, yet they serve us without complaint (except for the Gruesome Twosome across the Pond) and everyone I know, myself included, who has met royalty will always treasure those moments as a highlight in their lives. Many people are rich, I’m not, we live on a shoestring, but I don’t envy, nor am I jealous of those who have more whether they earned it or inherited it. They have problens their problems too.

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        1. Thanks for adding your opposite viewpoint, Lucinda. I am sure you are in the majority in this country, as I have never actually never met anyone else who feels as I do. (Though I have seen members of Republic on TV)
          My late mum was a fervent royalist, based on the fact that the King and Queen stayed in London during The Blitz.
          For me, it is not about the people or the money, but the concept of right and privilege to rule based solely on birth, and the idea that the Windsor family (and the numerous hangers-on) is somehow better then everyone else. Then the fact that a monarchy exists means that dukes, duchesses, and every other vestige of aristocracy exists too.
          I have been uncomfortable with that situation since I was 14 years old, so not about to change now.
          I did meet the late Queen once, after the Ladbroke Grove Train Crash, which I attended as an EMT in the London Ambulance Service. Her equerry spent 20 minutes before she arrived telling us how to speak to her, not to touch her, and not to ask her any questions. The local council built a new separate toilet in the community centre at an estimated cost of over £3,000, in one of the poorest areas of London. She didn’t use it of course.
          Best wishes as always, Pete.

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  17. as an American, this has always been so strange to me, though I do admit to being fascinated by it all and have trouble believing it still exists. I feel for the citizens and the countries who were colonized, and I wonder how long it will continue. I’d say that harry had the right idea to get out. all that being said, in the states we have a crazy and corrupt ex-president vying to be in power again and there are people who support him without question.

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    1. There are depressing similarites between the ardent Royalists in the UK and Trump’s MAGA supporters. I think they are all drinking the same Kool-Aid. Jim Jones would be proud of them.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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        1. I am sorry to tell you he is not popular in Britain, PWE. In general, he is seen as a narcissist who seeks only personal fame and power and seems intent on starting a second civil war in the USA
          (I am not impressed by Biden,or Obama either, for what that’s worth)
          Best wishes, Pete.

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          1. The younger Trump was was a narcissist. and very wealthy. He realized he had been part of the problem; seeing his country’s well being was far more important, he ran for the Presidency. As an outsider, not a politician, (and already wealthy) he couldn’t be bought.
            As Americans, many of us saw that the two parties were both terribly corrupted, hence the term “Uniparty”. When a person chooses to do the right thing, not the popular thing, they will make enemies.

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  18. As I always say, it’s the people who don’t care either way who facilitate this obscenity, and allow it to continue; most people identify with the personality, not the institution, especially while the queen was still alive — will the Andrew scandal change much? I doubt it; “Oh, we don’t want a president like in America, where it’s all about money.”; “Oh, they bring in so much money from tourism!” Wrong, wrong, wrong! Cheers, Jon.

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    1. Yes, we would not need a president, the elected PM could suffice. (Even if we personally didn’t vote for him)
      As for tourism, Florida, Paris, and Italy all have more tourists than the UK and none of those places have an active Royal Family.
      It’s all a huge con trick to keep the establishment in power.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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      1. To be fair Pete, Florida has round the clock sunshine, Italy also has much better weather and is all-over much more beautiful than England, and Paris is a much nicer city than London, so the Royals are all we’ve got to bring in the tourists! 😉

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          1. I don’t really care either way to be honest, the Royals are an irrelevance to me but I also don’t think ANY of the money recouped if they were disbanded would come to the public, the Tory and business fatcats would get it all.

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  23. That totally sucks Pete. I’m a full-blown republican now: I was on the fence before but since the Queen’s death I’ve flipped. We don’t need them

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    1. I have been 100% against the Royal Family (as a general concept, whoever is the monarch) since my early teenage years. The recent scandals have shamed them beyond belief, but they have the brass neck to carry on waving at sycophantic crowds as if they are benign and blameless.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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