We saw Downton Abbey on Saturday afternoon. What was so special was what we, the audience brought to the screening our knowledge of the cast, and their individual story lines. There was no need of preamble or flashbacks. We the fans come prepared and ready to see what's next. And Julian Fellowes delivered. Each little segment told a succinct story. Again, no unnecessary exposition: what a great scenario for the perfect audience, which is exactly what we are.
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Nowadays, American media tries to sell us veggie cupcakes from reality TV's princess Meghan Markle.
An avowed vegetarian, she promises anyone buying goods from a bakery she promotes, will receive a leather bound diary.
The royals have gone "Monty Python"
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Great series, Royal Upstairs Downstairs, where they follow the visits to Great Houses that Queen Victoria made throughout her life, and recreate the meals she was served. Its really a lot of fun:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Upstairs_Downstairs
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Royal parasites. The tradition continues.
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What a gang of entitled, congenital moochers and freeloaders dropping in on your place with 10,000 expensive and nonnegotiable demands, then on top of that you have the kleptomaniac "queen" cat-burgle her way through your house!
These people remind me of an old W. C. Fields movie in which a gang of party-crashing bums and hobos put forth majestic airs while dressed in tattered tuxedos.
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@Tom I was at a London automat in the summer of 1981 (the year of the Royal Wedding of Charles and Diana) and a woman waiting for her clothes near me was reading a tabloid, then turned to me and said "Lady Di, Lady Di, everywhere you go it's Lady Di!" Then she shook her head and turned to me and said, "But we've got to have a queen, don't we?" It appears that they do.
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@Tom
Oh stop already with your silly complaints. People love the pomp and ceremony royalty provides The absurd antics displayed at sporting events in the US can hardly be compared to a royal wedding and the half-time entertainments performed by marching bands hardly compare to the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. The arguments over whether one stands or kneels during the playing of a national anthem also indicate the importance people attach to ceremonial gestures. People will have their pomp and ceremony one way or another, like it or not.
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I sometimes wish George Washington had chosen to be king rather than president. A constitutional monarch is above party and, especially in times of political unrest, virtually everyone can rally around the monarch - partisan squabbles be damned. Whether it be yesterday under Nixon or today under Trump the pomp and ceremony of a royal court could greatly ease the stress and gloom both of these unworthies have inflicted on the nation. A little class might be welcome in today's gray and gloomy landscape. By presiding at all of the ceremonial duties governments are forced to observe the monarch frees the president to do his or her job as president without having to waste time cutting ribbons and otherwise attending to all the usual social functions most polititicians are confronted with. The Scandinavian monarchies , Holland and Belgium prove my point and without a monarchy Spain would immediately fall apart. There is, unfortunately, no precedent in the history of the United States to favor a monarchical system. Before the criticisms come rolling in I hasten to add that i do not favor a class system of "superior" nobles such as the residents of Downton Abbey portray., however nice they seem to be as individuals.
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In 1847, Queen Victoria was scheduled to visit Cornwall. Tremayne Quay was built by Sir Richard Vyvyan, in anticipation of the Queen's visit. But the Queen's visit never happened!
The quay is now a Grade II listed structure, a short and lovely walk from the road through a wooded creekside on the Helford River.
Queen Victoria’s great grandson, Edward Duke of Windsor, made a belated royal visit to the quay in 1921, when he was Prince of Wales.
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Excellent idea that should be revived - instead of the head of the country gallivanting off to a personally owned property and billing taxpayers for the lodging required for the retinue, let the figurehead (and retinue) travel to visit supporters' premises, with the supporters' providing the food, lodging, and entertainment at the supporters' sole expense.
Brilliant idea - imagine what great house guests the figurehead and their family would be; think of the bonding!
Wonder if the supporters/hosts would get to have 2 scoops of ice cream with their after-dinner pie, or be limited to just 1 scoop?
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During my time as a post-grad in Oxbridge, I quickly tired of the pomp and ceremony (though, it has to be said, no one does pomp and ceremony quite as well as the Brits) and generally refrained, as much as possible, from attending formal hall (for college dinners) after my first year - just couldn't bother with donning a suit and tie and college gown for dinner. Years later, I do enjoy watching period pieces (thank you Masterpiece on PBS), most especially British dramas with all its pomp and ceremony. Go figure . . .
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The challenge of royal visits extended beyond Great Britain. If you visit Muckross House outside Killarney, Ireland, you learn that preparations to host Queen Victoria and Prince Albert went on for years, eventually ruined the family who owned the estate -- and were undertaken for a visit that lasted only a few days.
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