Several of you asked me to weigh in on the whole Camilla gets to be Queen Consort controversy. And, I’m sorry to disappoint you, I don’t care what she’s called.
Princess Tiddlywinks of Tweedshire. Lady Horseyface. Duchess of Tampon. It’s all the same to me.
I’m an American. I don’t go in for this aristocracy stuff. My people fled England in 1634 to be religious wackos in the New World. It makes you wonder how grim it was living with feudal overlords to chuck it all and cross an ocean to freeze in Massachusetts. Yet here it is, nearly 400 years later and the feudal overlords are still running the show.
What are you nattering on about Tracy?
The aristocracy! Did you know that the Duke of Westminster owns half of London! Someone explained this shit to me when I was a student there — you can only LEASE your property. The land on which it sits belongs to the Duke. After so many years, it reverts to him. So remodel your kitchen, sucker, it’s his.
Or did you know that 92 (!!!!) seats in the House of Parliament are still hereditary peers? 4 dukes, 1 marquess, 25 earls, 17 viscounts, 44 barons and 2 Lords. That’s down from HALF OF PARLIAMENT since 1999. They INHERIT their government seats.
Or that an estimated 48 percent of the land in the UK is still owned by the aristocracy? Unchanged for centuries? And that only eldest sons can inherit it, thanks to some bananas misogyny known as primogeniture.
But Camilla Tracy! The Queen is legitimizing a home wrecker!
If you got rid of all the fuckbuddies and bastard children in the Royal Family, there’d be no one left. History is rife with this King slept with that Lady in Waiting, and that one shagged his first cousin, and so on. So I hardly see what the point is in pearl clutching about Camilla. King Richard murdered his nephews to win the crown. There’s a high bar for treacherous ambition.
I actually feel sorry for the Queen. She’s tried her best. She does her duty. She had to sit all alone at her husband’s funeral. Her kids are train wrecks. One’s on trial for sex trafficking. And Charles, by comparison, is looking pretty good. She’s 95. The woman must be exhausted. So she throws him a bone. Okay, a new title for Horse Face. The Queen just made 70 years on the throne, she’s feeling generous.
It doesn’t change anything. Camilla doesn’t “win.” Her life was going to be privileged either way. Everyone knows what she did and snarks about her. It doesn’t bring Diana back.
Is she a loathsome person to cheat on her ex for Charles and drive Diana to despair? Yes. But I don’t see Elton John writing a song for Camilla.
It’s all a fucktangle lost in the larger fucktangle of why do Royal Families even exist? Okay Camilla, you get to be Queen Consort. Do a victory dance with a beagle or something. Wear a new hat to Ascot. Cut a ribbon.
Or maybe get a new haircut. That whole flip look is very 1983. Sell a peasant. I’m sure you can afford it.
You’re the funniest writer, Tracy. You make my mornings happy. Thank you.
I agree!! And I did NOT know about any of that. Learned a ton and disgusted by what is still going on in the UK. Laughed so hard though C.L. :)!
Thanks. I just want to say that I’m actually a huge Anglophile. Love PG Wodehouse, stately manor homes, gardens, clotted cream, and all the lovely trappings of the aristocracy. And I’m not blind to the obvious faults of our country. The UK has universal health care, for starters. And yes, we have our oligarchs and grifters. And haven’t lived up to the ideals in our Constitution. I agree with all that. The solution is more representational democracy, IMO.
Speaking of the UK, if you haven’t seen “Jonathan Pye’s” smackdown of Boris Johnson in the New York Times, you’re in for a treat. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/04/opinion/boris-johnson-party-scandal.html
Eton: “Hogwarts for wankers.”
Or Tracey Ullman’s impressions of Camilla. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsJ5Qj6ySfg
Or Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie doing a send up of a Duke: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXmaHCfBKxE
Tracey is always spot on. The comments ???? Anyone can ride a horse but it takes a royal to look like one !
I need to send you my clotted cream recipe!
Yep. I tried several jarred varieties od Devon, Cornwall and Clotted cream and they were all horrid.
You gotta get a pint or more of Heavy Cream that is NOT Ultra Pasteurized. there is a brand at Whole Foods that works.
Pour it in an uncovered casserole dish to a depth of more than an inch. Bake uncovered at only 170-180F 12 hours overnight. Make sure your ovem doesnt have an auto shutoff setting.
It will thicken to a butter consistency, but smooth and shiny and glorious. It will store in a refrigerated jar for up to a week. Heaven on scones.
Oh my, this is incredible. Doing this today. Once upon a chef has a great scone recipe I have been using. This will make me so happy today.
Hooray!
Yum!!!
“Tapeworms in tiaras” nailed it.
well if you are going to roast the queen how about barbecuing Arnold Schwarzenegger:
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/joseph-baena-arnold-schwarzenegger-relationship-182120296.html
I love Maria Shriver! How devestating…
Tracy Ullman is spot on. I’d never seen her do Camilla before.
Well, it does suggest an alternative name for certain shmoopies: MIL – endorsed OW who marry the narcissistic prince.
Queen Consort sounds nasty.
Queen Cohort
Or Queen Co-conspirator ???? ????
Queen Courtesan
Queen Cavort.
Neigghhh in a bedroom way
Ha that is what I was thinking.
Cavorting around in the alley cat way.
Good one! ????
Queen Co-Whore
Queen C U Next Tuesday.
Royals!! Off with all of their heads. Including Wate and Dill. A Republican Brit here. F$&)$king embarrassment and waste of taxpayers money.
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Brit here too. Well, I wouldn’t describe myself as an enthusiastic royalist, but I’d rather have the Queen as Head of State, than one of Boris’s doxies prancing around as some kind of ersatz First Lady.
Camilla cart horse as Queen Consort? Blech. But it was always on the cards, after bug a lugs married her. The newspaper articles at the time about how she’d never be Queen? I always thought bullshit to that, of *course* that’s how the slag will end up.
It sucks, but in this world, shitty people very often come out on top.
I think it’s true that the shadow of cheating/the Rottweiler will probably always follow them around, but I seriously doubt either of them, especially her, give a fuck about that. They’re both people with no character or integrity. Scum floats to the top.
Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if this isn’t just another nail in the coffin of our monarchy, which actually I’ll be sad about.
The repulsive Andrew, the grifting Smirkles ( thank God *America* is stuck with them, not us ????????????) and now this. Sigh.
Fellow Brit, and I agree with you Chumpnomore. Let’s not throw baby out with the bath water.
As for Camilla’s future title, I can’t help but feel Diana would be MEH at this point about the whole thing. I doubt she’d care about the title. Who knows, maybe Diana never really wanted that role and title for herself anyway, once she realised the realities.
Everyone who knows who Camilla is, knows what she did. For me, given that she’s a public figure, that would be enough.
Camilla is no Princess LOL
Mabye that is why they chose Queen Consort
Having been through the husband returning to first love after 26 years with me and attempting to destroy me in the process, I find it hard to be unemotional about this one. Fed up of hearing how romantic, how lovely, blah blah it is. Fellow Brit here who will be sticking to sensible news sources and not singing the National Anthem as I have no desire for cheaters to be saved ‘whatever that means’. I’d much prefer them to get their heads caught in the ‘Sliding Doors’. Just can’t find the meh to laugh about this and, frankly, I don’t want to be meh about this one. But I’ll keep my feelings to myself as that works for me when navigating the volatile environment that is England.
“But I’ll keep my feelings to myself as that works for me when navigating the volatile environment that is England.”
Unfortunately that is what so many of us have to do. I mean it is good, to learn to navigate society without getting entangled with unimportant arguments, but having to keep quiet about important issues, to avoid being cancelled or even physically attacked or financially destroyed is not good.
Also can you tell me what the term Sliding Doors means in the context of cheaters. I see it a lot and have not been able to figure it out. When I google I get sites for actual sliding doors.
I think it’s a reference to the movie “Sliding Doors” with Gwyneth Paltrow. Oh and look Gwyneth turned out to be a cheater irl.
MW – Is it the 1998 movie Sliding Doors? Where we see two versions of the story, one where the cheating was caught, and another where it wasn’t?
Yes, cancel culture is driving me crazy.
Yes, the film ‘Sliding Doors’. The ex and I used to eat at the restaurant where Gwyneth played the waitress with the mostest, because we worked nearby. When he was leaving but before I found out about the affair, I got told that his life was like ‘Sliding Doors’. I didn’t get the connection because I wasn’t thinking straight. If he had married the exgfOW instead of me his life would have been so much better, he believed. No doubt Charles thought along the same lines. Best leave them to their fantasies.
I’m with you. Disgusted with it. Of course Diana would be devastated to know this is how it ended. She would have been a great queen and she knew it. But he didn’t want her and that made the whole thing unbearable for her.
As for disliking the British monarchy on principle- meh. The British have had multiple women prime ministers, and we’ve still never had a female president. Their monarchy has no political power, while we have powerful financial interests controlling a lot of policy undemocratically. The monarch is the official head of state, and imo the royals do a better job at that than most American presidents, especially the last two presidents. Queen Elizabeth is an admirable, powerful woman, and Diana was an influential woman with her own mind, too. I’m all for that.
@MightyWarrior – Just an outsider’s opinion, but…
I’ll bet if your ex-FW had been with AP from the beginning, he would have ended up cheating on her and trying to destroy her, too. You would have been the “one who got away” in that scenario, because it’s not about AP or you–it’s about him and how he’s a sh*t stain without any integrity.
I’ve always thought that the Queen will outlive Charles. Maybe not as she’s aged quite a bit since Philip died.
I have always kind of thought that too.
Thanks Saffa, I will have to see if I can find that movie. Never saw it.
Kelly I bet the queen WISHES she could outlive Charles. The more she withdraws the more you see what a poor argument for the value of a hereditary monarchy they are.
Im sure she is genuinely sorry for a lot of decisions in hindsight. Not least living for 70 years as though it was still the 1950s, letting Andrew carry on and be idle because he didnt matter in the crown lineup, and letting the Diana fiasco happen instead of letting Charles pick his own wife.
All families have these troubles and regrets when domineering parents get old … its just ours aren’t done in the full glare of public opinion.
In an odd way I think your monarchy is the glue that unites you. Mine is The Constitution. Every country needs one. If you get a monster like Stalin then you know why we need honest voting by the citizenry.
If you remember Charles was to have a virgin. Boy, what a sacrifice she made. I think of how devastated that 19 year old, whose mother left for another man and lived elsewhere, was then emotionally abandoned by her new husband.
Btw, I hope William takes a long look at Princess Margaret and Prince Harry who were the leftovers. One appears to have drunk/smoked herself to death and the other left town. He has two extras he had better plan for.
In Primogeniture Monarchy, the Virginity is only for Women. We’re talking about Britain, in which an entire religion was created around Henry VIII’s need to seek strange to procure a male heir.They literally created the Church of England then terrorized all Jews, all Catholics and all Others for centuries to cover up for Henry’s dick diddling.
And it didn’t even work. After cheating his faithful wife Catherine and his legitimate daughter Mary out of their birthrights, Elizabeth turned out to be a perfectly fine regent, despite her dead mother and pesky unused vagina.
Oh wait. He already had Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset, issue of another mistress.
If people are looking to use ANY monarchy for fodder to get upset about infidelity, they will be in a continuous state of terror. It’s not even just the monarchy. Brits don’t even expect their Prime Minister to be less than a dirty dog.
Diana was put in stirrups at the gyno’s office and examined like a racehorse. #doublestandard #dehumanizing
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A perfectly accurate and well stated synopsis. Should be in all the history books, including the bit about dick diddling.
A girl can dream. Sigh.
Luziama ???????? you could write for Horrible Histories! Henry VIII wives rhyme –
Divorced, beheaded, died
Divorced, beheaded, survived.
I never understood why the monarchy wouldn’t let Charles marry Camilla way back when, when they were young. Charles probably would have cheated on Camilla after she had the required heir & a spare.
I know Camilla was married by the time they sought out Diana.
In the 90’s I really sympathized with Diana. I felt so alone in my new marriage, as did she. Then I found out that Camilla lurked in the background.
I actually like Harry decision to move away from that royal degenerate bunch. I respect him for having the guys to crave out his own path.
Million times better than William. Rose Hamburg anyone? Apple didn’t fall far from Charles.
*guys not guys
* Rose Hanbury
Stupid autocorrect. Sigh!
“I’d rather have the Queen as Head of State, than one of Boris’s doxies prancing around as some kind of ersatz First Lady.”
Lol. Agreed.
I actually don’t have a problem with constitutional monarchies. Totally understand the arguments against.
Im probably on the fence, but I like history and need a compelling case to be persuaded from the status quo.
The thing is, when I look at countries like the US, they have MASSIVE inequalities of wealth, of opportunity, of land & estate ownership and of course, power.
They are no better, but at course because these people are private individuals/ families, they are subject to less scrutiny, less responsibility and are not held to account.
A perfect system would be good. But there’s not an operational model to mimic, to my knowledge.
^^^ Yes, this. America has reproduced the aristocracy, but validated it with the veneer of meritocracy and good ol’ gumption. Who cares if cheating Jeff Bezos pays the equivalent of the GDP of a small country to dismantle a historic bridge in the Netherlands so that his yacht can pass? He EARNED that money, and can do with it what he pleases. ????????
If we’re not angry, we’re not paying attention. For me personally, in order to function, I need to keep my head down and focus on my own life. There’s no cure for venal wickedness, and our consolation is that these people have to live with themselves (and each other). Camilla has earned Charles, and vice versa. The Queen, by virtue of not drawing firmer boundaries (or recognizing that the world has moved on??), has earned them all.
LezChump,
You’ll enjoy this…
https://robbreport.com/motors/marine/rotterdam-residents-egg-jeff-bezos-superyacht-bridge-dismantled-1234662430/
My favorite part: eggs, or, if you want to keep it vegan, tomatoes.
????????????????????>Bezos????<????????????????????
I hate that Bezos bought them off, and I hate that they were for sale.
“I actually don’t have a problem with constitutional monarchies.”
Me neither, personally I love the pageantry, the ceremonial, the *history*. I don’t mind paying for it either, it’s a drop in the ocean compared to the majority of the bullshit our politicos make us pay for.
I felt somewhat similarly upon reading the news. Although for a few seconds I did think, “Wait… but wasn’t she his mistress?” Then I shrugged and said, “meh.” It’s not approval or a free pass from me (not that she cares and that’s fine), just disinterest.
“I don’t see Elton John writing a song for Camilla.”
And there you go, chumps. Live your life with as much integrity as you can muster. Live it so that when you leave this mortal cool bards compose songs about you (or, at least, think quite well of you). FWs and APs will always have that “Wait… didn’t they start out in adultery?” thought that jumps to mind, even after they’ve passed on and even if they spent a good deal of their living years trying to be altruistic. FWs/APs leave a legacy behind and, no matter what else they do with their lives, folks will still punctuate those memories with some sort of “shame about the cheating though” assessment. It’s tarnishing. That’s their legacy.
Live well, chumps. Keep your integrity and your dignity, if it’s within your power to do so. Let them write songs about you after you’re gone.
*mortal coil not mortal cool (although mortal cool sounds pretty neat). Dang you autocorrect.
Sounds like an alt rock band.
Wtf is a queen consort anyway.
A queen who is not a ruler in her own right– one who is queen because she is married to the king. As Queen Consort, Camilla will not be a ruling queen, as Elizabeth II has been. Charles will be the King, ceremonial head of state, of Church of England, etc.
Look at Prince Philip for a gender-flipped example– he was the “longest serving royal consort” in English history at his death.
But as for Camilla, I’m with Tracy, fresh out of fucks to give about the English monarchy. I’ll let Thomas Paine speak for me:
“If, to expose the fraud and imposition of monarchy . . . to promote universal peace, civilization, and commerce, and to break the chains of political superstition, and raise degraded man to his proper rank; if these things be libellous . . . let the name of libeller be engraved on my tomb.” Word.
Well, not really flipped, it seems, as I never heard of his title being “King Consort”.
Best article to date!
Why worry about what names they decide to call themselves. Its all irrelevant compared to the mechanics of society designed to perpetuate their existence.
Why we tolerate them is a mystery to me.
America is rapidly heading in that direction now. Do some serious looking at and thinking about the current legal attacks on public education in so many states and you will see the mechanism for getting rid of the American middle class. Once the schools are privatized, only the very wealthy (America’s version of royals) will be able to truly educate their children. The poor will be unable to break out of their place in the system. Presto, we are back in the England our ancestors fought to get away from.
I love traveling to other countries. I love history. I wish I had been taught a more accurate version of history when I was young. I understand history was written by the victors, and the spoils of war as concepts. I am decidedly American in my thinking, all that promised equality under the law stuff. We may not live an idealistic existence, but every time I come home from travels, I am grateful for the comforts and freedoms I have in this country.
I could give a flying flip for any aristocrat in any country — their personal lives do not interest me. Poor little privileged rich kids having a SADZ does not interest me. Their stupid, jealous relatives being paid by the press for their stupid opinions does not interest me. Not my circus, not my monkeys
IMHO, this is all a continuation of the mythology of the prince carrying the peasant to a life of luxury. Someone else will save me from my lowly life because I am special. Save yourself. Take advantage of every opportunity you have to better your own existence. Be willing to work, hard! Be tolerant of others differences and views and religions
No one is entitled to be entitled, IMHO. You earn respect. You act lovable and reliable. Someone will appreciate you, or not. Appreciate your own self-worth.
Trust that there are always consequences for actions. They may not appear on our preferred timeline, but I have lived long enough to see it happen.
“My people fled England in 1634 to be religious wackos in the New World. It makes you wonder how grim it was living with feudal overlords to chuck it all and cross an ocean to freeze in Massachusetts.”
OMG!! Thanks for the morning laugh, CL.????
Thank you for the parliament information info
(I didn’t know) & confirming land ownership
(I learned not long ago). Tips the scale in favor of conspiracy theories aka elephant in the room truths about the global elite ruling the world.
I agree, a title in & of itself isn’t important. Who really cares if an old horse gets some sugar? BUT Camilla getting a crown/title IS another example of rewarding adultery. Shamelessness abounds.
Thanks for saying tampon. I’ll be grateful forever for that bit, as it is the first thing that enters my mind every single time I see Charles or Camilla. So good!
This article was not only informative, but the laughs… egads… almost snorted my morning tea out of my nose!
My takeaway… fuckwits often come from strange FOO situations… some get help (and go on to not be fuckwits)… and others don’t (and go on to ruin others lives in a never-ending quest to find peace in their own – enough skein-untangling for today).
The royal family abounds with red flags, if you go in to it, you go in eyes wide open… everything is on the front page of the Daily Mirror in case you miss them.
I yawned at this news. I’m an anglophile and I love the Queen, but you could argue these kids (Charles, Andrew) did not have a sane parent (or nanny or governess, or headmaster, or whatever). My hope rests in William.
Go be the sane parent – don’t worry about what titles the new OW/OM gets… they’re still getting a cheater. You are getting a cheater-free life.
To wake in the morning and see THAT? I’d as soon chew my arm off.
Oh Tracy…. I’m starting to think that you and I were separated at birth. I’ve described the British monarchy similarly for years (didn’t know about the Duke’s land ownership though … wow – that’s a whole other level of royal bullshit).
When everyone else would swoon about the princes… or a royal wedding… or the birth of yet another child to William and Kate… I’m the shithead who would remind them that the US broke free of that garbage in 1776. We believe in elected officials —- not birthright (not that I’m saying our system WORKS… but that is the revolutionary concept of our country). Most Americans still primarily drink coffee because of kingly power trips and taxes from about 250 years ago.
That said… the media can say that Britain has gotten over their issues with Camilla, but we all know that everyone still loathes her. Everyone hates Charles and Camilla. When they become king and queen it won’t be with an outpouring of love.
Call them whatever you like. Personally I’ll always think of him as Camilla’s Tampon.*
*
https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/a34736481/tampongate-scandal-the-crown/
“Call them whatever you like. Personally I’ll always think of him as Camilla’s Tampon.*”
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So will I!
But it just underlines, again, that we still have a long way to go with our values. Adultery is *abuse*, and should be seen as such, and those who commit it are *abusers*.
They couldn’t bribe me with molten gold (not that they’re likely to ????) to curtsey to that hag, shake her hand, or call her m’aam. Or him.
HRH King Kotex
???? ????
Thank you for the link! I was wondering why we were referring to “tampon” so much in this discussion, so let’s see what this is about…
[reads article]
…
…
that…
…
I…
[insert meme of old-timey guy reading a piece of paper, then looking incredulously at the viewer]
Well. That’s something I know now.
LOL. Love it. Tracy, you’re the best!
Oh how I would love a week over here without more royal drama. I have Opinions!
The concept of aristocracy is the most ridiculous thing ever invented. It’s every kind of supremacy (yes, especially that one) and the titled, landed, inherited, patriarchal “gentry” can bite my butt.
I only care who’s sat on the throne because it means someone is still sat there long after we should have dismantled that nonsense.
Well, it’s no accident that the word “entitled” came from this whole concept of royalty.
It’s a shame that a royal title is not like a royal warrant, which implies a degree of quality and excellence.
I’ve had a feeling for a long time that when Queen Elizabeth dies, the monarchy might very well die with her. The conduct and character of her children would make me wonder if they were even related if they didn’t look so much alike.
If I had my say, William would inherit the throne when QE2 dies. I think that would be a fitting consequence for Charles and Camilla, and that’s what would happen if he were my son and I were queen.
Nothing lasts forever. I’m more curious than ever to see how long the monarchy lasts.
Hear hear????????????????????????????????
All I can say about Charles and the cohort are that real life examples, as opposed to fictional examples, of adulterers show how creepy they really are. They are both disgusting, I think. Whereas Princess Diana was a beautiful person, inside and out. I truly admired her so much! Even in those bad 80s outfits she made look wonderful. Rest in peace.
You…… you know that Diana repeatedly cheated on Charles right? Charles is a fuckwit, Camilla is a fuckwit, and Diana is a fuckwit. Everyone sucks here.
And Will has cheated on Kate and Prince Phillip cheated on the Queen.
William is a cheater ? With whom ?
I never saw any reference to Will cheating before.
I am not a royal follower, but you would think it would have surfaced somewhere.
Maybe news on Fleet Street across the pond ?
Can I say this or will the censors censor it?
The first thing that came to my mind was “QUEEN CUNTSORT”
and I think that’s a great way to describe her.
You win Aurora ! Brilliant ????????????
I recently watched Kristen Stewart’s phenomenal role as Diana in the dark Spencer. Chilling.
Camilla and Charles are loathesome people. I wish they’d crawl under a rock and stay there.
I am the same, never cared about the queen king stuff.
Not that our leaders any of them are any better.
A lying fuckwit by any other name is still a lying fuckwit.
“King Richard murdered his nephews to win the crown.”
Actually, as a paid up member of the Richard III Society, and one who watched the discovery of his remains, and his internment in Leicester Cathedral, and cried, I have to take issue with that! ????
There’s actually quite a lot of evidence to show a huge question mark over his guilt, but this isn’t place to go into it. Sorry, I don’t mean to hijack the thread.
I’m also a member of the Richard III Society. Never imagined I’d find a kindred spirit on Chump Lady! Thanks for commenting.
Loyaulté Me Lie.
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I like my roses white. ????
Not a paid up member but don’t believe he had them killed. If I am in Leicester I try and pop in and say hello
According to what I’ve read, many historians believe that Henry VII ordered that the princes be killed. It’s also possible that somebody took the initiative and killed them without explicit orders. Or maybe they got sick with something and died, and someone quietly buried them and covered it up to escape blame. Given the lack of sanitation and medical knowledge at the time, it seems possible.
Impossible. Henry VII was not in England until the war where Richard was killed, which was after he made himself king and after the princes were killed.
They were definitely killed by him or on his orders
I love reading Chumplady and fully agree with her on the aristocracy, but I was hoping to see this take here! Am a Richard III fiend and actually consider Richard as chumped by history. Gosh, the Tudors (who had the stronger motive) say the other guy killed the kids? Shakespeare, who’s living in Henry VII’s granddaughter’s England, agrees? You shock me… Again I dislike all aristocrats, but Henry VII was always cheating people out of money and lands, while Richard III made law the right of juries to grant bail, so Team Richard.
So sorry for the tangent, Tracy. You rock. Those modern statistics on land ownership are horrifying.
“Team Richard.”
Yes! ????????????????
Tracy, I love your brilliant snark, goes so well with my morning coffee, what a talent and joy you are! Your style reminds me a bit of Dave Barry, who also makes me belly laugh out loud. (Here is his 2021 year end review for anyone interested.)
Dave Barry’s Year in Review: “Is there anything positive we can say about 2021?” – About Editing and Writing
“Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.”( credited to Churchill most of the time).
Let’s face it, no country gets it right. It’s pretty easy to call the others out on their own absurdities, but if we spent any time looking at our own reflections in the oceans that separate us, it’s not a pretty sight either.
I’m also not a big fan on the whole monarchy pomp stuff.
I think I would be okay for the tradition and historical reasons for carrying it on if only it didn’t effect the number of seats in Parliament that are passed on or the land wealth that was bullied from serf hands through the centuries. They can play kings and dragons in the backyard tree house, but they shouldn’t have any REAL power in their government, that’s nuts.
And Camilla, she will never be able to Tide wash that blazing scarlet A off her entire wardrobe, even if she holds five corgi pups in her arms to eternally disguise it.
I was hoping they could just skip over cheating Charles and his crumbly consort and move on to William anyway for the throne gig.
The Queen Consort title might be kind of a tongue in cheek moniker anyway. ( the second definition shown for “ consort” is
“habitually associate with (someone), typically with the disapproval of others.”) ????
https://jacklimpert.com/2021/12/dave-barry-4/
Shout out from (another?) reader of The Daughter of Time!
Sorry that was supposed to be a reply to ChumpNoMore6.
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Yes, that was hugely enjoyable, it’s what got me into the whole Richard III issue, and thence to the Richard III Society.
So much of history is what Josephine Tey described as ‘Tonypandy’.
Add another fan of “Daughter of Time” to our list !
Found that book at my aunt’s house as a college student
Never took any historical tale at face value after –
Arguing that Shakespeare was a propagandist for the Tudors made for great discussions in English classes 😉
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The Queen is exhausted from all the strife and scandals
She shares a love of horses and dogs with Camilla. She feels that she is a stable partner to her son.I suppose her views are what is important.
I blame the monarchy for forbidding Charles to marry Camilla. They dated and were in love long before he even met Diana. But since Camilla was not a virgin Charles was not allowed to marry her.
Perhaps idiotic ‘rules’ have consequences
That said the entire idea of a monarchy is outdated and idiotic
Please let’s not show any compassion for cheaters on this site. Two wrongs certainly don’t make a right.
Agreed, I always thought Charles foisting Camillia on “The Firm” was his payback for being so controlled. Too bad they didn’t let him have her to begin with. He certainly wasn’t a virgin before marriage, so why does any future wife of his need to be? They forced him to marry a virginal nineteen-year old and the rest is history. My sympathies, however, lie with Diana.
“They forced him to marry a virginal nineteen-year old…”
Actually, according to bug a lugs himself, (in the Dimbleby book) they didn’t force him. Apparently Prince Philip told him to either marry her, or leave her alone.
I think he’s a pusillanimous piece of shit – he had the chance to marry PB before he joined the navy, but didn’t have the guts to do it.
Then when *she* was married, they both started the affair with each other.
Like you, my sympathies are with Diana, at least at the beginning; later of course, she herself had affairs with married men, so my sympathies stop there.
But it all could have been avoided if that gutless, cowardly wanker had stood up for what he wanted in the beginning.
And then later, to take advantage of a 19 year old, and cynically *use* her, makes me sick. I despise them both utterly.
Yep. Basically Diana was used as a brood mare. At least she contributed her good looks to the unattractive Windsor DNA. Perhaps that is why she was chosen to be his bride, as she was a young, healthy, fertile, beautiful woman. Imagine what the children of Charles and Camilla would look like, not that it should matter, but it does to those whose position depends quite a bit on public favor.
Also, pretty rich of Philip to moralize about his son’s involment with Diana, as he was known to be a big player.
True.
My fw did the dame thing though, was always spouting about how awful so and so was for treating their wife the way he did.
Seems pretty common.
Susie,
it must be common, Cheater would come home from business trips disgusted with people he worked with who cheated. He felt so bad for their wives.
I also remember one day when we were picking our son up from school, one of the school Mom’s mentioned her husband had cheated and they were divorcing.
My Cheater was outraged.., went on about what a jerk her husband is, shaking his head in disgust.
Image managent.
Good post.
I do think Diana was victimized at a young age.
Yes, Diana stalked married men after her divorce.
A lot of damage there and poor choices by many of the Royals. The Queen has had a rough life.
Same thoughts here. A leftover medieval system that forced a poor match on two people. A person would have to born and brought up in a monarchy to grasp the pressure.
I don’t like cheaters obviously either. But I strive to understand the situation as a whole.
I hate to be a Debbie Downer. I left the royal family fantasy behind in January 1972 when Bloody Sunday occurred in Derry, Northern Ireland. A ten year old kid knew that was wrong.
U2 wrote a song about it – Sunday, Bloody Sunday. 🙁
“I left the royal family fantasy behind in January 1972 when Bloody Sunday occurred in Derry, Northern Ireland.”
What does that have to do with the RF? ????
Two thoughts here: Diana called her “The Rottweiler” – so I think the title should be “Best of Breed”…and I have a deep suspicion that her position will change dramatically once William is king.
” I think the title should be “Best of Breed..”
????????????
Yeah, but she’s a mongrel. ????
I worked in D.C. during the Clinton administration and heard all the talk about his morality outside of the office didn’t matter. Well, it did to me, but I mostly kept my mouth shut because it was D.C. after all. My boss was having an office affair himself as was another administrator down the hall. Mostly I tried to stay clear of their goings-on.
Being as old as the Queen is, I can see the logic of just accepting Camilla as-is. At this point, Charles and Camilla are likely to outlast his mum anyway.
As for me, I’m quite happy with my single, quiet life now. I love my friends who text me silly things, my beloved beagle, and my adult children. My work is very fulfilling and supports me well. Living in a drama-free zone is where I want to be.
I agree character does matter, but so much dirt has been proven about every high ranking pol I can remember in my considerable life time, that unfortunately we have to make our choices based on our politics and not their character. Or just not vote and that is not acceptable to me.
I don’t care much what they do over there; I do know that the royalty brings in a lot of money, but royalty still doesn’t sit right with me.
Oh well they didn’t ask me.
Glad you are doing well. I definitely am a low drama person.
She’s just a king’s whore. Not his first. Maybe not his last. And he’s a used tampon. Life is strange sometimes. Those two could sit in one of the world’s most beautiful gardens and still make it ugly.
Agree! When it was announced that Camilla would be “Queen Consort” I immediately thought of this scene from The Princess Bride. Camilla may get the title, but she and Charles are disgusting and widely loathed. And they’ll be left with the legacy of sex trafficker and abuser Prince Andrew. Charles’ own son Harry left the Royal family (and outed them) because of the horrible racist treatment of his wife. So not only is Camilla garbage herself, but she’ll be: The Queen of Refuse. The Queen of Slime. The Queen of Filth. The Queen of Putrescence. Boooooo Boooooo https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IPBmWw_1fxo
**Conspracy Theory Alert!!** Harry and Megan will continue the royal line in North America when the RF is taken down and it all goes to hell in the UK. Some think they left with a manufactured estrangement. (Interesting theory.)
Lady Colin Campbell’s take on the Harkles (Hasbeen and Meagain), narcissism, the real reason Prince Andrew is being thrown under the bus, etc. has been very entertaining during lockdown.
Oh for sure she’s a narc.
Interesting how her first book was about being raised by a narcissistic mother and lo and behold she has the same tendencies. “Yah” as she says teutonically, even though she claims to be from a rich white Jamaican of Lebanese ancestry. ????????????
Meghan the narcissist as well as Lady C, to be clear
I see you bought that shit hook line and sinker. You spend time on this site learning all about abuser tendencies, yet you can’t figure out how these same schemes have been used to portray “Hasbeen and Megain” as “grifters” and “hasbeens,” etc. And if you believe Andrew is being thrown under the bus and Lady Colin Campbell’s take on it not being a crime to solicit sex from minors because “it’s not the same things and pedophilia,” then maybe you’re on the wrong side of things.
I am always surprised at how revered the royal family are. I lived in the UK for awhile and it was was intriguing. For many years I lived in a Hawaiian surf village (near Pipeline) where people converged from around the world. Often they would be invited to American Thanksgiving with those of us who lived there year round. One Thanksgiving I said something disparaging about the British royal family and a couple of them straightened up and got perturbed, one even going so far to say “God save the Queen.” It surprised the hell of me, both of them hippie vagabond sorts, one running away from home as a young teenager and went with the Travelers, resorting on her art to stay alive, and a guy who delivered sailboats around the world to get away from his rich family in NZ, chucking his profession as a solicitor. I thought they surely were non-conformists, but a friend pulled me aside and said no, you never say anything negative to Brits regarding the royal family, no matter who they are. Quite surprising.
“no, you never say anything negative to Brits regarding the royal family, no matter who they are.”
I must admit you’ve got me there, WeAreTheChumpions! I didn’t think I was a particularly fervent royalist, but some of the comments make me feel very protective of them, Heaven knows why! ????
Tradition, I suppose.
They have been with everyone in the UK since childhood, like a religion. In a way they must feel like family. We are not entirely immune to them across the pond. When Diana died, so many people I knew in Hawaii mourned her.
Tradition, and maybe just family type defense.
I think many of us do the same. I mean most elected politicians of all persuasions are crap weasels; but they are our crap weasels. Kind of the, I can say what I want but you can’t thing.
Exactly!
????
All this Royal falderal reminds me of the old SNL skit .https://youtu.be/K_b3oPslctA
Lol, bravo. Very committed attempts at plummy accents..The costume budget for that skit must have been huge.
Totally agree, Tracy! When people ask me anything about the royals, my answer is always the same: I’m an American. We don’t have royals. We fought a huge war over it. It’s kind of a thing.
As for Camilla, meh. Once Charles becomes king, he undoubtedly would have made her Queen Consort anyway. So Queen Betsy just took the heat on herself instead of letting her son take it. Meh.
And this may sound odd, because I am a proud member of Chump Nation and naturally despise cheaters, but… if anyone had a valid reason to cheat on his wife, Charles Windsor did. It’s got to suck to be told that you can’t marry the woman you love (Camilla) because you’ve got to marry a virgin. And in order to effect that, you have to marry someone half your age and forgo the one you love. Don’t get me wrong – Diana ate the shit sandwich of all shit sandwiches, and none of it was her fault, But it seems to me that Charles tried to do his duty to England, and give up the woman he loved. But his heart remained true to her all along. So I’ll give him a half pass. The system sucks. Royalty sucks. It’s 2022, FFS. Let them all get jobs already!
“… if anyone had a valid reason to cheat on his wife, Charles Windsor did. It’s got to suck to be told that you can’t marry the woman you love (Camilla) because you’ve got to marry a virgin.”
I totally disagree with that. Charles was a grown man, he had the opportunity to marry PB, but didn’t take it, because he didn’t have the guts. This was made clear in the Dimbleby book by Charles himself.
Instead he took the coward’s way out, and cynically used a 19 year old, whom he knew loved him, and he thought she would just fall in with the usual aristocratic bedhopping.
Remember the engagement interview, when they were asked if they were in love? Diana said yes, of course, and that fuckwit said “whatever love means”.
I thought then, poor girl, you’ve got yourself stuck with a shit bag.
No, he didn’t have a valid reason to cheat. Like all cheaters, he’s an entitled wanker, with no moral courage or integrity.
I’m not excusing Diana’s later cheating with married men, at *all*, but the whole sorry mess would never have arisen if Charles hadn’t been such a weak, useless piece of crap.
I watched the press conference as a young teen, and my mum chimed in “a lamb being led to slaughter.”
You make some good points. I guess he wanted to be king more than he wanted to marry the woman he loved. Just another fuckwit, after all.
Yep, the Duke of Windsor gave up the throne to marry the woman he loved.
Our fuckwits are pretty much just like Charles. No matter how to slice it, it comes down to character. “I am going to get whatever I want, do whatever I want and to hell with anyone else.”
According to the family tree my grandmother put together, part of my family is English and came to the US in 1620, but as merchants, not religious refugees. That’s kind of unfortunate because the early merchants were more likely to be Indian-killers than the Puritans who tended to practice radical pacifism (at least until some time before the witch trials). We also have some fancy French-English ancestors and a far flung relation to Mary Queen of Scots.
My mother was sick to death of her mother’s geneological pretentions and joked about all the details her mother left out of the documentation– like the horrible things various illustrious ancestors got up to. Consequently I don’t believe in the divine right of kings anymore than I believe in the more eugenic strains of behaviorial genetics. At least I hope that crap’s not true or I’m due a beheading. I don’t believe in karma either but if it existed, I hope we worked out the racism, genocide, persecution and rape of cultures in the generations since. I believe in restitution even for long-ago abuses. I don’t just have white guilt. It seems some of my ancestors killed and enslaved everybody, includung my other ancestors.
I think even the silly pomp of modern monarchy is a way to officially keep the lie of eugenics alive and a sneaky way to keep justifying historical abuses. I think it’s culturally toxic (and not just because my bleeding lefty heart is embarrassed by it). But if you read Ernest Becker, humans will always be drawn to that nonsense because we have such a collective FW talent for expurgating history.
I loved the recent film Spencer because I think the filmmaker included this subtextual connection between political and personal abuses of power, including fuckwittery. No matter what kind of groovy, modern, image-managey hypocrisy they spout, don’t expect anyone who justifies the one to refrain from the other and vice versa.
They should have let Charles marry him in the first place and saved everyone a lot of heartache.
“Him” is right.
Chumplady, thank you delivering your perspective on the whole Camilla Queen Consort issue! So good as always. ????????
Best, snarky educational post – I always learn something. I knew the monarchy had wealth BUT I did not realize that land was leased in London to that extent and never owned by anyone? Wow. I also did not realize the extent of parliament seats inherited- 92!
Now, I had never heard anything about Rose Hanbury or knew who she was etc. I sometimes wonder about the timing of stories in the U.K. William and Harry have to be very scarred by the death of their mother and the public painful reveal of the infidelity in their parents’ marriage. They have been forced to accept Camilla as their stepmother and put on a cheerful, supportive face while Camilla cuts ribbons etc. next to their father.
I wonder if the stories about Rose Hanbury might have been an offensive move by Royal Firm’s press corps? William better applaud and cheer on the Queen’s decision to give the Queen Consort title to Camilla, otherwise a certain “friendship” during Kate Middleton’s 3rd pregnancy might get some ink and discussion. I just have to wonder…????
Just an aside about her hair- it isn’t just 1983, it’s exactly like Diana’s hair was in the 80s.
How creepy is that.
That is creepy.
Though that aside, I have to admit I have always been a fan of the big hair style. By that I mean full and swingy, not bee hive-ish. When the wet, greasy look came in for women’s hair, I stayed with the fuller look.
I had a lot of hair, and maybe that was part of it. But I just think full bouncy hair looks good.
I have a lot of hair too, and must admit I’ve had basically the same style since the 90s, with only occasional experiments with others. This one looks good, suits me and it’s practical. I despise fussing with my hair so I work with the poufiness and cowlicks rather than against them. How so many women can bear to spend hours a day putting in extensions and styling is a mystery to me.
I’m almost ashamed to admit this, but the Royal Family are like a weird reality show/hobby for me – except that they are paid a lot better, and it’s hereditary.
The best documentary you’ll see on them is ‘The Windsors’ – all three series – with Harry Enfield as Prince Charles. I suspect it’s the most realistic.
According to people who comment on Daily Mail articles, and who seem to be WAY more informed than I am, the Rose Hanbury claims were traced to one source, who was a Meghan Markle follower and fangirl. But this could be untrue as well.
I actually feel sorry for Camilla, because apparently Charles is super-hard to live with. Which is why she apparently doesn’t actually live with him most of the time – she has her own place where she can have her own grandchildren over to visit, and they can make noise and break stuff without him freaking out.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2935651/Separate-lives-saucy-secret-intimate-portrait-marriage-reveals-Camilla-kept-Charles-happy.html
She also makes no effort to outshine him. Or indeed to shine at all. She’s got a longstanding and well-documented reputation for being lazy, but I’m one of nature’s couch potatoes as well, so no judgement there.
But she’s now signed up to spend the rest of her life – and all of her old age – having to do shit. Waving and smiling. Opening things. Accompanying Charles everywhere. Being jolly and a good sport. Standing for hours in uncomfortable shoes. Not being allowed to yawn.
To me, to take this on as an old woman – and she IS an old woman now – would be absolute purgatory.
There is a Spanish – or is it Portuguese? – proverb: “God says, ‘Take what you want. And then pay for it.'”
I really like that saying, as well as the subtle karma coming her way. At any stage in my life I would have hated the spotlight, but now? I’m not as old as Camilla, but it would be terrible, plus she knows she’ll be picked apart by the press and everyone else everytime she’s photographed or filmed.
From the Daily Mail article above:
‘Camilla knows how to soothe him, when not to be there, when to leave him to his thoughts, when to be jolly, when to be his confidante, and when to be his lover. She is quite brilliant at being every kind of woman to him at the appropriate time.
‘Poor Diana could never do this for him. I saw how she struggled to make it work, but it never did. But then, she was so young, while Camilla — well, she’s virtually made a lifelong study of the Prince of Wales. No one knows him better than she does.’
He’s all yours, Camilla. No tags back. I hope your life’s work feels like it’s worth it next time you have to stand for three hours in uncomfortable shoes, talking to people you can’t stand, and having to smile till your face aches.
“Camilla knows how to soothe him, when not to be there, when to leave him to his thoughts, when to be jolly, when to be his confidante, and when to be his lover. She is quite brilliant at being every kind of woman to him at the appropriate time.”
Sounds like a talented slave. Good grief, who would want a lopsided relationship like that. How exhausting.
I know what you mean about being an American in England. Even worse, I’m a NEW YORKER over here! So when I met Diana (a long story from a long time ago), I decided to chat to her about masturbation. ???? And I hope someone tells that story at my funeral.
As an American, I don’t have any valid interest in the UK Royal Family. But most of my ancestors came from the British Isles, so I take an interest anyway.
I think the Queen did this because she figured Prince Charles would do it anyway when she’s gone. She probably decided it would look better if she approved it now.
However, I find myself wondering if the Duchess of Cornwall can be crowned. My understanding is that the coronation ceremony is a religious sacrament of the Church of England, and that their marriage isn’t considered strictly valid by that church.
I believe there were several British Queens Consort who weren’t crowned because they were Catholic, so she doesn’t have to be crowned.
I suppose if Prince Charles, when he’s king and head of the church, decides she should be crowned, she will be. I wonder if anybody will have a problem with that? We’ll see.
After consulting Wikipedia, I should correct my comment. There were indeed British Queen Consorts who weren’t crowned for various reasons, including some who were Catholic and couldn’t take part in a Church of England ceremony.
I was hoping the queen would show spine and skip Charles/Camilla entirely and go straight to William/Kate.
Putting lipstick in a pig doesn’t change that it’s a pig.
True that.
Not a paid up member but don’t believe he had them killed. If I am in Leicester I try and pop in and say hello
Whoops, my comment should be to the Richard III society members