Tag Archives: My Queen

‘Netflix’ ‘The Crown’ Season 5 — Having Just Finished Watching It, I, For The 1st Time, Have MIXED Feelings.

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by Anura Guruge
on November 14, 2022

Click to ENLARGE. From ‘Netflix‘.
Click to ENLARGE. ‘Google’ search.
Click to ENLARGE and read here. Wikipedia.

I definitely ENJOYED it — & that, alas, is part of the problem.

It is so well scripted & produced that you easily lose fact that 70% of what is being shown is SPECULATION! Yes, based on what happened — but imagined … fictionalized. We will never know what actually was said behind those walls. That is the problem. Just even take something simple: the private conversations between the Queen & then Prime Minister ‘John Major’. Of course they took place. That is a fact. Yes, they must have discussed the issues portrayed by Netflix. The problem is that we don’t know what was really said. What is shown is MADE UP. But, it is so cleverly done that you can easily lose sight of that.

This applies to everything. Yes, we have all heard the ‘Tampongate’ tape. But, all the talk that went before that & after — is all make believe. YIKES. That is the problem. I not really complaining. Just concerned that too many of us may have got lulled into thinking that all this dialogue is based on reality.

I don’t know how to fix that.

I am a HUGE fan of the series. Of that there is no debate.

I have learned a LOT from the Series — & for that I am grateful.

This was also the case with Season 5. I knew very little about the ‘Fayed’ family. Also the details of the ‘Martin Bashir’ deception! Wow. I knew the broad-brush version of the events, but not the EXTENT of the fraud. I was shocked & disappointed. Not worthy of MY BBC!

I loved the portrayal of P.M. ‘John Major‘. I always liked John. I think he got star billing.

So, the bottom line is that I loved Season 5, but am concerned that too much ‘faction‘ got woven in, very cleverly, as fact rather than possible fiction.

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‘Netflix’ ‘The Crown’ Season 5 Is Turning Me Into The Anti-Monarchist I Was 30-Years Ago.

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by Anura Guruge
on November 10, 2022

Click to ENLARGE and read here. Wikipedia.

It doesn’t surprise me. I was tethering on the brink ever since the passing of MY Queen. just over 2-months ago.

I was an anti-monarchist for a fair chunk of my life! That is no secret. I mentioned that in the post I did to mark the Queen’s passing. I only got around to appreciating the Queen & become an ardent fan as we both got older, i.e., the Queen & I.

But the Queen is now gone & we are left with her profligate progeny & a large extended family. This season of ‘The Crown’ makes you fully realize what a privileged, thoroughly spoilt & entitled bunch they are. I was never a fan of ‘Charles’. ‘Tampongate‘ (below) was the last straw & that was many decades ago.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Yvn6Ok6MdFk

** ** ** ** **

It was so CRUDE. Not becoming of ANY man — let alone a future king. I can be very crude & vulgar but I would never go that far. So, with Charles on the throne I feel very differently about the monarchy.

They are too expensive a luxury. We don’t need them! Come on. We can manage without them. I think Netflix has done US a huge favor. Thank YOU, Netflix.

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I Am Sobered By The Passing Of MY Queen.

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by Anura Guruge
on September 8, 2022

Click images to ENLARGE. Image from “The Royal Family” Website.

Certainly an end to an era.

She was Queen for the totality of my life. She was the only British monarch in my life until today.

I will miss her. Over the last two, maybe three, decades I became quite fond of her. She became MY Queen. That was what made her extra special to I. She WON me over — & that (as some of you know) is no mean task.

I was an anti-monarchist for a fair chunk of my life! That is no secret. There is a good chance I will revert back to being one SOON!

But as we both got older, i.e., the Queen & I, I started to appreciate her more, respect her & become fond of her.

As many of you know from my blog, I have insisted (of late) that my Christmas is NOT done until I have heard the Queen’s speech. There will not be a Queen’s speech this Christmas. A King will give a speech instead. The problem is that I am NOT sure whether he will be MY King. That is a problem. That is a dilemma. Last Christmas I did say that I sure hope that this would NOT be her last speech. Alas, it was.

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Some of you may have noticed that I used ‘sobered’ as opposed to ‘saddened’. That was after due consideration. The v. very few that know me know that I have a strange & ambivalent attitude towards death. I do not attend funerals & I rarely mourn. The Queen had a good innings. Yes, it would have been great if she had managed to score a century. Plus, given that I have now been in exile over here for 38-years, the Queen has not been a constant presence in my life for a very long time. So, while I will, of course, miss her, I can’t genuinely claim that I was shocked or markedly distressed. I was sorry. I will miss. I don’t think I will ever be able to sing the National Anthem with “God save the King”! Let’s leave it at that.

I sure will MISS not being able to say
“Long Live Our Glorious Queen”.

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‘Remembrance Sunday 2021’ Marred By Sudden Absence Of MY Queen.

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by Anura Guruge
on November 14, 2021

Click to ENLARGE. From ‘Google News’.

MY Queen from my post to mark the 2020 Remembrance Sunday.

Click image to access my post from last year.

Of course, her sad absence, is NOT an issue. We all understand. We know she planned to be there, she hoped to be there. Provided she was in the U.K. she has NOT missed a Remembrance Sunday other than the two times she was pregnant with her last two kids. She has been involved with this glorious & sacred British tradition for 69-years!

I can’t even imagine what it must be like to be 95. She is 27 years older than I, & folks call me old. We all, of course, wish her the best.

My only concern is whether she will be there next year. She will be 96. Does NOT matter if she can’t attend the ceremony. Provided that she is still around.

As is my wont let me please share some videos of our (i.e., London ‘Cenotaph’) Remembrance Sunday ceremony.

For those not familiar with our protocol let me explain why ‘Princess Anne‘ is NOT in one of the balconies. That is because she is at ground level, ready to lay a wreath. All of the senior members of the Royal Family lay wreaths, if they are not incapacitated. The Queen used to lay a wreath. Princess Anne walks in the second behind Prince Charles.

3:15 minute BBC video that captures the highlights.
A longer, 42 minute version, from ‘The Palace’ (so to speak).

The Queen laying a wreath, on Remembrance Day 1953. The year she was coronated (i.e., received the crown) — though she became Queen a year earlier.

From 1953. It was then called ‘Armistice Day‘.
in 1946, the year after the end of WW II, with her father, the then King.

Don’t forget that I have a dedicated ‘Red Poppy‘ page on my old blog.

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Wouldn’t You Rather Have ‘Princess Anne’ As A Royal ‘Counsellor Of State’ Than ‘Camilla’?

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by Anura Guruge
on October 31, 2021

Click to ENLARGE. Link to original U.K. ‘Daily Mail’ article.
Click to ENLARGE. Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne,_Princess_Royal
Click to ENLARGE. Link to ‘Showbiz CheatSheet’ original.
Click to ENLARGE. Base chart from BBC. Annotations mine. Link to original.

It is no secret that I am not the greatest fan of ‘Charles‘ nor ‘Camilla‘. From being (true to the times) an anti-monarchist in my youth, I grew to truly respect & like MY QUEEN. It suffices to say that none of her descendants have yet to live up to her standards & stature — but, in a way, that is to expected. ‘Andrew’, obviously, has got himself into quite the mess & I feel sorry for the ‘poor’, misled & misguided (& obviously illegitimate) ‘Harry’.

Of the Queen’s four kids one has to say that Anne, despite her shenanigans re. ‘men’, has been the most steadfast, regal & honorable when it came to serving her country (& in that I include her unique involvement in the Olympics). Yes, there is ‘Edward’ but he never was as much in the public eye as Anne.

Anne is of royal blood (to the best as we can say in these matter).

She was 2nd in line to the throne.

She has served us well.

Camilla is not of royal blood. She has not done 1/4,000 of the duties performed by Anne.

We know that Anne is smart, capable, shrewd & experienced in matters of State. Not so, Camilla.

So, it doesn’t matter than Anne is not in the direct line of succession. Neither is Camilla. She will just be the spouse.

I am sure the Queen, if the Prime Minister is willing, can ask for Anne to be a Counsellor Of State replacing Andrew or Harry — both of who are no longer qualified to serve in this role. In the case of Harry, it is because he is no longer a resident of the U.K.

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Joe Biden, Not Polite Nor Politic, To Say My Queen Reminded Him Of His Mother!

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by Anura Guruge
on June 14, 2021

Joe Biden the Queen mother
Above coverage from ‘Associated Press’ (AP). Google for more coverage.

I am a huge fan of Joe. But, I do think he says things without thinking them through.

I know that he thought that this was would be seen as a huge compliment. Well … Joe is no spring chicken. He is 78. That is the problem. If he was 50 he could have, maybe, got away with it.

There is a 16-year age gap between them. That is kind of ‘messy‘. The Queen was unlikely to be a teen-mother! She was 22 when she had Charles.

I don’t think anybody close to the Queen mentions or even alludes to her age.

Joe … that was quite DUMB. You should kick yourself.

After I posted the above, I came across this in the U.K. ‘Daily Mail’. It did cross Joe’s mind that there was a possibility that his remark could be seen as insulting. He says it himself. Oh, Joe.

Click image to access the U.K. ‘Daily Daily’ mail article.