I must be getting old, or maybe times have changed ...

[The Hen]

But I am finding myself looking more and more fondly at the Monarchy.

The Queen is in Oz at present. Specifically ... here.

There has been much to do, and many protocols to meet.

However, I was surprised that she met with leaders of both political parties, even though we have a hung Parliament, as I would have thought she would just meet with the leader of the governing party.

Queen Talks Minority Govt With Aussie Leaders

In a rare public display of personal opinion, the Queen has commented on the state of Australian politics.

Her Majesty met Australian prime minister Julia Gillard and opposition leader Tony Abbott during her tour of the country.

Speaking with Mr Abbott, head of the Liberal Party, the Queen said forming minority governments was always problematic.

She was referring to the political situation in Australia, where Ms Gillard had weeks of negotiating before she was able to form a government after elections last year produced no overall winner.

Mr Abbott met the monarch for an audience in the morning room of Canberra's Government House.

The Queen wasted no time raising the issue of the precarious state of Australian politics saying: "It is an interesting time."

Mr Abbott replied: "It is never dull, we play our politics tough in this country and give no quarter, Australian society is always dynamic."

The monarch then said "a minority government is always a difficult thing to organise".

Meeting the Queen, Ms Gillard bowed her head twice, although she has been criticised this week for deciding not to curtsy when the pair first met.

The meeting came as the country's former prime minister, Paul Keating, revealed in his newly published memoirs how he once told the monarch the nation no longer needed her.

Mr Keating says he told the Queen at Windsor Castle in September 1993 that Australians felt the monarchy was outdated.

The former PM, who once so outraged the British press by placing his hand on the Queen's back during a visit in 1992 which saw him dubbed 'The Lizard of Oz', said he told her Australia had changed vastly since 1954.

"I told the Queen as politely and gently as I could that I believed the majority of Australians felt the monarchy was now an anachronism, that it had gently drifted into obsolescence," Mr Keating told The Australian newspaper.
He added that the Queen sat through his remarks, before commenting: "You know my family have always tried to do their best by Australia."

To this he replied: "Yes, I know that ma'am."

Most of the Queen's 10-day Australia trip is focused on the capital Canberra, with outings to Melbourne and Brisbane, before she leaves for Perth.

Personally, I think the movie 'The King's Speech' and the marriage of Wills and Kate have saved the monarchy for another 100 years downunder. Colin Firth and Geoffery Rush should be knighted for their services to the monarchy.

[Sue U]

"You know my family have always tried to do their best by Australia."

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

[The Hen]

The Hatch just saw the Queen.

If she wasn't a teenage girl already I would have been surprised at her girly reaction to the encounter.

It will be back to the Tower of London for us when we are in the UK.

[Lord Jim]

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

I don't know what you're laughing about...

Her Great Great Grandfather and Great Great Great Grand Father "tried to do the best by Australia" to the point that they provided free cruise ship passage from The Sceptered Isle to "The Land Down Under"....

[Gob]

Not everyone was impressed/typical Aussie greeting?

An Australian accused of "mooning" the Queen in Brisbane yesterday has been condemned by angry Britons.

Sydney's Liam Warriner, 22, admitted to reporters yesterday that he exposed his rear end to the monarch as she travelled along Kingsford Smith Drive on her royal visit.

According to reports, he had the Australian flag wedged between the cheeks of his bare bottom when he exposed himself at about 11.40am.

It was unlikely the Queen saw Mr Warriner's exposed backside, a police spokesman said today.

While flashing a V for victory sign yesterday, Mr Warriner declared "I mooned the Queen".

"Everybody's seen someone's butt, come on. You see it on TV all the time, you see it in movies, it's accepted in PG rated programming these days, but yet it's an offence to the Queen," he told The Courier-Mail.

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensl ... z1bkXPelnf

[dgs49]

You must know that most Americans consider the Monarchy to be not only pointless but ridiculous (literally, worthy of ridicule).

The very idea that people and families are the object of public adoration and esteem, and are maintained in Grandeur at immense public expense, for no reason other than the uterus from which they came, is offensive.

The history of Britain is replete with tales of the excesses, stupidity, and foibles of its monarchs.

While they and the Monarchy itself are a huge part of Great Britain's history, how it continues in the current century is a mystery to me and I dare say to most Americans. If history teaches anything at all, it certainly teaches that NONE of intelligence, bravery, character, or virtue are inherited. The chances that the son of a great leader (king) will be equally great are about as likely as anyone randomly chosen from the phone book. Even if you start with a "great" king, you will end up with shite.

In a perverse way, however, I feel sorry for Charles. Waiting his whole life to be king (I presume), but Ma won't die or step down. Pity.

[Lord Jim]

You must know that most Americans consider the Monarchy to be not only pointless but ridiculous

That would not appear to be the case, Dave. Just to show the results from one recent poll:

According to a recent CBS News/ New York Times poll, Queen Elizabeth II has a 61 percent favourable rating among Americans, with a mere 7 per cent holding an unfavourable view of the British monarch (a further 25 per cent are undecided). That compares with an average job approval rating this week of 45.5 percent for the US president according to RealClear Politics, with some recent polls placing him as low as 41 percent.

Prince William was just behind the Queen with 57 per cent approval, with Kate Middleton polling at 45 percent (with 43 per cent undecided, bearing in mind that the survey was conducted almost two weeks ago, before much of the publicity surrounding the royal wedding.) Only Prince Charles was less popular than the polling average for Barack Obama, with an approval rating of 38 percent. The late Princess Diana remains immensely popular in America, with 75 percent of Americans declaring a favourable opinion of her, nine points higher than her approval rating in Britain.

The CBS/New York Times poll also showed strong support in the US for the monarchy in Britain, with 71 per cent saying the Royal family “is a good thing” for the British people, with just 15 per cent against. A striking 18 per cent of Americans (almost one in five of the electorate) thought a royal family would actually be a good thing for the United States too.

While President Obama is having another “annus horribilis”, with significantly declining popularity at home, Americans retain a great deal of affection for both the Queen and the Royal family. In fact, the Queen’s approval rating in the United States has dropped just 5 points in 58 years since Gallup first asked the American public for their opinion of the new Queen following her coronation, when 66 percent said they had a positive opinion of her.

And as Gallup noted in a report it published in 2002, no woman was admired by Americans more in the period 1948 – 2001 than Queen Elizabeth, appearing no less than 38 times in the top 10 of Gallup's annual survey of the public's most admired men and women, significantly ahead of Jackie Kennedy in second.

Most Americans clearly recognise the huge scale of the Queen’s achievement as reigning monarch for nearly six decades. She has been an impeccable representative for Britain on the world stage, and has epitomised the Special Relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom during the course of no less than 11 US presidencies. The Queen is a model of Anglo-American world leadership, and has won the hearts and affection of the American people from the days of Eisenhower to the present, a towering accomplishment by one of the truly great figures of our time.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nileg ... ent-obama/

So, while you may wish it was the case that most Americans view the Monarchy the way you do, all the available evidence suggests otherwise....

[dgs49]

Approval of the Queen and approval of the monarchy are two entirely different things. I personally approve of QEII. As queens go, she is doing a fine job.

I hold the Presidency in high esteem, but I thoroughly disapprove of the current President.

I stand by what I wrote. Most Americans think the Monarchy is stupid and ridiculous. As do a large percentage of Britons.

[dales]

[Long Run]

I stand by what I wrote. Most Americans think the Monarchy is stupid and ridiculous. As do a large percentage of Britons.

I disagree as well. Why our grand national fascination anytime one of the royalty does something mildly interesting? We would think it ridiculous to actually be ruled by a monarchy, but I think Americans like the idea of a royal family . . . in England (and quasi-royalty here, such as the Kennedys). And if the Queen performs her goodwill and ambassador functions well, she serves an important purpose as an nonpolitical official representative of the country.

[Lord Jim]

Approval of the Queen and approval of the monarchy are two entirely different things.

Of course they are. And the polling data I cited indicates that both are popular with the vast majority of Americans. Maybe you read through the article I posted so quickly that you didn't see this section that I highlighted:

The CBS/New York Times poll also showed strong support in the US for the monarchy in Britain, with 71 per cent saying the Royal family “is a good thing” for the British people, with just 15 per cent against.

Most Americans think the Monarchy is stupid and ridiculous.

Do you have any data to back up your position on this, (as I have provided to back up mine) or do you just believe it because you believe it?

If on the one hand, I have scientific polling data that shows a large majority of Americans support the Monarchy, and on the other hand I have Dave saying "Most Americans think the Monarchy is stupid and ridiculous." because that's what Dave wants to believe, I have to tell you it's really not much of a contest....

[Gob]

Stephen Fry: Gilchrist for president! (04:32)

In the first of three exclusive videos with Fairfax Media, Stephen Fry discusses the Queen, reasons for a republic and who would be good as our first Australian president.

http://media.smh.com.au/entertainment/r ... 29196.html

I'd vote for Gilly!!!!

[Sean]

The very idea that people and families are the object of public adoration and esteem, and are maintained in Grandeur at immense public expense, for no reason other than the uterus from which they came, is offensive.

Are you talling about the Monarchy or the Kardashians?