Last week I did 20 questions on Royalty and Monarchy… and since then I have gotten more questions about the topic… so lets visit it again.
Thanks this week go to Tom Merritt (Read his 20 Questions Interview Here) and a few others. Tom Merritt is a badass of the nth degree and should be followed on the twitters and his shows on the internets should be consumed by all of you… yes, all of you… even you, Ted… even you.
1. Do you think monarchy has a place as a public service institution, driving forward charity efforts, etc. as has been pioneered by Queen Elizabeth II?
I think that since the monarchy (in England) is an institution born on the backs of the populace of the commonwealth, it should definitely be a force for charity and public service. Sadly the amount of attention and monetary/material support generated by this monarchical structure pales in comparison to the fiscal burden the royals encumber. That being said, I am also only relatively familiar with the roles of the British Monarchy, and even less so in regards to other royal families.
2. With all the bad decisions made by politicians who are always thinking of the next election for themselves or their party, isn’t the idea of a governmental head for life attractive?
In some ways, yes…. and in some, no. The problem comes when the leader for life goes rogue…
3. What if we had a monarch with real power but it was non-hereditary?
Isn’t that a dictator or president for life kind of thing?
4. We say we have no monarchy in the US, but we appoint the most powerful justices for life. Kind of similar. Is ita Novarchy? (9 Justices)
If the seats on the court were passed on in some kind of archaic primogeniture, then yes, It would be some kind of Novarchy.
5. Admit it. Don’t you think the fact that we have one medieval institution around is kind of cool?
Catholic Church?….
6. How long should royalties for artistic efforts be in effect?
Hmmmm… That is a hard one. There are certain pieces of the cultural zeitgeist that should be protected. But there are some pieces that should be released to public domain, such as “Happy Birthday To You.” Let the chorus at TGI Friday’s sing the song.
7. Dairy Queen or Burger King… who is your favorite Fast Food monarch?
Well… I have to go with the Queen of the Dairy Realm, the Empress of Soft-Serve, Monarch of the Unified Cool Treats, Regent of Good Eats, Jewel of the Burger Grill.
8. How reigned when William Shakespeare was alive?
Queen Elizabeth I and King James I… but also Emperor Yaqob, King Alaro II Manikongo, King Unsa I, King Mendgradzagyi, King Ngyaung Ram Meng, Emperor Wanli, King Le Kinh Tong, Emperor Go-Yozei, Khan Haji Muhammad, Lord Seonjo, Emperor Akbar, King Sho Nei, Khan Ghazi II Girai, King Christian IV, King Henry IV, Emperor Rudolf II, Prince Ieremia Movila, King Henry III, Emperor Mehmet III, Pope Clement VIII, King Sigismund III Vasa, Tsar Boris Godunov, King James VI, King Philip III, Duke Charles Albert, Michael the Brave, Emir Ahmad II, and Shah Abbas I… (not a comprehensive list)
9. How about right now?
Ummm.. Queen Elizabeth II, … and Joan Enric Vives Sicilia, Francois Hollande, King Hamad ibn Isa, King Phillipe, King Jigme Khesar Namgyel, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, King Norodom Sihamoni, Queen Margrethe II, Emperor Akihito, King Abdullah II, Emir Sabah al-Ahmad, King Letsie III, Prince Hans-Adam II, King Mohammed VI, King Willem-Alexander, King Harald V, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, Emir Tamim bin Hamad, King Abdullah bin Abdul’aziz, King Juan Carlos I, King Mswati III, King Carl XVI Gustaf, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, King Tupou VI, President Khalifa bin Zayed, and Pope Fancis.
10. Where is the most useless monarchy?
Liechtenstein… who cares about the king of Pop Art?
11. If the Danish Royalty were comprised solely of breakfast danishes, which one would be king?
I think it would be a toss up between apple or cinnamon, but my heart belongs to the Queen of the Danish Pastries, Her Majesty Cheese Danish IV.
12. Why in checkers when you get a piece across the board is it called “getting crowned?” Typically where the player says “King ME!!” when the King on the chessboard is the most useless piece on the board?
I… I Don’t know
13. If you were king for a day….?
Most of what I implemented would be overturned by the slack jawed yokel who took over for me the following day. That guy is a contrary jerk.
14. Since the concept of royalty is a relic from a by-gone era, shouldn’t royalty be forced to reside in the same era abode?
Well it depends on when one thinks of royalty. If one is thinking about royalty being bearded dudes wearing ermine capes and wearing gawdy crowns on their heads, they should live in drafty, haunted, spooky, stone castles. It is the least they should do to keep up the appearances.
15. Other than British Royalty, what other royal family should be considered relative in today’s modern world?
You presuppose that I find the British Royalty to be relative. I would have to say that the royal families of the middle east that control countries as well as oil production are more important than the British Royals currently.
16. How should you address royalty?
I as a commoner, as well as most of my readership, probably should not address royalty. Unless, of course, the royal addresses me first… and when they address me, they shoud address me as “Your Mediocrity.”
17. Have you ever seen a royal in person?
I think I saw a royal motorcade once whilst in London, but I have not actually seen a royal.
18. The royal “we…” What gives?
In official functions the King/Queen/Potentate Du Jour, does not only speak for himself/herself, that person is also talking for the realm and all the inhabitants therein. So, it is pretty presumptive when a royal says “We are not amused.” Somewhere in the realm, someone found it amusing, and at that point the monarch is not necessarily speaking for everyone.
19. So is the King truly D’Artagnan’s son in the movie “The Man in the Iron Mask?”
Glad you specified movie because the movie is nothing like the literary work. In the movie is it is heavily implied if not flat out explicitly mentioned that D’Artagnan was boning the Queen at some point in time.
20. If you saved Queen Elizabeth II from certain death, would you become a god? Because, you know… “God, Save the Queen” and all that.
If that were true, you would see people putting that woman in peril every 5 minutes and most of her staff would be considered gods.
To recap:
The kids… they are tired of listening to me
It is difficult to get them to do anything these days
I think I have become like the adults in the Charlie Brown cartoon
Wha Whan WhaWha-Wha Whan
That was a dated reference…
Charlie Brown isn’t even a thing these days, is he?
Good Grief
I think Little Man has lost a bit of his enthusiasm with watching the birds
I blame him seeing puffins when by the age of 10
He is bird spoiled now
The weather has been odd and it scares me
It should not be this cool in July
Not looking a gift horse in the mouth
Mainly because horse bite
But also because this weather is much more volitile
I need to mow
I will get to that this weekend
Speaking of that,
Have a great weekend everyone