The Royal Family #16

[Pulltheotherone]

I remember vividly when the Queen finally addressed the nation.
We had a tiny TV in our conference room at work and we all crowded in there to watch in stunned silence.
Bizarre.

 

[JAR21]

And told them how upset they were and how much they’d loved their mum.
Madness.
And it seems from what he has said, that Balmoral is where William wanted to be … hugs or not.


They didn’t need to do anything other than look after William and Harry. Certainly not pander to the grief tourists and mourn porners. The tabloids were doing a good enough job of that.

The flag thing has changed since Diana, but back then the only flag to fly over Buckingham Palace was the Royal Standard when the Queen Was in residence. This really isn’t set up to be flown at half mast because there is always a Monarch. Even when The Queen dies, the standard at Buckingham Palace will be for the senior royal in residence and be at full mast. For Diana’s funeral, The Queen changed protocol and the Union flag flew at half mast while she was off the premises. Now the Union flag flies at BH whenever the Queen is not in residence and flies at half mast for national mourning quite regularly.

The RF were fumbling their way through with the added burden of a couple of grief stricken boys and a Country gone bonkers. There was no template. The only thing comparable was the death of Princess Charlotte and things had moved on since 1817.

BIB Yes, I'm aware of that. But the perception was that the RF was being silent, which is why I think they needed to head it off.

I totally think it was best to keep the boys at Balmoral and out of the public eye. But equally, it wouldn't have taken much effort for a 'suit' to write a statement along the lines of 'devastated at the death of Diana and RF will be staying in Balmoral to allow the boys time to grieve etc' and get the Queen's approval to release it. That's all that was required.

 

[Chocolategoggler]

BIB Yes, I'm aware of that. But the perception was that the RF was being silent, which is why I think they needed to head it off.

I totally think it was best to keep the boys at Balmoral and out of the public eye. But equally, it wouldn't have taken much effort for a 'suit' to write a statement along the lines of 'devastated at the death of Diana and RF will be staying in Balmoral to allow the boys time to grieve etc' and get the Queen's approval to release it. That's all that was required.

I suppose the Queen didn't want it to turn into a reality programme which is what Tony Blair seemed to be pushing for. He was a one for spin, though. Always reminded me of the Big Bad Wolf in Little Red Riding Hood with that grin. Ugh!
Saw a clip with Tom Bower on talking about Tony I think he was saying Tony is to blame for what is going on in the world at the moment.
Also said he was threatened by Al Fayed arranging to have his fingers broken. Will see if I can find the link.
Also saw something re Bower getting Royal protection due to his book and possible comeback.

Think this is the link I mentioned above.

 

[Sideboard Bob]

Not excusing how the Royals dealt with it (how to publicly respond to the loss of Diana), but they probably didn’t have a clue what to do.

They have all of these protocols and plans in place like London Bridge, but with Diana, they must have been just as shocked as everyone else.

 

[Multi-21]

Not excusing how the Royals dealt with it (how to publicly respond to the loss of Diana), but they probably didn’t have a clue what to do.

They have all of these protocols and plans in place like London Bridge, but with Diana, they must have been just as shocked as everyone else.

Yes didn’t they copy the Queen Mother’s funeral blueprint? I think the general outpouring of emotion would have been a shock for them. As someone said earlier as well the papers really stoked it and whipped people into a frenzy to try and cover the role of the paparazzi up.
In the weeks leading up to her death she had been all over the front pages in staged photos with the boys and Dodi on holiday and this straight after her highly publicised land mines trip as well.

 

[BonBon27]

I feel like I know loads about that time but I think it’s all come from the Helen Mirren film The Queen! Have to remind myself that’s not a documentary, altho they do use footage of the actual crowds and flowers.

I do remember the time, it was very weird. I saw the flowers at Kensington with my mum and it was eerie.
I’m the same age as William so I found it emotional as I couldn’t imagine being in his shoes and not only losing my mum but being in the public eye while dealing with it all.
I think the family did what they thought was best, the way they do it. William and Harry would have been used to Charles, the Queen, Phillip etc and how they were. I’m sure they felt loved and supported at Balmoral, it was awful when they were paraded around outside Buckingham Palace.

 

[Falkor]

Tony Blair and his People's Princess soundbite really didn't help. The press was starting to turn on her in the weeks before her death and in one stroke she became an untouchable martyr.

I had to drive from Cambridge to London on the afternoon of the funeral and saw the hearse with the police outriders coming up the other side of the motorway, that was quite surreal.

 

[Milliemoo99]

To be fair to the RF, They did give Diana a state funeral, which is why it needed the pomp and circumstance, and the walking behind the coffin etc. She could have just had a private ceremony somewhere.

And William was 15, an age where it might have been good for him to say goodbye to his mum at an organised funeral. The idea of the state funeral is to honour and show respect for the person who has just died. I think it would have been worse for the boys if they hadnt been invited and included in their mothers funeral, to be honest. They werent small small children. it is a bit damned if you do, and damned if you dont, kind of logic! If the boys hadnt gone to the funeral, it would also have been traumatic, because the felt excluded from something so personal!

It was the death of Diana itself that was traumatic for the boys. not really the funeral or aftermath. But it was 25 years ago. I would have expected both of them to have reached some kind of maturity and peace with it by now!

 

[Em_gardener]

To be fair to the RF, They did give Diana a state funeral, which is why it needed the pomp and circumstance, and the walking behind the coffin etc. She could have just had a private ceremony somewhere.

And William was 15, an age where it might have been good for him to say goodbye to his mum at an organised funeral. The idea of the state funeral is to honour and show respect for the person who has just died. I think it would have been worse for the boys if they hadnt been invited and included in their mothers funeral, to be honest. They werent small small children. it is a bit damned if you do, and damned if you dont, kind of logic! If the boys hadnt gone to the funeral, it would also have been traumatic, because the felt excluded from something so personal!

It was the death of Diana itself that was traumatic for the boys. not really the funeral or aftermath. But it was 25 years ago. I would have expected both of them to have reached some kind of maturity and peace with it by now!

I find it very normal for the family to walk after the coffin but maybe that's a cultural thing. Someone earlier said they were brought out to meet the public and accept flowers from them before the funeral and that sounds a lot more traumatic.

 

[Great_Kate]

I wonder if something similar will happen when the Queen dies

I don’t think so. Those mass hysteria about celebrities has gone way down. Just think about the Take That split. It seems with so much more things/celebrities available than then that the very narrow intense focus of many on one person or group is not happening anymore. Do I make sense? I think this was a product of the time and won’t be repeated.

 

[Phoenix Lazarus]

I don’t think so. Those mass hysteria about celebrities has gone way down. Just think about the Take That split. It seems with so much more things/celebrities available than then that the very narrow intense focus of many on one person or group is not happening anymore. Do I make sense? I think this was a product of the time and won’t be repeated.

That might be generally true, but the Queen has been really exceptionally bound up with our whole culture for seven decades.

 

[Tangent Tiger]

It'll be far more nuanced when the Queen goes. I'm anticipating a gradual confusion over figurehead changes. Minor example would be first stamps with a new monarch will seem strange etc

 

[bubbadabut]

When I see videos of the funeral, the thing that strikes me the most is that nobody was holding up a phone to film it. How things have changed in such a relatively short space of time. Many spectators on the Queen's funeral route will be viewing it through their smartphone screen.

I was in Malta on the day of Diana's funeral. Even there, everything was closed. The M&S in Valletta had removed all of the window dressings, and replaced them with heavy, black linen sheets and a single, framed photo of Diana.

I'm sure I heard at the time that the Daily Mail was getting ready to run a front page on the Sunday which was slagging her off. It was swiftly pulled when the news came through, and they switched to Saint Diana mode.

 

[FenellaTheWitch]

Tony Blair and his People's Princess soundbite really didn't help. The press was starting to turn on her in the weeks before her death and in one stroke she became an untouchable martyr.

I had to drive from Cambridge to London on the afternoon of the funeral and saw the hearse with the police outriders coming up the other side of the motorway, that was quite surreal.

That's true. There was a load of speculation she was pregnant with Dodi's baby.

TRF were certainly taken aback. As far as they were concerned, no matter how personal a tragedy it was, she was no longer Royal and various protocols were being observed.

 

[Chocolategoggler]

It'll be far more nuanced when the Queen goes. I'm anticipating a gradual confusion over figurehead changes. Minor example would be first stamps with a new monarch will seem strange etc

I think William will be much more private when he gets to be king. So we might lose interest in the monarchy then, through boredom.

 

[Tangent Tiger]

I think William will be much more private when he gets to be king. So we might lose interest in the monarchy then, through boredom.

Depends on what the children are up to!!

 

[Boring Monday]

Depends on what the children are up to!!

From about 18 there will be a huge rush to get one or the other of them married off … with all that entails.

 

[Curly Top]

I think William will be much more private when he gets to be king. So we might lose interest in the monarchy then, through boredom.

Yes It's actually a very good modus operandi - very similar to HM.

If he and Kate behave in a conservative manner uttering only bland pre-scripted statements and stick to the same clothing uniform and hairstyles, the public will move on to the more exciting celebrities and leave them alone.

 

[hannah123]

It'll be far more nuanced when the Queen goes. I'm anticipating a gradual confusion over figurehead changes. Minor example would be first stamps with a new monarch will seem strange etc

I can imagine Prince Charles just being called Prince until he dies because people can’t get used to King being a thing.

 

[Great_Kate]

While dragging the boys back to London and through an incredible long coffin walk watched by thousands was definitely not good for W&H, it also gave them incredible momentum. People wouldn’t have been as forgiving of their many screw ups. Their popularity is partly because of the hype around “Diana’s boys”. It’s a double edged sword. They might prefer to have a living mother but they also are happy to bring her up whenever it suits them and people still jump on it. Those pictures of the children are powerful. William has mostly stopped but H&M try to exploit this for their person gain still sometimes. This wouldn’t work if they had been shielded and set up with more privacy. The momentum was definitely there then.