Hacker News Reader

Comment by relics443 | Hacker News Reader

As an American I have no barometer for this.

Anyone here from the UK, will the public at large really be as affected as the article claims?

It will be a big thing over here. A lot of the older generation (60+) will have strong positive feelings toward the monarchy, those in the 30-60 age range will not have known another monarch so even if they are not royalists i expect it will have some impact. She has not been a terrible monarch so in general there is little anti-royal sentiment. Personally I'm looking forward to an extra day off work (or 2 if possible). I expect the worst aspect for most people will be Charles becoming king.

Personally, I'll be sad when the queen dies because she's been a stable fixture throughout my entire life.

I'm not fond of the royal family and we could do without the monarchy altogether. But the Queen was born in a different era with different values. Although I don't share the values of that era, she's carried out what she sees as her duty with dignity and dedication. She deserves a respectful send-off, but her death should mark the end of the era of royalty and aristocracy.

As a Brit, I personally would rather the UK were a republic.

I have no love or even respect for the royal family and all they represent. When the queen snuffs it, I'll likely give it a few seconds of thought before going on with my day.

Unfortunately there are a lot of royalists here even among the poorest in society who will no doubt be weeping in the streets as if aristocratic classes cared even one iota whether they lived or died.

We are a bizarre country with a huge section of the population that cannot let go of our royal/imperial/colonial past and all the exceptionalism that connotates.

Lots of people will be sad, but not because they're royalists or monarchists, just because the Queen has such a long and essentially spotless history. In a world where celebrities and politicians are all pretty much expected to have a lifetime of scandal and dishonour, she stands nearly alone in having managed to avoid controversy and dishonour for, well, at least as long as I've been alive. Very few people manage that, and in this, she represents a sort of British ideal.

However, once the Queen is gone, the issue of whether to keep the Royal family will I'm sure become the next referendum issue (unless there's another scottish indyref first).

I'm no monarchist, but how exactly do you think an alternative head of state will be different from the current royal family?

Effectively they are all ceremonial titles, who host other heads of state during grandiose state visits, do a bit of charity work and have the theoretical power to dismiss the government. At least the monarchy brings in a bit of tourist coin along the way

I'm old enough to remember the death of Diana. That was huge. Took over all four channels(+) for a week. Has taken over the Daily Express for the past 20 years. The Queen Mother's death was also a pretty big event. The Royal family are very popular especially among people who, shall we say, aren't liberal-internationalist.

The death of the Queen happening in the next few years before Brexit and possibly the breakup of the UK seems unlikely but would really accelerate the sense of chaos.

(+) I had to go back and check this; Channel 5 was actually launched 6 months earlier, but we couldn't receive it in our house at the time.

Perhaps we'll get a triple score.

Brext, scottish independence, and a new monarch at the same time.

Interesting times indeed.

Tangent: a triple score is a hat trick. The term was originally assocatiated with cricket, though in the U.S. and Canada you hear it most often in hockey. I mention this only because I would have expected someone from the U.K. to use the term. :-)

Sport is not my strong point, and I was thinking of Scrabble anyway.

Not at the same time. I think the queen's got a few more years in her yet - her mother lived to 101 and I can see her doing the same.

Depends.

Perhaps not so much if they read HackerNews and watch Netflix.

But will it pop my bubble?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com