Her Majesty the Queen has Passed Away

Goody2shoes

Thu, Sep 08 2022, 5:15 pm

imorethanamother wrote:

Rabbi YY Jacobson often tells the story about the time someone (Margaret thatcher?) showed up to meet the queen in the same outfit. And she was mortified, and wrote an apology letter, and got the response saying something like, “Don’t worry, the queen never notices what the commoners wear.”

I always thought that was awesome.

I love this story. while its true that they didn't get along, and the comment might be seen as rude it still has that element of what real royalty was back in their times

Elfrida

Thu, Sep 08 2022, 5:16 pm

imorethanamother wrote:

It was Margaret Thatcher, fairly shortly after she became Prime Minister. She contacted the Palace before the event to ask what colour the Queen would be wearing for a certain event, to ensure that they wouldn't clash. The reply was that she could wear what she liked, because 'The Queen never notices what other people wear.'

Kate buys some clothes in the High Street. The Queen's outfits were specially made, so no one would wear exactly the same.

Beautiful

Thu, Sep 08 2022, 6:45 pm

Elfrida wrote:

So so classy, HM and Duchess Catherine too. I am reminded of the time Q Letitzia of Spain wore the same dress as another attendee. She gave the other lady a big hug and took a picture with her as well.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth was the epitome of royalty and class, persevering in her duty just as she promised on her 21st birthday. Chochma bagoyim taamin...we can learn a lesson from her dedication to her country and her people. She was willing to go to Ireland after they killed Lord Mountbatten, gave a lot of grace to Prince Harry after he and Meghan attacked all she stood for, and did it all with a smile.

4g01o

Thu, Sep 08 2022, 6:50 pm

DallasIma wrote:

Also, I was reading that the Queen's funeral will be in about 12 days. It's so interesting how different they are from us. We bury the deceased ASAP.

The planning for this funeral is going to be extraordinary!
I just hope it's not on Rosh Hashono. Iyh before that so that we can watch it live 😅

Elfrida

Thu, Sep 08 2022, 6:59 pm

Fab4 wrote:

The planning for this funeral is going to be extraordinary!
I just hope it's not on Rosh Hashono. Iyh before that so that we can watch it live 😅

And ponder the difference between מלך עליון and מלך אביון.

I don't think it will be Rosh HaShana. That would mean the Chief Rabbi couldn't attend. They do tend to be aware of these things.

By the way, they have been rehearsing the funeral for years. Every so often they close Central London in the middle of the night and have a rehearsal.

boysrus

Thu, Sep 08 2022, 7:11 pm

iyar wrote:

The Queen doesn't do much for her country or for the world but she's a link to a different world that doesn't exist anymore, for better and for worse.
Many feel that the huge sums the royal family costs the UK are justifiable only in terms of the revenue produced by the tourist industry because of popular fascination with the royals. I've never been a fan one way or the other but to me the queen's dignified appearance and modest dress are admirable, and historically she led her country through wars and troubled times with grace.
She also serves another purpose. We live in a world where freedom of speech gives us the right to speak contemptuously about our leaders. The idea of fear or respect for another person is completely foreign to our culture and is considered unhealthy. We have a hard time relating to the concept of a melech that literally held the lives of his subjects in the palm of of his hand. Even though the queen is a figurehead and has no power at all, certainly no power to decide if a person lives or dies, it helps to see the pomp and circumstance surrounding a monarch.
This time of year when we're supposed to be mamlich a melech I'm always aware of how much harder it is for us today than it was when there was a czar, a kaiser, or an emperor in our lives. We're better off without them, but even though it's just the palest shadow of real melucha as it can exist among human beings, it was nice to have a Queen somewhere to remind us.

I just want to tell you that I logged in specially to like your post. Very well written. Thank you espoecialy for the last paragraph about a melech, very timely.

4g01o

Thu, Sep 08 2022, 7:14 pm

Elfrida wrote:

Oh yes, you're right.
Wow I never knew that they rehearsed the funeral!

Elfrida

Thu, Sep 08 2022, 7:32 pm

Fab4 wrote:

Oh yes, you're right.
Wow I never knew that they rehearsed the funeral!

They used to do it for the Queen Mother. They did it for Prince Philip, but the Corona regulations meant it was rather different to the original plans. They'll probably start doing it for Prince Charles soon. Um, King Charles. 🙄

boysrus

Thu, Sep 08 2022, 7:33 pm

As an Englishwoman, I feel sad today. I cried when I heard the news today. To me, the Queen was a link to a previous generation, part of my personal history. My grandmothers loved her and her death is kind of an extra stone in their coffins as she was part of their history. My parents in their seventies don't remember any other monarch as they were very young when she became queen.
She was eidel and refined. A good role model. I have a lot of memories connected to her annual broadcasts... annus horribilis in 1992 for example. She made an impression on me. Yes of course I have many many Jewish role models, but we can learn something from everybody.

PinkFridge

Thu, Sep 08 2022, 8:13 pm

Fab4 wrote:

The planning for this funeral is going to be extraordinary!
I just hope it's not on Rosh Hashono. Iyh before that so that we can watch it live 😅

Yes, it is fascinating. (Though there is a concept of pushing off a little so the niftar can have proper kavod.) There's a book King Peggy, about a woman who became King of a part of a country in Africa. She was living in the US at the time and went back and forth. One of her obligations was to bury her uncle, the former king, but he was kept on ice for months till she saved enough money to have the type of funeral someone of his status deserved. (Think of Nelson Mandela's funeral.)

allthingsblue

Thu, Sep 08 2022, 8:25 pm

boysrus wrote:

Also a good role model in terms of staying apolitical and in good terms with everyone.

Ema of 5

Thu, Sep 08 2022, 8:28 pm

DallasIma wrote:

Also, I was reading that the Queen's funeral will be in about 12 days. It's so interesting how different they are from us. We bury the deceased ASAP.

American presidents also are not buried right away. I believe most leaders of free countries aren’t, to give their citizens time to pay their respects.

Last edited by Ema of 5 on Thu, Sep 08 2022, 11:41 pm; edited 1 time in total

happytobemom

Thu, Sep 08 2022, 10:16 pm

boysrus wrote:

I'm as American as apple pie, and I didn't cry, but I was sad. I felt like it's the end of an era, like she was a connection to a world that is no longer. I mean, is there real royalty left in this world anymore?

vintagebknyc

Thu, Sep 08 2022, 10:21 pm

Ema of 4 wrote:

American presidents also are buried right away. I believe most leaders of free countries aren’t, to give their citizens time to pay their respects.

Actually, many American presidents take longer. Kennedy was buried three days after his assassination; Bush was five days later.

essie14

Fri, Sep 09 2022, 12:25 am

Congresswoman wrote:

Link to Yiddish articles about the crowning in a frum publication.

Interesting that the mesorah about womens photos was not known by the editors at the time

Speechless

http://www.kaveshtiebel.com/do.....=view

http://www.kaveshtiebel.com/do.....=view

👍👍👍👍

etky

Fri, Sep 09 2022, 1:29 am

I didn't cry when I understood that she had passed away but I feel very sad and a bit bereft.
Queen Elizabeth was a fixture in the world of public figures. Presidents, Prime Ministers and other world leaders came and went but she was eternal.
And now yet another link to a world that no longer exists has been lost.
The Queen was a relic of another time, one in which people were expected to live up to their responsibilities and to adhere to certain moral standards.
She herself was a true role model of these values, performing her duties up to her dying day.
Living her life under the microscope of the modern media, she probably had much less of a private life than any other British monarch in history, and - especially as a woman and mother - was able to take none of the liberties that most of her predecessors did.
She must have lived a life of great personal restraint, something that many in the generations before her who enjoyed greater privacy did not have to do and certainly more than her children and grandchildren, products of the 'me generation' feel called upon to do.
Yes, her life was one of luxury with no financial constraints but she lived in a gilded cage and every step of her life was scripted by her royal status and duties.
Charles has little charisma and has led a less than pristine personal life.
He will not command the same reverence and affection from his subjects.
Something of the aura surrounding the British monarchy has been lost and who knows if it will ever be reclaimed.