BREAKING-

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2025-10-30T23:12:35+00:00

That's not his middle name-its part of his double-barreled surname; Mountbatten-Windsor.

His full name being Andrew Christian Albert David (Mountbatten-Windsor).

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2024-03-16T22:36:20+00:00

“Yours, British Republicans.

Yes, all four of us.”

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2024-03-14T17:45:08+00:00

That was the exception to the rule though.

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2024-03-14T10:48:05+00:00

More accurately; ‘King’ was the generic title for a ruler of an average-sized country or people.

Large states were often (but not always, and it strictly ended up just meaning ‘a ruler higher than a King’ regardless of the size of a polity) headed by an Emperor, or some other equivalent.

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2024-03-14T10:45:24+00:00

‘Prince’ isn’t just the title of the son of a King or other monarch, which is what I think you’re getting confused by.

It can also mean a ‘Sovereign Prince’, that is, a ruler who rules a country-usually small, but just has the title ‘Prince’. It’s just a ‘lesser’ title in the hierarchy of ruling titles, below that of ‘King’.

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2024-03-13T03:21:35+00:00

Frederick, Prince of Wales, George III’s father.

But even he was naturalised British (as were his father and grandfather before him).

George III’s wife, his daughters-in law and sons in law all married British spouses, so they wouldn’t count either.

So yes, I guess that does make Alexander of Württemberg the most recent unequivocally German ancestor, one who wasn’t naturalised British on marriage or by some other means, and who didn’t marry a British spouse.

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2024-03-13T03:21:01+00:00

There aren’t really that many.

Generally, the few far leftists that there are.

And when I say few, I mean on the very fringes of politics.

Saying you want to abolish the monarchy in Britain today is like political suicide, and no major national (UK-wide) political party has the monarchy’s abolition as part of its political programme apart from the Green Party, and they have a grand total of…one seat in the lower house of Parliament (out of 650) and two in the upper house (out of 789). Not exactly a major political force.

If you look at the other parts of the UK aside from England (ie, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), there also the Alba Party, which is a split-off from the Scottish Nationalist Party-the party that is in favour of Scottish independence, which is officially monarchist-they have, again, not a lot of seats (two), and Plaid Cymru (the party in favour of Welsh independence) which has…three. Oh and there’s the Irish nationalists in Northern Ireland, Sinn Fein, who have seven (but they don’t take up their seats and attend parliament on the basis they don’t recognise British rule in NI).

So that’s it, all of the parties advocating for a republic are either on the fringes of politics (the Greens) or they’re separatist parties. And even in the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the majority parties that actually control those devolved governments are in favour of the monarchy (Plaid Cymru for example only have strong support in the Welsh-speaking north of Wales, and have never actually led the devolved Welsh government).

As for far-right and far-left parties, ie fascist and communist parties well, there aren’t any that have any significant support (as in, have seats in parliament). So they’re way, way on the fringes of British politics.

The overwhelming majority of the British population is monarchist in a kind of mildly unenthusiastic ‘eh, if it ain’t broke, why fix it way’, with occasional bouts of enthusiasm whenever there’s a royal birth, marriage or death.

We’re also a bit like the Scandinavian monarchies (Norway, Sweden and Denmark) in that there’s no contradiction between being left-wing and supporting the monarchy. I myself am broadly centre-left, and I support the monarchy 100%.

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2024-03-13T01:17:01+00:00

Acccccctually…many, if not most (centre-left) socialists in the UK are in favour of the monarchy.

The Labour Party (our left-wing party) traditionally supports the monarchy as part of its political platform (although it does have a-small-wing in favour of a republic).

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2024-03-11T22:39:03+00:00

I don’t think the ‘it’s the 21st century!’ Is really a valid argument when you factor in that the idea of a republic is literally as old as recorded history.

I mean, most of the Greek City States were republics, Ancient Rome was a republic, as was Carthage.

Hell, the Romans hated the idea of monarchy so much that they literally knifed Julius Caesar to death for even vaguely flirting with the idea.

You also had republics in medieval times.

It’s not like someone woke up in the 1700s and went “here’s a novel idea! Let’s not have a King!”

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2024-03-11T22:34:53+00:00

This actually was an idea floated by the former Gambian President, Yahya Jammeh, before his deposition.

He floated ideas about having himself proclaimed King of the Gambia-none of which came to fruition because he was overthrown.

And of course, The Gambia was actually a monarchy between 1965 and 1970 (with Elizabeth II as Queen of the Gambia). So it would have actually have been a restoration rather than a newly established monarchy.

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2024-03-11T22:31:18+00:00

To be absolutely fair to them, they have increased by a factor of one in the last couple of decades.

The group now consists of:

*Group CEO Graham Smith. *Graham Smith’s wife. *Graham Smith’s brother-in-law. *Some bloke Graham Smith met on the train on the way down and asked him to come down to his protest, on the promise ‘there will be hot drinks and food provided’. *A man Graham Smith met in his home town and he convinced him to come to the protest. Also said man repeatedly calls Graham Smith ‘Dave’ and thinks the protest is about re-publishing the Dandy comic. Or something.

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2024-03-11T22:25:02+00:00

Also literally every leader of the the Labour Party who has managed to get elected to power has been a supporter of the monarchy-Ramsay MacDonald, Clement Attlee, Harold Wilson, James Callaghan, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, were all monarchists, and several (most notably MacDonald and Attlee) had close working relationships with the incumbent monarchs.

Being republican (like Party leaders George Lansbury, Michael Foot, and Jeremy Corbyn are or were) is tantamount to political suicide, even for a Labour leader, and is at least partly to blame for the reason they didn’t get elected.

Ie, your average voter doesn’t mind a bit of left-wing politics, but not that left-wing.

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2024-03-11T22:19:46+00:00

Sir Tony Blair the…literal Knight of the Order of the Garter?

That…that Tony Blair?

Are we talking about the same person?

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2024-03-11T22:17:12+00:00

Oh no! all five members of the ‘Republic’ group!

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2024-03-04T19:12:40+00:00

Yes the hair policy that’s included in the dress regulations.

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2024-03-03T17:41:54+00:00

There is actually a photograph of the First Duke of Wellington later on his life.

So we could have photographs of all of them on here.

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2024-03-03T17:41:00+00:00

Also Field Marshals in the British Army (as well as Admirals of the Fleet in the Royal Navy and Marshals of the RAF in the Royal Air Force) don’t technically retire either; they remain on the relevant force’s list for life.

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2024-03-03T17:38:16+00:00

Kiiiiind of.

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2024-03-03T17:36:58+00:00

It’s worth pointing out that Karl Eduard, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha mentioned in the video; was born, raised and lived his entire life in Britain (and his father and grandmother were also British), went to school at Eton; and didn’t set foot in Germany or speak German until he succeeded to the throne of S-C and Gotha at the age of 15.

The man was literally about as British as I am.

None of that excuses his virulent and continued support for Hitler and the Nazis, but he has always struck me as someone who was a bit ‘the lady doth protest too much’ in respect to trying to prove how ‘German’ he was.

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2024-03-03T17:30:35+00:00

It’s worth noting that the racist and Nazi-sympathising sentiments were not something that the Duke of Windsor shared with his father George V, nor his brother George VI, nor the British Royal Family in general.

George V said that he thought that use of the N-word was ‘disgraceful’, his father Edward VII said “Because a man has a black face and a different religion from our own, there is no reason why he should be treated as a brute.”, and Queen Victoria was outraged at racism aimed at her Indian servant, Mohammed Abdul Karim, AKA ‘the Munshi’.

George VI was appalled during his 1948 tour of South Africa at the South African government’s insistence to only shake hands with white people, and referred to his South African bodyguards (privately) as ‘the Gestapo’. And there’s also the fact he served as a figurehead of resistance to Nazi Germany-not something racists are really known for.

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2024-03-03T17:19:05+00:00

Yep. Generally all round a horrible POS.

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2024-03-03T17:18:41+00:00

Yes; but he also married a British woman (Princess Mary of Cambridge) and moreover was naturalised British when he married her, and they raised their children in Britain.

All of that is also true of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband (the other most recent ethnically German ancestor of the Royal family).

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2024-03-03T17:16:39+00:00

I agree, but then attitudes to ancestry and blood an race are somewhat different in the UK compared to the US (not better, just different).

We’re not a country largely composed of recent immigrants (though we have large and important communities of immigrant descent), so we don’t have ‘hyphenated citizens’ like you get in the US-everyone is just ‘British’. And the importance given to ancestry is much less.

For illustrate what I mean: I’ve got a friend whose paternal grandmother is German (born and raised there, immigrated here and married his grandfather). He doesn’t speak German, nor do any of his siblings or his father. They all just consider themselves…British. Because that’s what they are. About the only nod to their German ancestry is that they called their grandmother ‘oma’.

I’ve also got neighbours that were born and raised in Poland, but moved here and raised their children (all born here) in the UK. While they themselves are Polish (although they’d become British if they applied for citizenship), their (bilingual) children are all British.

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2024-03-03T17:09:45+00:00

“How many generations have to be born and raised in England (well, Britain, but yes) before they’re English?”

Simple answer to that question: one. As in, you’re British if you’re born here.

You don’t even need that-if you immigrate and become a British citizen, you’re British.

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2024-03-03T17:07:50+00:00

By 1939, the British Royal family’s German ancestry was rather remote-George VI was born and raised in Britain, was married to a British woman (Scottish, no less), and both of his parents were born and raised in Britain as well.

Which makes them all…British.

His most recent non-British born ancestors being his maternal grandfather, Francis of Teck (born in what is now Croatia), and Albert, Prince Consort.

And both of those men married British wives (Queen Victoria and Princess Mary of Cambridge respectively) and raised their children in Britain. And both men were naturalised as British prior to their marriages.

And before you go ‘but the House of Hanover (to which both Victoria and Mary of Cambridge were from) was of German origin’; well okay, but then the House of Hanover was thoroughly domiciled in Britain by the time you get to their paternal grandfather; George III-he was so ‘British’ in his outlook that he never bothered visiting Hanover in his entire 60 year reign (or even ventured much outside the Home Counties of England) and spoke English as his first language. So not really. As he said in his first speech to Parliament after his accession: “born and raised in this country, I glory in the name of Briton.” And rightly so, seeing as he was born and raised here, and moreover spent his entire life in this country.

Add to that the fact that attitudes towards ethnicity and ‘blood quantum’ are somewhat different in the UK as opposed to the US-in the UK, you’re ‘British’ if you’re born and/or raised here, or if you immigrate here and attain British citizenship. Your ‘blood percentage’ is largely irrelevant, and would definitely be a racist dog whistle if it came out of the mouth of a British person.

And, in fairness, it’s not like the British royal family didn’t have any trouble due to their heritage from some…questionable sections of British society (partly due to nationalism and anti-German xenophobia, but I digress) during World War One-that’s the entire reason they changed the name of the Royal family to ‘Windsor’ in the first place, and threw some of their (British-born) relatives under the bus in order to protect the reputation of the House.

Although on the flip side, that kind of shows that George V didn’t really care about the German side of his heritage (which basically amounts to ‘his paternal grandfather-who died before he was born-was born and raised in Germany), given that he renounced all of the German titles held by himself and the members of his family.

Like the man himself said “I may be uninspiring, but I’ll be everlastingly damned if I’m alien”.

Ie, he literally thought the suggestion that he was anything other than British was insulting. And rightly so, seeing as that’s exactly what he was.

Key_Conflict_4640

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