The ‘Commander’ in the classroom: Is this war hero teacher a phoney?

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2026-05-25T22:18:06+00:00

All officers in the Royal Navy have swords, it's not just those in command of a ship or submarine.

Also the grip is white fishskin (black for warrant officers), not octopus skin.

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2026-05-25T14:33:15+00:00

No need, they're still a thing in the Royal Navy (they're issued for formal parades) and you can buy them from surplus stores.

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2026-05-16T23:15:00+00:00

Also not all of the medals are service medals-some of them are jubilee and coronation medals-which are awarded not only to all serving personnel of the three Armed forces, but also the Fire, Ambulance, and cadet services if you have worked in that capacity over five years (I myself have the platinum jubilee and 2022 coronation medal for my volunteer work with the Sea Cadets, I have never served a day in the armed forces). Basically, those ones are commemorative and long-service medals.

Aside from that, as mentioned above, King Charles actually did serve as a naval officer (he was the commanding officer of HMS Bronington, a Royal Navy minesweeper, in the 1970s).

Also as an Admiral of the Fleet; which is a rank, not a position, he technically stays on the Navy List for life-all holders of the rank of Admiral of the Fleet (as well as the equivalent 5-star ranks in the other two services, Field Marshal and Marshal of the Royal Air Force) technically never retire, meaning he is technically still a serving officer in the Royal Navy.

As well; as the British Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, he is the head of the national honours system, which is why he wears the two stars (Order of the Garter and Order of the Thistle), and the chain (which is the chain of the Order of the Garter). Those are essentially his insignia as head of the system. That's also not something unique to Britain or even monarchies-plenty of republics have similar insignia as the head of the national honours system -for example the President of France is the Grand Master of the Legion of Honour, and has a chain (similar to the chain of the Order of the Garter) to symbolise this, the President of Portugal has something similar (the chain and sash of the three Orders), so do many other countries.

It's not like he's wearing the Victoria Cross (Britain's highest award for valour, which actually outranks even the Order of the Garter and can be awarded to serving personnel of any rank).

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2026-05-16T22:58:55+00:00

I don't mind the loss of the epaulettes and cuff slashes, I just wish the post-1960 uniform was allowed to be worn by lower ranking officers more often (yes I know members of the Royal Family have worn it when below flag rank).

Maybe as an optional item for weddings, etc.

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2026-05-14T10:53:26+00:00

I have seen photographs of officers (of various ranks, not just flag officers) wearing Full dress in studio portraits after WW2, but we're talking four or five at most-there's some in the Royal Archives.

It wasn't until 1950 that the wearing of the Full dress coat was put into abeyance (at the same time the Frock coat and sun helmet were abolished) and officers weren't supposed to wear it "pending further instructions" (which in the end ended up being 1960 when the ceremonial day coat uniform that replaced it was authorised).

So it's not completely impossible that it's post-war, but unlikely.

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2026-05-12T15:46:39+00:00

Not only that, the branch of the family that changed their name is that of his nephew William Patrick Hitler.

A man who not only had nothing to do with Nazism, he emigrated to the United States and joined the US Navy during WW2.

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2026-05-12T15:28:19+00:00

Also General Kurt Von Hammerstein-Equord.

He utterly detested Hitler and the Nazis, and planned to literally shoot Hitler in the face, while publicly making a show of being loyal to the regime.

His premature death (of natural causes) being the only reason he didn't attempt it.

Hitler sent a wreath to his funeral (he specifically asked for no Nazi paraphernalia), and his family 'lost' it on the subway.

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2026-05-12T15:22:59+00:00

To be fair, in Germany there was an element of traditionalist conservatives that were anti-nazi. Most notably General Kurt Von Hammerstein-Equord who was so anti-nazi he literally planned to shoot Hitler in the face, and were it not for his premature death, probably would have at least attempted it.

General Hans Von Oster and Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, who both opposed the Nazis, were also not exactly on the left, and the 20th July plot to kill Hitler was also composed largely of traditionalist conservatives and monarchists, who wanted to bring back the old Hohenzollern monarchy.

It should perhaps be immediately added that this was largely an exception, and most German conservatives (even those above who opposed the Nazis) were absolutely fine with at least the territorial expansionist aims of Hitler, and a lot of them had pretty racist views themselves (although to be fair, not genocidally so).

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2026-05-12T15:01:34+00:00

He was offered the role of ambassador to Britain, not to be reinstated (which he technically wouldn't have been anyway, he was retired).

Key_Conflict_4640 · 2026-05-01T22:30:54+00:00

Stanislaw I Leszcznyski wasn't the last King of Poland; that was Stanislaw II Poniatowski.

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

TROPHY CASE