The People Wish To Mourn The Queen In Peace
Yet the Sussex sideshow that the media are keen to promote is ruining what is supposed to be a respectful occasion
We reach the day before the Queen’s funeral and it has been a time for people around the world to pay their respects. Everyone should have been able to do this in peace and without having to consciously avoid leaked stories of what the Sussexes may or may not do, and their sacrifices over what events they have had to miss.
This period of mourning has been marred by a small number of media outlets and reporters who have been pushing the Sussex sideshow, and it has been disrespectful and wholly unnecessary. We can choose to avoid it as I have, but the ambitious and selfish acts of these so called reporters has been nothing but disgraceful. No one cared whether Harry (The Overseas Son) wore a uniform or not at the vigil—the important thing was that the Queen had eight grandchildren, and all held a vigil for her.
TOS was but a middle grandchild, and our thoughts should be with the youngest grandchildren, James and Louise who spent the most time with her and who are both teenagers carrying out a very public moment of respect while grieving.
The National Moment of Reflection will be held tonight 18 September 2022, where there will be a one minute silence at 8pm.
Did the papers need to focus on the hand holding in Westminster Hall? While it is deemed inappropriate on formal occasions, it is understandable as to why couples did support each other in a public moment of grief. Other royal couples held hands in a moment of grief, but did the Sussexes do so out of grief or for Netflix? You only have to look at Zara Tindall who has been struggling all week, and her cousins Beatrice and Eugenie too. Lady Helen Taylor, was supported by her husband as it was clear by her appearance that she was grief stricken. Perhaps Harry was upset, but what was he upset about? Shame for not seeing her grandmother when he could have, or for causing so much damage to the family that it is finally hitting him now? As for TW, she could not disguise her posed smirks for Netflix.
There were leaked stories that no one cared about, the events that TW had planned that she will miss as a sacrifice to be with TOS. Honestly, who cares apart from her media and PR team? If they were trying to promote her as selfless, giving up an appearance on a talk show, accepting an award at some event, and to postpone her podcasts, then they failed. No one gives a damn, and even Spotify have been no better with rumours circulating that they will pay TW to discuss the funeral on a podcast, while some claim that TW wishes to edit all her podcasts where she had made digs at the Royal Family that she wishes to suck up to, and to open the door again with her crafty foot.
The Daily Telegraph was once the respectable paper for the upper-middle classes, but now it is a rag, pushing propaganda and speculation where there is none. There is no truce, and there is no ‘Fab Four’ and the Beatles disbanded a long time ago.
We then had the ridiculous debate as to whether the duo would attend a state reception at Buckingham Palace, and as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family, why should they attend when they don’t represent the monarchy any longer? The tabloid mouthpieces claimed there was an invite (but had no evidence apart it being their heads) but claimed it was rescinded in order to stir up the cult. Emily Andrews is no better than the UM, claiming their sources are good, yet their arrogance won’t allow them to admit they were wrong.
Are we truly supposed to believe that a photographer only managed to photograph TOS and TW when the Queen arrived at Buckingham Palace, and the unofficial mouthpiece had access and posted it? That CNN managed to film the staged hug at Windsor, where there is clear footage from all angles, where all the people around the photogenic teenager moved out of the way before TW crossed over and made a beeline for her? How coincidental that CNN managed to find this teenager later for an in-depth interview where she seemed to know all the answers, (that read like a Sussex word salad scrip)t before the questions were asked? None of that is organic or normal in a huge crowd.
The focus should be on the final day of the Lying-in-State of the Queen. I have read the personal statements by Edward, and also Beatrice and Eugenie that the Royal Family have issued. There is warmth and loss, yet appreciation and gratitude reflected in their words. With the exception of Eugenie (where the jury is still on the fence), all members of the family have been loyal to the Queen. Eugenie sadly blotted her copybook by aligning with the Sussexes when they attacked the monarchy, and she has harmed her own reputation in the eyes of the public.
It has been a surreal 10 days, where we have been coming to terms as a nation that the Queen has really gone. Tomorrow is the funeral, and it is only right that businesses close so that people can watch the funeral, or be part of the procession on the day where we say farewell to the longest serving monarch in the UK. I have frowned at those who have said they wanted to go for tea or shopping, they need to consider that other people wish to pay their respects.
I have chosen a selection of some of my favourite portraits etched by Artemis to share, as I say my own personal farewell to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. She will join her family who have been watching over her, and may she rest in peace. We shall miss her more than we might think, and will in hindsight appreciate all that she did, and all that she stood for.
Requiescat in Pace