New Material.

The rumours have finally been confirmed.  Prince Henry of Wales and Meghan Markle will wed next year.  This should give the writers at the American tabloids new material to use to create clueless headlines.  I'm sure it won't be long before we see some variation on Queen Tells Tearful Kate, "Meghan Will Be Queen!"  Not that it works that way.  UK law determines the line of succession, which currently puts Harry in fifth place, after Prince Charles, Prince William, and William's children.  He'll be in sixth place next spring when the third child of William and the Duchess of Cambridge is born.  We're also sure to see more general headlines about infighting between Markle and her new in-laws, and ongoing rumours about whether she's pregnant or not.

Unfortunately you're also likely to see some really nasty headlines if you visit the nastier parts of the Internet and small press.  Markle's mother is African-American, which should get some racists foaming at the mouth.

Of course Harry's place in the line of succession may not matter.  If Charles is anything like his parents and grandmother he may end up being King into his 90s or later, and who knows what status the monarchy will have by then?

And if you were a fan of Markle's work, you're probably out of luck seeing any more.  I doubt she'll keep acting once she's married.

Like Father, Like Son?

Prince George, third in line to the British throne, will turn one in a couple of days.  Thinking about how long his great great and great grandmothers have lived I found myself wondering how old he might be when he takes the throne.  And then the thought came to mind about whether the American tabloids will be writing the same kind of things about George and William they currently write about William and Charles years from now.  Namely that the succession should go to the son, instead of the horrible father no one likes.  Yeah, people like William now, but the same could have been said about his father Charles at the same age.  Not that it matters, the reigning monarch has no say in who replaces them. 

HRH Antichrist!

The latest issue of the Globe tabloid had me rolling my eyes with its cover story that Queen Elizabeth has made Prince William King.  In case you didn't know, that isn't going to happen.  The line of succession is quite clear, Charles will be the next King, unless he dies before the Queen.  The Queen just can't arbitrarily make someone King.

So I was sitting here tonight, snooping around to see how many people actually believe this kind of thing.  But as I did I found an interesting example of kookery.  Some folks believe Prince William is the Antichrist. I shouldn't have been particularly surprised, since there's a few people who believe King Juan Carlos of Spain is the Antichrist.  So why not the much better known William?  I suppose there's even  someone who has a theory that Crown Prince Naruhito, heir to the Japanese throne, is the Antichrist.

Specifically I stumbled across this page, but of course there are others out there.  I find it amusing that it talks about Princess Diana's supposed  "prediction" that the succession would skip a generation, and that William will be the next monarch.  Personally I wouldn't call that a prediction, I'd call that wishful thinking.

Fair warning, Help Free the Earth seems to be run by people who'll believe just about every conspiracy theory they've run across.  That includes that persistent piece of scumbaggery, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.  They try the old "We don't hate Jews, only Zionists." dodge, but you can bet your bottom dollar they've never heard of a Jew they don't think is an evil Zionist who wants to take over the world.   On the other hand I find it amusing that they think Alex Jones is actually a tool of the New World Order. You'd think more conspiracy theorists would consider the possibility that other conspiracy theorists are trying to manipulate them for the bad guys.  Of course it's probably as much about being jealous that Jones has a significant public profile, and they don't, as any belief Jones works for the enemy.

I Hope It Doesn't Give Her Ideas.

No doubt you'll have heard about Pope Benedict's resignation by the time you read this.  I can only hope his actions don't inspire certain others to follow.  Specifically Queen Elizabeth.  I don't know about you, but I'm not particularly fond of Prince Charles and some of his ideas, so I'm in no hurry to see him on the throne.

The tabloids will no doubt have a field day with this.  They'll claim all sorts of evil goings on as the "real" reason Benedict resigned, or start babbling about him making prophecies.

Because of his age Benedict was often suspected of being a transitional Pope, one who was chosen precisely because he wouldn't be Pope long, so younger candidates could strengthen their positions.  Maybe we'll see some evidence of this as the process of choosing a new Pope begins.

She's Still Here.

Hard to imagine that it's been 35 years already since this hit the air.  And it's still the same monarch on the throne.  I wonder what John Lydon thinks of the actual content of the song these days.

QE II 60.

Today marks 60 years that Queen Elizabeth II has been on the throne of the United Kingdom.  That  makes her the second longest reigning British monarch, the longest being Queen Victoria.  Her reign lasted 63 years and 216 days.  Will Elizabeth beat that?  It seems a reasonable guess she will.  Too bad for Prince Charles.  However long he ends up being King he wont be able to come anywhere near that long of a reign, (Unless of course some really major advancements in life expectancy take place.)  In fact it's not hard to wonder if she might not still be Queen a decade or more from now given that her mother lived past 100.

Status Quo.

As is often the case when something significant happens with the royals the announcement of the upcoming wedding of William Windsor and Kate Middleton has launched another round of debate and hand wringing about the role of the nonarchy in Canada.  Do Canadians like the monarchy?  Will William's marriage increase support for the monarchy in Canada?  And most importantly, do Canadians want to keep the monarchy, or see it replaced by some other system?

The reality is that no matter what your opinion is don't go holding your breath waiting for the current system to change.  To replace the monarchy would require reopening the Canadian Constitution, and that is not going to happen anytime soon.  No one wants to open that Pandora's box.  Doing so would reopen the problematic question of Quebec's refusal to ratifiy the document in 1982, although that hasn't stopped them from using things like the Notwithstanding Clause of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.  Then there would be those who would want to alter the Charter.  And the question of what kind of Senate to have, or whether we'd want one at all.  And the question of what would replace the monarchy.  And on and on.  It will probably take at least another generation before anyone is willing to even seriously think about trying to amend it again.