There are plenty of Britons and Commonwealth folks who were angry about the celebrations. My Twitter feed was about 10 to 1 against the Queen.
My feeling is that, whether we like it or not, big nations always hold massive ceremonies over major events. The USA certainly does. We even had a memorial service for the Queen at Washington National Cathedral. I assume the Episcopal Church paid for that - the advantage of not having a state religion. But our Vice President, Speaker of the House, and other US representatives showed up for the memorial service, in the middle of their work days. And of course the President and the First Lady attended the funeral; that trip definitely was paid for by the American government, i.e. the American taxpayers. So all of us in the USA supported the ritual of the Queen's death, willingly or not. That's one reason why I feel the need to speak softly on this topic.
I watched the events on both sides of the Atlantic, being English American, raised Episcopalian, and fascinated with British history. I'm not keen on monarchies (we Americans fought a war over that), much less multi-million-dollar taxpayer-funded ceremonies at a time when the hosting nation is undergoing an economic crisis that could lead to the deaths of many of its people. But it was a deeply impressive set of ceremonies, and so I'm inclined to agree with those who say that, in the long run, this ritual is likely to pay for itself in increased tourism. My companion Joe (Scottish American and very fond of the monarchy) would have flown over to Britain for the funeral if his health and finances had permitted it.
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There are plenty of Britons and Commonwealth folks who were angry about the celebrations. My Twitter feed was about 10 to 1 against the Queen.
My feeling is that, whether we like it or not, big nations always hold massive ceremonies over major events. The USA certainly does. We even had a memorial service for the Queen at Washington National Cathedral. I assume the Episcopal Church paid for that - the advantage of not having a state religion. But our Vice President, Speaker of the House, and other US representatives showed up for the memorial service, in the middle of their work days. And of course the President and the First Lady attended the funeral; that trip definitely was paid for by the American government, i.e. the American taxpayers. So all of us in the USA supported the ritual of the Queen's death, willingly or not. That's one reason why I feel the need to speak softly on this topic.
I watched the events on both sides of the Atlantic, being English American, raised Episcopalian, and fascinated with British history. I'm not keen on monarchies (we Americans fought a war over that), much less multi-million-dollar taxpayer-funded ceremonies at a time when the hosting nation is undergoing an economic crisis that could lead to the deaths of many of its people. But it was a deeply impressive set of ceremonies, and so I'm inclined to agree with those who say that, in the long run, this ritual is likely to pay for itself in increased tourism. My companion Joe (Scottish American and very fond of the monarchy) would have flown over to Britain for the funeral if his health and finances had permitted it.