Posted by Gary
on 27/9/2009, 2:02:38, in reply to "Britain's 'Favourite Granny' or 'Alf Garnett in a tiara' ?"
98.204.178.229
Interesting. I recently read Johann Hari's republican tract *God Save the Queen?* and, while I don't agree with his point of view and am doubtful of some of his sourcing, I thought he made a very strong case for his cause.
--Previous Message--
: Two contrasting reviews of Shawcross's book
: from Friday's Independent,reflecting two
: startlingly different views of the late
: Queen Mother :
:
: Matthew Denison:
:
: "Elizabeth's willingness to smile for
: ordinary people – and to do so both
: naturally and apparently sincerely –
: represents a minor revolution. It was a
: symbol of her ability to reach out and forge
: connections with those she had never met and
: would never know, part of a broader warmth
: which she deployed, for example, in the
: service of Britain's war effort. In
: Shawcross's reckoning, her radio broadcast
: to the women of America and conquest by
: charm of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt
: contributed to the States' eventual
: willingness to enter the war."
:
:
: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/queen-elizabeth-the-queen-mother-by-william-shawcross-1792700.html
:
: Johann Hari:
:
: "She believed Britain's class system
: reflected a natural hierarchy, and the
: people below her creamy, upper tier were
: inferior. She told Wyatt: "I hate that
: classlessness. It is so unreal." At
: first, she was appalled by the idea of her
: eldest daughter marrying Phillip Mountbatten
: because his "bloodlines" weren't
: good enough: his family had fallen from
: power, so they weren't "really"
: royal. When Diana Spencer started hugging
: Aids victims and lepers, Elizabeth was
: disgusted. When Diana started rebelling,
: Elizabeth announced to friends that the girl
: was "schizophrenic", but she was
: bemused because Diana came from "a good
: family". The rest of us, by
: implication, come from "bad
: families", where you would expect
: schizophrenia and other lower-class
: disorders."
:
:
: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-gin-servants-and-bloodlines-for-royaltys-alf-garnett-in-a-tiara-1792793.html
: