I still find it interesting and amazing to occasionally read what is going on.
Just now I came across a vid on FB in which you hear and see Diana say she expected her husband to be planning her death so he could marry again.
Utterly shocking. I still cry when I see or hear anything about or from her. She was such a Light and beautiful Soul!

I always expected William to continue her line of being and thinking. But he's just a docile meek royal, married a fridge, produced a bunch of little royals that likely will turn out the same way.
What a shame.
And then Harry turns out to be the one to say FU! Even though he was always obnoxious and a rebel, I had not seen that coming.
Truly amazing.
Watching him say "I will not play the game that led to my mother's death."
The man has baws!

Maybe it's for the best William ain't got what it takes as I doubt he'll be king anytime soon -if at all- anyway.

At least Harry and Meghan are now away from it all, and hopefully the Gods keep them safe!

I think "Royal" families are a relic of bygone days and fairy tale books and the taxpayer shouldn't have to fund their lavish lifestyles, they are only figureheads.. Prince Andrew has been in more dodgy situations than I can remember, the most recent being all over the news, Epstein. I also believe they are a drain on the public purse..

Same here,useless parasites

They are all a waste of tax payers money.

Great piece Crystal. Most thoughtful and shows the love of country and a saddnes that many thought that the offspring of Princess Diana would carry on. True, the UK was tired of the monarchy, but many people born in the 60s remember the Queen of England and the greatness of the 800 year empire. The UK has the respect of many Americans and we'll will always be allied with the UK. Harry and Megan got away, we do wish them good fortune and peace.

That was the word I was searching for "parasites" thanks..

Royal imposters.


They aren't Plantagenets.

If you take that route then everyone is an impostor -royal or no- except for the old people like Aboriginals, Indians, Mongols etc. Apart from such people no one is supposed to be where they live. IF you take that route.

Thank you, Rob! I still have high hopes for the UK, but I had also hoped that after Diana there'd be a change. Maybe it'll come still when the Queen passes and Camilla comes into sight as new queen. There are still thousands and thousands of people who vividly remember what has happened and why Diana came to her demise.
Maybe it's still possible provided the people unite as one voice.

Apples and oranges.

My statement was specifically about the
age / era of a very specific royal bloodline.

I said nothing about the age / era of
a society or ethnic group.

Meghan and Harry closed a 100 Million dollars plus deal with Netflix here in USA
at least that was on tv early last week.

I don't think they really need the money though.

I love the royal family in Britain.
They are a huge draw to that tiny country.
It is very smart to keep them, they sit at the very top
of the political food chain, who else can get anyone
they want on the telephone in a crisis?

And the politics are left on the table of the legislators.
Perfect situation.

And there is not much Prince William can do other than take
the time to raise his young family until the day he has
to take up the mantle.

Harry and Megan are the bomb ;-)

Well, we do owe a rather sizable part of our American identity to one royal. Two members of British royalty had an illegitimate child, and he became one of the great thinkers of his time. He traveled throughout the world, collected things for research, and increased an already large fortune. Royalty didn't know who he was, so when he asked them to build a place for his growing collection, they pretty much said, "Take a hike". Bad idea; in anger he wrote a letter to the president of The United States, asking if they would do it. Jackson said yes, and he had no more idea who he was than British royalty. England found out who he was, and tried to reverse the snub that they had given him, he said that it was too late; American accepted his offer without question. He knew that it would be a hassle, so he put in the will that if his nephew had a heir, his fortune would go to that heir. His nephew was gay, and had no desire to undo the desire of his uncle. He died never having made a trip to America, and once the nephew died, we found out just how vast his fortune had been. It took years to sell all his land, and convert it into gold. That was Smithson, and his dream became the Smithsonian. He was buried in Italy, and they were suppose to look after his grave site. Alexander Graham Bell went over to pay his respects, and found the area to be a nightmare. He was understandably livid, and went on a crusade to bring the remains to America. At some point Roosevelt stepped in, and his remains were brought here to rest with the empire that he started. Not really fond of the rest of them, but Smithson was a large part of this nation's identity.

Hello, SparklingCrystal, thanks for that.

Whilst talking of Prince William, you said: "He married a fridge." This made me laugh, for some reason.

Also, whilst talking of Harry, you said: "The man has baws." This expression ("baws') made me wonder if you're Scottish (like me)? It's certainly a very Scottish expression, either way.

On the royals in general and the concept of the royal family, I wouldn't really be a fan.

Small point, but It's always annoyed me that Queen Elizabeth is referred to as Queen Elizabeth II.

In Scotland, we never had a queen Elizabeth I, so it's impossible for her to be Elizabeth II (if that makes sense?). The union of crowns (between Scotland and England, 1603) was, ultimately, simply an abolition of Scottish claims to the crown, in my highly subjective opinion.

I feel the only thing holding this institution together is the current monarch, Queen Elizabeth I and II (as she should correctly be labelled). Once she's gone, the calibre of people following in her footsteps do not inspire any confidence. The public money spent on this family has always felt indefensible - perhaps never more so than now.

Thanks for the interesting read (and hope my response makes some kind of sense).