That is one of the most startling stats that I’ve heard on the subject.
I wonder what proportion of that 90% would recognise her?
I did a quick google but the lists I found of “most famous” or “most recognisable” were, frankly, dogshit.
“the Rock” as most famous person anyone? A list with Selina Gomez but no QEII? (I wasn’t even sure who Selina Gomez is, I’d have guessed actress or singer but a guess would be all it was)
Well, her reign was 70 years. There are certainly many people still with us who were born before she was Queen, but probably very few who were old enough to have actually been acquainted with the reign of George VI.
Oh I don’t doubt it and a fag-packet calculation bears it out but I hadn’t heard it put in that way and I find it quite profound.
Also profound is Prime Minister Trudeau’s remark – in his emotional tribute to the Queen – that her reign spanned nearly half the history of our country.
Of course there are two factors here.
The obvious one is only a fraction of all people live past 70. Or 75 if you want to talk about people who might have been old enough at QEII’s elevation to remember a time before her reign. Using the current US mortality tables as a crude proxy for the world’s experience, about 78% of births make it to age 70 and 70% make it to age 75.
The much larger factor has been the tremendous growth in world population during her reign. For round numbers there are 3x as many people today as there was in 1952. So there’s only about 1/3rd as many e.g. 5yos in 1952 to remember the pre-Elizabeth era now than there are 5-yos alive now to remember the pre-Charles era when it too eventually ends.
That was nicely put I thought. There’s no doubt that she was highly regarded and fondly remembered by lofty figures past and present. She was certainly seen as more than just a ceremonial figurehead and that wasn’t merely down to longevity either. Perhaps the epitome of “soft power” in action.
Enough people had this question that the New Zealand passport website now states that “New Zealand passports are still valid following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.”
KCs are reported to be dreading questions as to where their ‘Sunshine Band’ has gone.
I find these Commonwealth passports rather poetic. “In the name of Her/His Majesty” and “requests and requires.” Mine references the “Secretary of State.” I’m honestly not even sure who that was when mine was issued. Hillary Clinton maybe?
Here’s the public announcement on this topic from the Saskatchewan government:
And nearly a third of that of the United States. One can be indulgent in speeches. Of course our country is older than its Confederation and Canadians have been hewers of wood for many hundreds of years
We listened to the PM’s remarks. Mrs Piper said: “He really means it. He’s not using his fake voice.”
And that’s got to be a heck of an effort for any politician!
The big problem I’m seeing with this transition is that if the Sex Pistols re-release their timeless classic,
God Save the King
the fascist regime
doesn’t rhyme.
Quite a few in fact:
Category:Queen Victoria post boxes in the United Kingdom - Wikimedia Commons
The USSR dissolved in December of 1991, but Soviet passports continued to be valid until their individual expiration dates (despite the issuing country having expired). Some former Soviet republics even kept issuing Soviet passports for a few years while they designed their own.
No. All that stuff remains the same.
From a legal point of view, the sovereign is always the same person - it’s like a corporation. The specific human occupying the office isn’t relevant.
I posted this on Facebook yesterday, as some people were worried (I know) that their cash would instantly become worthless.
TL:DR - All Australian currency from the last century is still legal tender, including the pre-decimal stuff and all of the withdrawn values.
I don’t know about Australia in particular, but if older versions of banknotes do cease to become valid (which does sometimes happen, if not in this case), it is usually still possible to exchange them at a bank. It may just be inconvenient to do it.
Yes, over the years she has morphed into what I call “the dumpy old Queen”, no disrespect intended. I appreciate the ongoing effort to produce a realistic contemporary portrait. I hope they put Chuck on the $20, or at least someone other than a used politician like our other bills had.
More amazing to me at the time, that those coins were barely recognizable, almost all the features worn away.
Ah yes, I remember in the day the vandals of Orientation Week at U of Toronto delighted in painting Eddy’s horse’s genitalia bright pink. (It was not a gelding)