HRH = Her Royal Highness, the styling of a princess.
What Malacandra is talking about is that Elizabeth stopped being an HRH when she was crowned, and instead became Her Majesty (HM).
We’re going to see her tomorrow. She’s in town to do a few things and give a speech.
I saw her once before, in the summer of '71 during British Columbia’s 100th Anniversary as a province. The Royal Yacht Brittania was in New Westminster at the docks and we went (my mother had seen her in a motorcade earlier that day), but I didn’t get to see her until a couple of days later when she was at Fort Langley.
“Happy and glorious”? For sure.
Nope. While the apartheid party took over in 1948, it remained a dominion until 1960, with George VI and then Elizabeth as official head of state.
She’s been out of her tree since she ascended the throne, though! 
(She’s the only monarch known to have become queen or king while up in a tree; she and Philip were visiting East Africa, and she was sleeping in a treetop lodge in a baobab the night her father died.)
She is “Brenda” because it’s a joke name used by the magazine “Private Eye”.
Detroit, or what is left of it, if it could be called a metropolis as opposed to a ruins.
I suspect that the situation in Canada is similar to that of New Zealand. Yes, we’ll probably become a republic one day but … there are more important things to worry about right now. In practice, nothing much would change. The governor general would probably be renamed to president with much the same ceremonial role as now and then there would be the cost of renaming the military and other things with “royal” in the name.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/28/Private_Eye_Cover.jpg Here’s a picture of the queen on the cover of Private Eye, she looks a lot like Brenda and I wonder if, by chance, they are related.
I saw her today, and it was great.
I was at The Forks (that place in Winnipeg where the Red and Assiniboine Rivers meet), located just down the path from where she unveiled a cornerstone for the new Human Rights Museum. We were at an area where she would have to turn to go to the stage where she was to be entertained by a few of our local entertainers.
I was probably no more than twenty feet away from her; she looked resplendent in a pink hat and a yellow dress. After she passed by, one of the security detail told us that she would be coming back if we wanted to wait an hour. During that time, they pulled in the motorcade vehicles, because she was going from The Forks right back to the Airport – she is due back in Toronto tonight at approximately 9PM Toronto time. She gave a speech, watched a couple of acts, and then it started to thunder and then to rain, which was the signal apparently to cut her visit a little short (although it seemed as though everything was running behind schedule), and she and the other VIP’s (including the PM and his wife) got into the motorcade and drove away. She got into her car on my side, no farther than twelve feet from where I was.
All in all, it was a wonderful experience.
I have trouble with the concept of monarchy ([Holy Grail]
Woman: Well I didn’t vote for you.
King Arthur: You don’t vote for kings.
<snip>
Dennis: Listen, strange women lyin’ in ponds distributin’ swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony. [/Holy Grail])
But HM Elizabeth II is a very classy shrewd woman who has been head of state for 52 years, and yeah, I kind of have a soft spot for her.
Apres elle, le deluge?
Well, She and Phillip are a package deal. With their brood. So while Brenda does seem to have her shit together, the rest of them seem right looney. (Loons are on the Canuck dollar, right?)
If you’re going to have a monarch, she seems to be doing a good job at it.
My favorite story about the Queen and Canada was when a Montreal radio station obtained her phone number and tried to prank her. They called her up pretending to be a Canadian politician discussing some upcoming election. But the Queen turned out to be familiar with the issues and was able to discuss them knowlegably - and in fluent French. After a few minutes, the radio guy excused himself and ended the call.
The next day, he admitted on the air, “Well, somebody looked ended up looking like an idiot yesterday and it wasn’t the Queen.”
I met her at a garden party quite a few years ago and she really is lovely. Gracious and pleasant, she totally overlooked at least one obnoxious social gaff made by one of the people in attendance (it was a very small function and this woman made a spectacle of herself).
I have no trouble with the monarchy at all and am honoured to have met her.
You met the Queen? :: envious :: The closest I ever get to her is the money in my pocket.
Though I did go to London and stand in front of Buckingham Palace like a million other tourists…
I’m a bit worried about what’ll happen when she passes on. Is there a successor with her style and dedication? Maybe Canada should create its own monarchy or head of state when she passes on. Just don’t call it a President–that’s too confusing.
So, you’d be OK with queen Celine de Dion or king Conrad von Black ?
Lord Douche-Hubris? Didn’t Chretien make him surrender Canadian citizenship to get his Lordship papers? Also, no felons. We have some standards up here.
Hey, I was there too! Crashed my sister’s Brownie troop and tagged along.
Oh come on; Her Majesty and the Francophones are practically the only things setting you people apart from Amercians (well that & universal healthcare). 
So the value of the monarchy as an institution depends primarily on the personal qualities of the individual at its head, is that it? Colo(u)r me confused.
Charles will probably do fine. (Well, he might end up being George VII). People said the same thing when Victoria died, about HER son, Edward VII, and he turned out to be a pretty decent king. And back then, the monarchy had a lot more power than it does today.
(And her proper nickname I believe is “Lilibet”, which is what she was called as a child)
Thats the whole thing with continuity and succession. I think that Charles is only going to be a care taker king with a short reign. Mind you , he said he would not abdicate, but really if he does’nt , I can see a return of the show spittn image.
Declan