The fussy King?

[Honda]

Looks like Charles is going to be a bit fussy on Minor details.

https://twitter.com/cliffreid/status...lmWRsmaJg&s=19

[Mike]

He has always been something of a pompous prick.

Staff turnover is about to increase dramatically.

[Dave Grubb]

Don't miss the reaction of the first wench standing behind him

[UTAH]

One must not disturb the King. Our forefathers were right to liberate our "colony" from them.

Hunter

[Sandman]

Give him some slack.. he is 73 years old and has been waiting his whole adult life to start his job.. he just want his first day or two to be the way that he had planned..

I can’t imagine being drafted for a new job..

[Kevin]

And he is dealing with the fact that his mother just died. Probably we should wait for her to be in the ground before whipping on those that survive her.

[UTAH]

Long live the King! (No, not really - we don't have American KIngs for good reasons).

Hunter

[Dave Grubb]

I'm sorry guys but I find it difficult to be serious about Charlie III . It seems every time I look at him he becomes a rather large Tampax with Charlie's head atop

[Mike]

I've read that the Queen sometimes liked to play practical jokes. If so, making Charles King could be her greatest joke of all time.

[Honda]

I actually think this very short video is good evidence of the pompous arrogance of people who simply won the sperm lottery. Wouldn't you love to have seen his face if his little servant had brushed his hand back at him and said kiss my ass.

[Truckman]

He doesn't have to show signs of benignance, as long as he stays in his little kingdom, and doesn't get the urge to re-colonize...Putin should have taken that advice......Ben

[Kevin]

Louis Massignon describes what he called “the science of compassion” — a knowledge that is derived not from abstruse study but is achieved by feeling with (Latin: com passus) others. When we encounter a spirituality that differs from our own and seems alien, Massignon explained, instead of simply dismissing it, we must ask ourselves how the writer came to have these ideas. We must acquaint ourselves in a scholarly fashion with the social, political, geographical, historical and philosophical context in which he lived and worked. And we must not leave this text, Massignon insisted, until we can honestly say that, in such circumstances, we would feel the same. In this way, he explained, we can broaden our horizons and make a place for the other in our minds and hearts. It is an ekstasis, a disciplined “stepping outside” of the self in a sensitive but informed identification with another — not an exalted trance, but an intellectual process that enables you to open your mind and heart to something that seemed initially alien.

I would like to try that with King Charles by relating an episode from his life.

In 1969, Charles was sent to study for a semester at a college in Wales. This was unusual, since no royal had ever pursued education beyond the A levels (high school). Wales at this point was experiencing a rebirth of nationalism and everywhere Charles went, he was confronted with outright hostility. There were demonstrations by people against his very presence, against him personally. Charles was 21 years old and it was his first sustained contact outside his own cloistered existence as a royal and he found out he was hated, simply for who he was, something over which he had no control. He was being prepared to become the Prince of Wales, in an investiture ceremony. He decided he needed to know what it was like to "be" Welsh and took on learning the language.

Welsh is an extraordinarily difficult language to read, impossible to write, and relies on accents to convey nuanced meaning. His tutor was an ardent Welsh nationalist, Prof. Edward Millward, who was almost singlehandedly saving the Welsh language from extinction. As you might remember, I am a bug on how language is culture. The Irish and Ruthenian that I have learned was part of movements in those countries to reclaim their heritage from the English and Russians and learning these languages in themselves represents an act of commitment to the past. In fact, in both countries, learning these languages was, at one time, punishable by death. Charles' decision aligned himself with Welsh nationalism, an unbelievably radical position for a person in his position to take. Edward the First conquered Wales in 1282 and since then, the English have tried to stamp out Welsh nationalism. They are mighty touchy about Wales.

Charles gave his investiture speech in Welsh, Welsh good enough to have impressed Millward. Millward and Charles did not start out as friends, as can be imagined given their respective positions as a Welsh nationalist and the man who personally owns Wales (at least, ceremonially). But Millward saw that Charles wanted to step outside himself, to experience what it meant to be Welsh, and that Charles was willing to work hard at that. In the speech, Charles even slipped in oblique references to Welsh nationalism and individuality, said in Welsh because he knew his parents wouldn't know what the hell he was saying anyways. As it turned out, he wasn't as surreptitious as he thought and there were meetings in Parliament to discuss how his speech boosted Welsh nationalism and maybe we need to do something about that and perhaps put a muzzle on Charles, this loose cannon. All this, for a passing reference in a sentence or two and it becomes a state scandal.

What we perceive as stuffy is based on our expectations of how regular people behave. The Royals are not regular people. Every single thing they say in public is combed over by people to find any hint of political viewpoint. Apparently innocent remarks can become a crisis in government. As a royal, you are raised in a fishbowl, constantly on stage, people critiquing every motion you make; how you walk, did you slight the valet who held your car door open for you, did you wave enough, what was the expression on your face, did you slouch while going past the royal guard, did you raise your voice, did you make the monumental mistake of touching your face in public (yes, that's a rule). His randy conversations with his girlfriend get published to amuse people. Nothing is ever safe for you. After 70 years of that, I suspect I'd be pretty reserved and taciturn as well. I might even come across as stuffy.

Charles has, I think, some pretty blind spots due to his upbringing of privilege. Giving a speech about duty to the poor while sitting on a gilt throne shows a disconnect (he did that recently). He doesn't have the people skills his mother had. But unless you have lived his life, I don't think it is fair to judge him very harshly. He isn't evil, after all. He just has never had the benefit we all have had of being knocked around, of having to make our own way, cooperate with people, and yes, he could overcome all this but I wonder if the opposite would be true. Would any of us be able to bottle up ourselves completely, for our entire lives, never uttering any hint of an opinion on anything happening in our government, always on guard, never relaxing? I wonder.

So I'd suggest that until we've walked a mile in Charles soft Italian loafers, we might withhold judgement about his failures as a human being. He's a guy who has served his country for his entire life, both in the military and in civilian life. He seems to genuinely care about many causes, so he isn't detached and unengaged. He takes the time to learn in depth about these causes, be they environmental or architectural or charitable. He's not a bad guy, I don't think. Having money and privilege in that amount has ruined any number of people, who turn out bad. I think we can all come up with examples of that. It didn't happen to him.

And if nothing else, he just lost both parents in the last two years. I spent this summer helping my mother pick out a stone for her grave. I wrote her obituary. We made arrangements with the church I attend (where she sang and was an altar server with my father) as well as the funeral director. She's 83 and maybe this experience made me very conscious of what losing the last link you have to your childhood really means. He's going through a lot and his duty is to negate all that and help his country get through it. He comes second. That's gotta be tough.

If nothing else, giving him a pass for a respectful period of time while he buries his mother is kind. There is a deficit of kindness in this world. It is easy to be catty or mean but being kind to people when you don't like them or what they stand for is difficult. Charles may not be the guy I want to have a beer with but he is not malignant or malicious. Just clueless sometimes. Kindness costs nothing and makes the world a better place so if possible, it might be a good thing to extend some to a recently bereaved man.

[Truckman]

All well thought out points, Kevin...Thanks......Ben

[Dave Grubb]

Well said Kevin---and I honor your appeal to be more understanding of the newly minted King.

That said, I will interject here that while the life of a royal is undoubtedly filled with inconveniences that us commoners never face, it is, at the same time, filled with benefits us commoners can't begin to imagine.

On a more personal level, pursuing the likes of Camilla while married to Princess Diana unquestionably casts doubts on the man's intelligence if not his character.

[Truckman]

On a more personal level, pursuing the likes of Camilla while married to Princess Diana unquestionably casts doubts on the man's intelligence if not his character.

Different strokes for different folks I suppose...I know who my choice would have been......Ben