The House of Windsor: Tabloid Edition Part 2
Mutiny, Murder Mayhem….The Death of a Queen
The queens of England are by far some of the most well known women in the world. If one were to ask a random stranger on the street to name a famous queen most undoubtedly the name of an English queen would be brought up. From the three famous Queen Elizabeth’s to Victoria or one of the Queen Mary’s even Charlotte holds sway in the hearts and history of the island. Their merits of success in what is by far a “man’s” world gleefully trot across the pages of endless dusty volumes of history. Perhaps even more famous still are the queens who met their end by order of the royal septre.
Mary Queen of Scots was drug into a ridiculous plot against her cousin which saw her executed while Anne Boleyn, was accused of treason, adultery and witchcraft simply because her husband had no understanding of a mans role in nature’s designation of gender. Catherine Howard was executed not only for crimes Henry fabricated during her marriage but her doting husband (who didn’t seem to mind when he still had the hots for her) had her convicted for supposed relationships before their marriage. Lady Jane Grey was spared execution by her villainous cousin Mary right up until her father decided to pursue her right to the crown. That got everyone killed. Jane, her husband, her father, family friends… everyone Mary had no mercy.
While woman are often viewed throughout history as the fairer sex and the more fragile and weaker of the genders they are more often than not at the center of the goings on. It wouldn’t be unfair to say that Royal women fit into two categories. They either know everything that is happening and are deeply involved and often manipulating the parties or they haven’t got a clue as to the day of the week if a courtier doesn’t tell them. There are women of leisure and then there are women of leisure. And no that is not the same. While in centuries past royal women might have been expected to simply breed, and look pretty on the arm of their spouse that role did not always hold. History has shown that the queens of England aren’t delicate flowers at least not the ones that rule. Depending on the queen there may be more going on behind the scenes than in front. More than one King of England has played the role of puppet to a strong willed woman behind the curtain. And more than one Consort has been shown his place by the Queen of the day.
What makes these women even more fascinating is not that they ruled in any capacity but that they were able to side step the legions of men who thought them empty headed, easily manipulated and less capable. Elizabeth I brought forward the English reformation and a glorious era of prosperity. Something her predecessors had failed at, while her namesake Elizabeth II ruled for 70 years reaffirming and building the new commonwealth of nations. Mind not all queens were effective in bringing a measure of prosperity in their reign, Queen Mary is known more for her cruelty than her creative thinking, but it is a fact that many of the prosperous reigns were under queens. Queen’s Elizabeth I and II and Victoria led the charge.
There are queens who likely would have made a huge impact on history had they not been undermined from the beginning. Mary Queen of Scots, Lady Jane Grey and even the wives of Henry VIII had potential to directly influence the politics of the day. Seen more as a threat even their being of the “fairer” sex did not stop their oppenents from seeing that they never made the stage.
Fast forward to modern times and a more forward thinking woman on the stage is not necessarily a bad thing. Unless you’re a prince or a king with an ego problem.
While Queen Elizabeth was able to smartly navigate the needs of her kingdom and those of her husband it’s no secret that she also turned a blind eye to some of the goings on behind the scenes. Her husband Prince Phillip the grandson of the exiled Greek King was a dashing naval man in his youth and an opinionated busy body in his prime. He thought nothing of putting in his two sense worth where he thought it was merited but respectfully never to far. Their relationship was one of not only a sense of duty to the realm but also a partnership that garnered both of them individually and together the ability to pursue not only their duties but also their personal interests, hobbies and goals. The pair was highly respected and seen as team throughout their years together. What played in front of the curtain didn’t always carry on behind the curtain.
The same wish was held for Charles and Diana. It did not hold. In fact if you were to question the majority of general public you would quickly come to the conclusion that Diana was “murdered”. With good reason. Charles is a man who always fancied himself popular and important with the ladies. Much like his son William he has a sense that he is owed. And the temperament and attitude to match. He is neither particularly good looking, has some rather outlandish beliefs, isn’t that great at any sport other than polo to which he’s rather average and according to the ladies he’s really nothing to write home about if you know what I mean. The only thing that really holds him anywhere in any level of esteem would be his painting and the crown. I can’t see the ladies cueing up for the art but there are several who had their eye on the crown from the word go. Camilla being the first in line. In fact Charles had every intention of marrying her. When that didn’t work out (she had been dating Andrew Parker Bowles on and off for months when his father and her father conspired to have them wed, and had a bit “too much” of a dating history for the crown’s liking) he opted for the Lady Diana Spencer.
Diana was chosen for a number of reasons. She was a virgin. She was a teenager. She was quiet soft spoken and shy. She was attractive but her timidness meant she wouldn’t overshadow. And given that she was young and naïve she could be “trained” to the job and to meet the demands of her husband. Or so they thought. Diana however had other ideas. She quickly found that she not only had a voice should she wish to use it but also a massive platform on which to be a force of good in the world. Her popularity soon overshadowed even the Queen. Much to many courtiers dismay. Diana for her part refused to dim herself and set about what she hoped would be a lifetime of charity work.
We all know this part of the story. But this is where it gets squirrelly. Diana, Meghan, Catherine…… and Camilla. If Disney was looking for a new villainous queen, victim princess plot they don’t have to look far. Charles affair and subsequent second marriage to Camilla has all the makings of a blockbuster Disney film. Although I doubt that many little girls would be prancing about in Camilla gowns and crowns. Camilla is without a doubt one of the dubious women who stand behind the crown with their hand in the cookie jar. Her influence destroyed Charles and Diana’s marriage, her cunning and manipulative ways helped con Diana into the marriage in the first place. Charles didn’t chose Diana randomly he and Camilla both worked out the plan. It was Camilla’s interference that put the cloud over William and Harry’s childhoods, potentially played a role in Diana’s death and destroyed Harry’s teen years… only to haunt the new Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Sussex. But… I’m getting ahead of myself. There’s a whole article just for the royal “companion” coming.
You see the royals have a way with women. And I’m not talking about Charles pillow talk, Harry’s endearing goofy smiles or William’s direct insistent demands for attention. I’m talking behind the scenes. Strong women are a threat. Diana, Meghan, Catherine and Camilla. All strong women. Each one targeted by the establishment, each one taking a direct hit… much like Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard, Lady Jane Grey. Even the great Queens… Elizabeth, Victoria, Charlotte, Mary…. All of them dodging and maneuvering around a machine that is meant to conqueror, control or destroy.
No one living in the 1990’s will forget the morning of August 31st 1997. The imagines of a smashed black limousine being towed out of a Paris tunnel. No one can forget the waves of flowers the endless crowds of dumb struck citizens mulling about starring, crying, shaking…. Muted in shock. The images of two young boys black suits, heads bowed walking solemnly in front of millions behind their deceased mothers casket. No one wanted to believe for one minute that Diana, beautiful, strong, brave, compassionate, charitable, determined Diana….. was gone. While the authorities claimed an accident had taken her the masses screamed no. There were the letters saying how she thought Charles was planning an accident. The tabloids and the reporters who openly proclaimed to the masses that the only way the royals (Charles particularly ) could rid themselves of the problem that was Diana was to get “rid” of her. There was the interview where she said herself that they saw her as a problem and wanted her gone. And then she was…. A drunk driver they claimed… really? Forgive us for calling out the obvious but was he really drunk? The investigation originally claimed that he was driving 100mph then they said no… only 65. Originally only the survivor Trevor Rees Jones was wearing a seatbelt then it was revealed that he actually wasn’t. The photographers helped at the scene.. but no their cameras say otherwise wrong again. Diana went straight to the hospital right away but no actually it took over two hours for her to get medical attention….. so was Henri Paul really drunk?
In a court of law we take BAC very seriously. Your BAC gives us the level of alcohol in your blood. For example a BAC of 0.10% means you have 100 milligrams of alcohol per every 100 millilitres of blood. We measure that by a standard drink.
1 standard drink is 12oz of beer, 8 oz of malt liquor, 5oz of wine or 1.5oz of distilled spirits like whiskey or vodka. If you Binge drink it affects how quickly your BAC changes. This is considered 4 standard drinks (for women) or 5 standard drinks (for men) in the span of two hours. Average legal limits world wide (average) is 0.08%
Henri Paul at the time of the crash is claimed to have a Blood Alcohol level of between 0.173 and 0.187 which is 3x the legal limit in France and equivalent to 10 strong drinks. At the time that he left the Ritz hotel he was filmed on the security cameras (before and as they were leaving). He did not drink in the hotel bar, he was walking fine and talking to everyone around him. No one showed concern. His family and friends say he was not an alcoholic. Friends and staff of community restaurants and bars where he was known state he was not a heavy drinker often having just one beer or wine.
BAC is affected by weight, tolerance and gender as well as metabolism. Henri Paul was not a heavy drinker so he would not have a high tolerance for alcohol. Yet at the levels authories claim he would have been significantly imapaired with difficulty walking, slurred speech, delayed reaction time, confusion, reduced coordination, and experiencing early stages of alcohol poisoning. That would have been very clear on the security footage and to those around him. Yet there is no evidence of this.
There is however evidence of carbon monoxide in his blood similar to what you would see from someone sitting in their car with the engine running in the garage for an extended period of time. Add to that the black car that was in front of the limo that disappeared, the white uno that was involved but never followed up on, the photographers who were not only persistent but refused to render aid and the insane delay to hospital. There are far too many questions than there are answers regarding what became of this forward thinking outspoken charitable force of a woman.
One might also scratch their head at the treatment of the Duchess of Sussex when she jumped into the role of charitable forward thinking role model. Heaven forbid that simply can’t happen when there is already a queen, two queens and two kings in waiting. The system is set to work a particular way and when it doesn’t those who muck up the gears are disposed of. While Meghan was fortunate to have a husband who whisked her to safety one can’t help but want to scream at the image of a grinning Camilla while the world begs Where is Kate?
Last seen in December on the annual Christmas walkabout her sudden and rather dramatic disappearance from the public view has all the workings of a “lets get rid of Diana” type scandal that haunts the women in the family. Kate while not nearly as articulate or forward thinking as Meghan or as intensely calculating as Camilla came on the scene over 20 years ago with her relentless pursuit of Prince William. She isn’t one to push herself to the forefront promoting causes but she is known to have an attitude and a mouth depending on who you talk to. She also has a husband with some rather questionable character traits. And while everything smacks of foul play there is a much larger question hanging overhead. Why? Do we actually believe that Kate had abdominal surgery in January… planned abdominal surgery at that? No that ship has sailed. Between the rumors of a coma coming from sources beyond reproach in the palace to the steady stream of details that just keep adding to the ever growing list of things that aren’t right with this scenario there are once again more questions than answers.
The palace could simply put an end to the conspiracy theories, speculation and conjecture with some sign of life… proven…. Sign of life. But they haven’t. The press and family members are running around sporting all black. There are three nurses providing round the clock care. All engagements cancelled for at least four months now suggesting nine while behind the scenes the word is she’s not coming back this year at all. Even Williams ridiculous environmental circus award show is off Kate’s calendar. And then there is William. He has sixty staff. He has at least one full time nanny. His three children are in school and there are three round the clock nurses (which highly suggests hospice care)….. why isn’t he working at least part time? Common people do it. Through sickness, injury, comas, cancer, car accidents, mental break downs, divorces. They take care of their family, their job and their homes… they keep trucking. William shows up drunk swaying back and forth blinking profusely dropping awards. Something smells rotten.
He’s known for his temper, for attacking others, hitting others, sticking his finger in peoples faces, screaming and hollering. Incandescent with rage. Did Billy the Basher grow into Willie the slasher? Perhaps that is a bit over the top thinking but no woman in the royal households appears to be safe. The attitude that one can simply “replace” wives when they don’t fit the mold or refuse to conform or simply outlive their purpose is one that has flitted from medieval times to modern day. Charles wasn’t satisfied in simply divorcing Diana. Despite the Queen approving Diana keeping her title including her HRH Charles was animate that she should be “punished”. Fancy words coming from a man who was committing adultery so to speak before he even said his vows. He made his discontent with Diana’s new life well known and ranted incessantly about her being “around”. There was a reason for this.
While many know the the argument over the centuries regarding royals and divorce (the Church of England was created out this ridiculous issue, and more than one queen lost her head as a result) there isn’t a lot of knowledge about the issue of remarriage. See the Church of England did permit divorce it was the remarriage that was the problem. King Edward VIII abdicated the throne over the issue of marrying Wallis Simpson not because she was a 2x divorcee. Nope. He had the same problem Charles and Camilla had. The Church of England (until 2002) would not permit a Royal to marry after divorce or to a divorcee if their ex spouse was still alive. Charles was furious over this rule. But a year after his divorce it conveniently was no longer a problem.
And while its not longer an issue today. There are still issues with a monarch divorcing. Its highly frowned upon. The Queen of Denmark may very well have abdicated her crown early in order to put her son on the throne to avoid his wife walking out on him. Oh yes… they have their drama too but it’s not where near England’s league.
So what do you do with a Prince of Wales who is no longer interested in toting about a woman who he sees as “less than” his brothers wife, and irritates him on a regular basis? Well the sensible thing to do would be to divorce her… quite simply. But what if she refuses to go? What if she knows all your secrets and threatens to reveal them?
Well still a reasonable person would say it’s still a divorce but what if that were to take a nasty turn…… You see William has some issues. I think we all know this. I think we’ve all seen it. But there is more. More than can possibly be put in one article. This is the base. This is the environment where he was raised and “trained” to learn how to “king”. And Kings have never been known to take care of their Queens. The Queens have to take care of themselves, or they are taken out. So what role has history played in Kate’s disappearance? Has she been disposed? Incapacitated? Run off? Silenced?
Diana died under questionable circumstances. Queen Elizabeth II herself was most likely “helped” along much like George V whose death was hastened to make the respectable morning papers. Elizabeth I, Queen Mary and even Charlotte all were “comforted” in their deaths. Henry VIII, Edward II among many others were in the words of courtiers “guided” along. Well no…guided isn’t really the best word for what happened, perhaps some might be seen today as Euthanasia others were flat out disposed off to make room for the new reign. Callous and cold the crown has never been one for mercy, compassion or comfort.
Where is Kate?
