Saturday, November 14, 2009

Foreign Princes

This has nothing to do with anything, but the other night I saw a trailer for The Young Victoria and it got me clicking around only to wind up at the Wiki page for Victoria of the United Kingdom, where I read:
Her funeral was held on Saturday 2 February [1901], and after two days of lying-in-state, she was interred beside Prince Albert in Frogmore Mausoleum at Windsor Great Park. Since Victoria disliked black funerals, London was instead festooned in purple and white. When she was laid to rest at the mausoleum, it began to snow.

Flags in the United States were lowered to half-staff in her honour by order of President William McKinley, a tribute never before offered to a foreign monarch at the time and one which was repaid by Britain when McKinley was assassinated later that year.
Can you imagine the right-wing and SCLM shitstorm -- the magnitude of the hissy fit -- that would erupt and rage on for dozens of news cycles -- if Barack Obama were to lower flags to half-staff for some "foreign prince", even Elizabeth II?

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