Most favorite royal, least favorite royal

[Imdanny]

I've confined my own answer to living royals, but you don't have to.

Queen Elizabeth II is my favorite, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (?) is my least favorite.

I like the fact Elizabeth II has dedicated her life to her role and done it well and for so long.

I've never liked Camilla. I just don't have any reason to like her. I don't like anything about her.

Your turn.

 

[Trekkie]

I love Harry. I have a thing for gingers, no idea why.

Funny thing is, I was madly in love with Harry all through childhood until then he broke his arm. I drew a picture and sent him a beautiful letter but he didn't respond. I was absolutely devastated.

In a fit of pique I transferred my affections to William. But then I became engaged to my FI and in a ridiculous display of tit-for-tat William married that flight attendant's daughter. The horror!

So I've gone back to Harry as my pet.

I also really like Prince Philip. He's awesome.

I can't stand Camilla. It's not the fact that she is horsefaced. There are plenty of perfectly nice horsefaced people out there. I just don't like her very much at all.

However... Least favourite royal? Without a doubt, Prince Charles.

I can't believe he married that horsefaced tart. I also can't believe that there's a real chance that he will be king one day, despite having been divorced and marrying a divorcee. It's just so wrong! I mean, the only reason he's even in line for the throne is because Edward VIII abdicated because he couldn't marry Wallis and be king.

I thing it is incredibly wrong but also indicative of how society is, dare I say it, devolving.

 

[Imdanny]

But then I became engaged to my FI and in a ridiculous display of tit-for-tat William married that flight attendant's daughter.

ROTFL!

 

[Pandora II]

Favourite - the Queen
Least favourite - Duke of York

I actually really, really like Camilla, she seems a very nice and genuine person. Her reaction at the news of William & Catherine's engagement was the most spontaneous of any of them. She's also never washed her dirty linen in public (unlike certain people who were brought up to know better) and William and Harry adore her which must say something.

 

[Trekkie]

Favourite - the Queen
Least favourite - Duke of York

I actually really, really like Camilla, she seems a very nice and genuine person. Her reaction at the news of William & Catherine's engagement was the most spontaneous of any of them. She's also never washed her dirty linen in public (unlike certain people who were brought up to know better) and William and Harry adore her which must say something.

Yes, Camilla has been coached rather well and is much better behaved these days. She even dresses better.

I must say, I do sometimes wonder if her son, Tom, is actually biologically Charles's. After all, she only married Andrew Parker Bowles because she was pregnant. It isn't as if Charles would have been able to claim paternity anyway, seeing as Camilla was considered unsuitable as a future queen.

Of course, that's all speculation on my part.

 

[AGBF]

I actually really, really like Camilla, she seems a very nice and genuine person. Her reaction at the news of William & Catherine's engagement was the most spontaneous of any of them. She's also never washed her dirty linen in public (unlike certain people who were brought up to know better) and William and Harry adore her which must say something.

I am afraid that this thread may devolve into what is called, in the royal fora, a "War of the Princesses" in which each forum member defends his Princess until some moderator or administrator is forced to lock the thread. I really didn't want to go there, but we seem halfway down the path towards war already! Let's try to keep it civil!

I completely agree with Pandora. Early in their marriage, I was appalled that the Princess of Wales had to deal with the presence of Camilla in her life, that her husband was involved with another woman. That Camilla was the one most reviled for that, that she was the one who had bread thrown at her by women in a grocery store, was unfair, though. It was Prince Charles who married Lady Diana, not Camilla! I was inclined to the view of Camilla's father: that Prince Charles ruined Camilla's life. She was stoic in the face of the public's abuse. And loyal to Charles. She has risen to her current position.

Are we speaking only of the British royal family? I dislike Princess Michael of Kent. I think she's an easy person to dislike. I think I may have most admired a historical figure, Queen Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of King Henry VIII, for her stalwart refusal to deny what she saw as the truth (her marriage to King Henry) and her acts of charity to the poor. Among the modern royals, I find The Prince Edward and his wife, the Countess of Wessex, fairly easy to take. I also feel protective of the Duchess of Cornwall (Camilla), who is technically, now, the Princess of Wales.

Deb/AGBF


Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

 

[Imdanny]

Diana did air her dirty laundry in public by surreptitiously working with Andrew Morton to write a book but at least she was the wife and not the mistress.

I don't know how people can see anything to admire in Camilla. She "seems" like a nice person? I guess, for an adulteress who clearly disrespected Diana and Charles and Diana's marriage from beginning to end.

But I'm willing to let history be the judge as to which one history will admire. Let's say I won't be losing any sleep over it.

Ok, Deb, I won't say anything more. I be good.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Well, I do not blame Camilla for anything, even though I have very strong regard for keeping marriage vows. She was the woman Charles loved but he was forced by tradition/duty to marry someone he clearly didn't love. Diana and Camilla both suffered for that. Even though it was a tragic story, I sort of was happy that true love never died and they were able to marry in the end. The fact that she does seem to be accepted by the family indicates to me that they are not putting the blame on her.

Right now I enjoy watching William and Kate and hope that they can live up to expectations. Kate is extremely beautiful and acts like she has class, which is not something one can say about certain others in the royal family's recent past (think Fergie, etc.).

 

[Pandora II]

Favourite - the Queen
Least favourite - Duke of York

I actually really, really like Camilla, she seems a very nice and genuine person. Her reaction at the news of William & Catherine's engagement was the most spontaneous of any of them. She's also never washed her dirty linen in public (unlike certain people who were brought up to know better) and William and Harry adore her which must say something.

Yes, Camilla has been coached rather well and is much better behaved these days. She even dresses better.

I must say, I do sometimes wonder if her son, Tom, is actually biologically Charles's. After all, she only married Andrew Parker Bowles because she was pregnant. It isn't as if Charles would have been able to claim paternity anyway, seeing as Camilla was considered unsuitable as a future queen.

Of course, that's all speculation on my part.

Longest pregnancy ever then since her son was born in December 1974 and they were married in the summer of 1973.

I agree this is likely to turn into the battle of the Princesses and neither side is likely to be convinced otherwise, so I'll add a couple of points and then leave this thread alone.

- the two people to blame for the whole Diana/Charles marriage were the Queen Mother and Diana's own grandmother Lady Fermoy. They cooked the idea up between them thinking that Diana was the required virgin, looked pretty, not the brightest sandwich in the picnic and so could be easily managed and was basically good breeding stock.

- Charles was stupid not to ask Camilla to wait for him when he left in 1972 to carry out his military service. She and Charles were far more compatible and had much similar interests than Charles and Diana ever did.

- Charles may have been unfaithful to Diana but at least it was with the one woman and someone he truly loved. Calling Camilla a tart is a bit much considering that Diana managed to sleep with not one but SIX unsuitable men. If she hadn't been messing around with the loathsome Dodi (who was engaged to someone else at the time) then she wouldn't be dead now.

 

[JewelFreak]

Like Danny, my favorite is the Queen. Class act all the way. I read a long time ago in one period of strong anti-royal sentiment -- this was before Diana, not connected w/her -- I believe it had to do with the cost of maintaining them. Demonstrations, newspaper articles, blah blah. The Queen was dismayed. She lamented to a friend, "They don't love me anymore," and actually stayed in bed for a day. Could be apocryphal but it melted me. I can imagine the people mean that much to her.

They've produced a bunch of "worsts" in Britain, yow. Duke of Windsor tops the list; it was a darn miracle that Wallis came along & removed him from the throne before he presented it to the Nazis. Living ones -- Deb is right: Princess Michael ain't no gem. Don't go for Camilla either. Fergie? She's merely pathetic to me, can't dislike her but wouldn't trust her for a nanosecond.

If he were royal (he kind of is, descended from the Stuarts) I'd include Charles Spencer. Yack, what a turkey!

Then there's Mabel of Holland...enough said. I'm not crazy about Charlotte Casiraghi either; very pretty, dresses like a slob & her demeanor makes me think of spoiled kids, though I know zip about her (so it's not fair).

 

[Imdanny]

Laurie, I agree with you. Diana's brother is just disgusting.

As far as the people who hate on Diana, the British establishment, I think those people are disgusting too. What a bizarre preoccupation to hate on such a beautiful human being. I'll add Charles to my list of least favorite royals. He was "forced" to marry Diana. Cry me a river.

 

[oobiecoo]

Like Danny, my favorite is the Queen. Class act all the way. I read a long time ago in one period of strong anti-royal sentiment -- this was before Diana, not connected w/her -- I believe it had to do with the cost of maintaining them. Demonstrations, newspaper articles, blah blah. The Queen was dismayed. She lamented to a friend, "They don't love me anymore," and actually stayed in bed for a day. Could be apocryphal but it melted me. I can imagine the people mean that much to her.

They've produced a bunch of "worsts" in Britain, yow. Duke of Windsor tops the list; it was a darn miracle that Wallis came along & removed him from the throne before he presented it to the Nazis. Living ones -- Deb is right: Princess Michael ain't no gem. Don't go for Camilla either. Fergie? She's merely pathetic to me, can't dislike her but wouldn't trust her for a nanosecond.

If he were royal (he kind of is, descended from the Stuarts) I'd include Charles Spencer. Yack, what a turkey!

Then there's Mabel of Holland...enough said. I'm not crazy about Charlotte Casiraghi either; very pretty, dresses like a slob & her demeanor makes me think of spoiled kids, though I know zip about her (so it's not fair).

Hehe... not a fan of Mabel!

I think my favorites would be William and Kate for being so fresh, private, and down to earth... and least favorite would be Charles. Just for being an idiot. Also, I second the bit about how its quite hypocritical that the only reason he is in line to the throne is because someone else married a divorcee and got nixed!

 

[Trekkie]

Favourite - the Queen
Least favourite - Duke of York

I actually really, really like Camilla, she seems a very nice and genuine person. Her reaction at the news of William & Catherine's engagement was the most spontaneous of any of them. She's also never washed her dirty linen in public (unlike certain people who were brought up to know better) and William and Harry adore her which must say something.

Yes, Camilla has been coached rather well and is much better behaved these days. She even dresses better.

I must say, I do sometimes wonder if her son, Tom, is actually biologically Charles's. After all, she only married Andrew Parker Bowles because she was pregnant. It isn't as if Charles would have been able to claim paternity anyway, seeing as Camilla was considered unsuitable as a future queen.

Of course, that's all speculation on my part.

Longest pregnancy ever then since her son was born in December 1974 and they were married in the summer of 1973.

I agree this is likely to turn into the battle of the Princesses and neither side is likely to be convinced otherwise, so I'll add a couple of points and then leave this thread alone.

- the two people to blame for the whole Diana/Charles marriage were the Queen Mother and Diana's own grandmother Lady Fermoy. They cooked the idea up between them thinking that Diana was the required virgin, looked pretty, not the brightest sandwich in the picnic and so could be easily managed and was basically good breeding stock.

- Charles was stupid not to ask Camilla to wait for him when he left in 1972 to carry out his military service. She and Charles were far more compatible and had much similar interests than Charles and Diana ever did.

- Charles may have been unfaithful to Diana but at least it was with the one woman and someone he truly loved. Calling Camilla a tart is a bit much considering that Diana managed to sleep with not one but SIX unsuitable men. If she hadn't been messing around with the loathsome Dodi (who was engaged to someone else at the time) then she wouldn't be dead now.

Good heavens, thanks for pointing that out! That's what happens when one accepts everything one's parents says as gospel and one does no independent research. I have since looked it up and you are correct: it wasn't a shotgun wedding as I had always believed.

 

[Imdanny]

I'm a fan of Elizabeth I, although I'm not sure how much of that is I've bought into the mythologizing of her, and how much of it is my fascination with history, especially the Renaissance in England as it pertains to language, literature, and music.

I'm not so fond of Henry VIII.

I'm not so fond of Anne Boleyn.

I like his first wife. I'm not sure about the 3rd, etc.

There's me not liking Henry VIII, and pretending to be him. OMG.

 

[AmeliaG]

I don't know if I have a favorite royal or least favorite but overall I like them overall pretty much which is a good sign because they're better off being a family rather than trying to act like a stable of Hollywood-like stars.

I think they've finally self-aware enough to see that they're a very tough family that requires a pretty thick skin to marry into. More recent royal brides have reflected this - Sophie Wessex, Camilla, Kate - so there's a lot less drama now. The lack of drama makes the royals a lot more enjoyable to watch - more like a family and less like a train wreck - at least for me.

 

[Trekkie]

I don't know if I have a favorite royal or least favorite but overall I like them overall pretty much which is a good sign because they're better off being a family rather than trying to act like a stable of Hollywood-like stars.

I think they've finally self-aware enough to see that they're a very tough family that requires a pretty thick skin to marry into. More recent royal brides have reflected this - Sophie Wessex, Camilla, Kate - so there's a lot less drama now. The lack of drama makes the royals a lot more enjoyable to watch - more like a family and less like a train wreck - at least for me.

Nah, I preferred the Fergie days. Those were fun!

Actually, come to think of it...

I wonder how much of it is due to the royal brides being thicker skinned? Maybe it's because society has changed so dramatically over the last 30 years?

In an age of The Real Housewives of Wherever and so many wannabes getting up to all sorts of mischief in a desperate grasp at fame, anything the royals do is just... Normal.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Favourite - the Queen
Least favourite - Duke of York

I actually really, really like Camilla, she seems a very nice and genuine person. Her reaction at the news of William & Catherine's engagement was the most spontaneous of any of them. She's also never washed her dirty linen in public (unlike certain people who were brought up to know better) and William and Harry adore her which must say something.

Yes, Camilla has been coached rather well and is much better behaved these days. She even dresses better.

I must say, I do sometimes wonder if her son, Tom, is actually biologically Charles's. After all, she only married Andrew Parker Bowles because she was pregnant. It isn't as if Charles would have been able to claim paternity anyway, seeing as Camilla was considered unsuitable as a future queen.

Of course, that's all speculation on my part.

no way - tom looks *exactly* like his dad andrew. dead ringer. no doubt!

 

[JewelFreak]

Ok, have to bring it up....what about Harry? If he's a Windsor, then so am I! Regardless of what the RF says about DNA testing on Harry, he looks waaay too much like James Whatsis -- and hasn't a single Windsor characteristic that I can see. Queen Mary's mouth & chin are extraordinarily prepotent; I can't think of anyone descended from her who doesn't have it to some extent. His nose is the image of James's. (No denigration of Harry intended; I have always thought the dates giving for the beginning of that affair were, um, blurred at the edges because of course Diana would want any baby & the RF couldn't possibly acknowledge he isn't Charles's.)

 

[VapidLapid]

My favorite was Prince Hamlet of Denmark

The one I dislike the most is the eight Henry. And that song, I cant stand that song.

 

[kenny]

Ok, have to bring it up....what about Harry? If he's a Windsor, then so am I! Regardless of what the RF says about DNA testing on Harry, he looks waaay too much like James Whatsis -- and hasn't a single Windsor characteristic that I can see. Queen Mary's mouth & chin are extraordinarily prepotent; I can't think of anyone descended from her who doesn't have it to some extent. His nose is the image of James's. (No denigration of Harry intended; I have always thought the dates giving for the beginning of that affair were, um, blurred at the edges because of course Diana would want any baby & the RF couldn't possibly acknowledge he isn't Charles's.)

I had to google that but yes I see the resemblance to James Hewitt, plus if conspiracyplanet says it then it must be true.

http://www.conspiracyplanet.com/channel.cfm?channelid=41&contentid=6075

 

[AGBF]

Ok, have to bring it up....what about Harry? If he's a Windsor, then so am I! Regardless of what the RF says about DNA testing on Harry, he looks waaay too much like James Whatsis --

Oh, good gosh! I'd forgotten that chapter. Of course. I, also, thought he was the spitting image of her lover. An absolute clone of him! And what a cad that guy was! Writing a tell-all book and "taking precautions" because he thought it might cause the Princess of Wales to try to commit suicide! He made Prince Charles look like a saint by comparison. Wasn't the book, Princess in Love? He should have been shot!!!

Deb/AGBF

 

[JewelFreak]

Yike, Kenny, those pics are amazing! Glad you had the ulltimate authority to go to for them. If it's that apparent, of course the RF knows & I have to hand it to Charles -- there's been never a whisper that he treats Harry differently from William. He seems to be a loving father to them both.

Do you wonder how many times in history this has occurred? (No, not all of them, just RFs! ) Especially in days past when heirs tended to die more frequently -- 2nd sons, raised as the King's kid to avoid scandal, ending up on the throne. What are they gonna say when it happens? "NO NO, he really isn't King Clodhopper's child! We just pretended!" Where royal families celebrated the length of their dynasties, I'll bet those long lineages took some quick left turns.

--- Laurie

 

[jewelerman]

love Kate and not so happy with Camilla.

 

[AmeliaG]

I don't know if I have a favorite royal or least favorite but overall I like them overall pretty much which is a good sign because they're better off being a family rather than trying to act like a stable of Hollywood-like stars.

I think they've finally self-aware enough to see that they're a very tough family that requires a pretty thick skin to marry into. More recent royal brides have reflected this - Sophie Wessex, Camilla, Kate - so there's a lot less drama now. The lack of drama makes the royals a lot more enjoyable to watch - more like a family and less like a train wreck - at least for me.

Nah, I preferred the Fergie days. Those were fun!

Actually, come to think of it...

I wonder how much of it is due to the royal brides being thicker skinned? Maybe it's because society has changed so dramatically over the last 30 years?

In an age of The Real Housewives of Wherever and so many wannabes getting up to all sorts of mischief in a desperate grasp at fame, anything the royals do is just... Normal.

Ah, Trekkie! Andrew is the one I feel the most sorry for. Despite what anyone thinks of Sarah (and I don't think too much of her) I really think he loved her and I think he still loves her today. And I think she still loves him in her odd little way.

I haven't been following the royals that closely lately but it looks like they have been behaving themselves rather well lately. Sophie had that embarassment with the secret recording but she pulled herself out of that, Camilla hasn't committed any scandal since her wedding (though some say she created enough before but at least she's since stopped) Kate had photographers point their cameras right up her crotch when her skirts were too short but she's figured that out now.

To me the tasteless thing was Peter Philip's selling exclusive photo rights to his wedding to Hello but in fairness, a lot of people defended that move so maybe I'm too crotchety.

Unless I missed some big scandal, they seem pretty tame now. Not like Real Housewives at all!

 

[Amber St. Clare]

I've confined my own answer to living royals, but you don't have to.

Queen Elizabeth II is my favorite, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (?) is my least favorite.

I like the fact Elizabeth II has dedicated her life to her role and done it well and for so long.

I've never liked Camilla. I just don't have any reason to like her. I don't like anything about her.

Your turn.

Easy--my favorite royal will ALWAYS be the late Queen Mum. Even though she wasn't royal at all! She personified {and led the way for her daughter} the concept of duty.

Least favorite--Sara Ferguson--seriously, if I gave her a dollar, do you think she's get a clue?

 

[AGBF]

Yike, Kenny, those pics are amazing! Glad you had the ulltimate authority to go to for them. If it's that apparent, of course the RF knows & I have to hand it to Charles -- there's been never a whisper that he treats Harry differently from William. He seems to be a loving father to them both.

As I said, that cad, Hewitt, makes Charles look like a saint! I felt like posting a picture of Arnold and his son with Mrs. Baena below the photo of James Hewitt; Prince Harry; and Prince Charles. We just went through this! How many times do we have to see the obvious before we acknowledge it?

PS-Isn't Princess Anne's second child, Zara, the daughter of her bodyguard? I mean, isn't that accepted as fact?

This is excerpted from "People" magazine:

"There have even been hints in the tabloids that Cross is Zara Phillips' father. No one on Fleet Street has ever summoned up the courage to put the question to Anne, since far less heinous journalistic invasions have prompted her to reply bluntly, 'Naff off!'—a popular Britishism synonymous with a similar phrase of proletarian pedigree. Cross, however, has confided indiscreetly that he and Anne were once 'extremely close friends.' He said they became friendly because Anne was so frequently off on her own. 'Often we would sit up late into the night—just the two of us, drinking coffee,' he said. After Cross was reassigned from bodyguard duty—because his superiors at Scotland Yard thought he had become 'too familiar' with the Princess—the relationship purportedly continued. Cross's ex-wife and a woman he lived with later said he received almost daily calls from Anne, including one on the day Zara was born. Cross, a former officer but apparently no gentleman, wanted to blab to the press for nearly $1 million in 1985. He settled for a lesser amount from the News of the World, but then said only that Anne and he had been 'close friends.' Whatever the truth is, it seems clear that Anne and Mark have been going their separate ways for years. 'They do have an arrangement,' says a friend, 'but it is one that works, not upsetting the rest of the royal family, their friends and, most important, their children. He is just not interested in any of her royal duties, so she just carries on on her own.' "



Deb/AGBF

 

[Pandora II]

Yike, Kenny, those pics are amazing! Glad you had the ulltimate authority to go to for them. If it's that apparent, of course the RF knows & I have to hand it to Charles -- there's been never a whisper that he treats Harry differently from William. He seems to be a loving father to them both.

As I said, that cad, Hewitt, makes Charles look like a saint! I felt like posting a picture of Arnold and his son with Mrs. Baena below the photo of James Hewitt; Prince Harry; and Prince Charles. We just went through this! How many times do we have to see the obvious before we acknowledge it?

PS-Isn't Princess Anne's second child, Zara, the daughter of her bodyguard? I mean, isn't that accepted as fact?
Deb/AGBF

Nope, definitely Mark's daughter - she looks very like him as well. I do like Princess Anne's husband though - seems a really nice guy.

I did hear a lot of rumours a few years ago that one of the reasons that the Andrew/Fergie thing went wrong was due to her catching him in bed with another man. Certainly he's never been seen out and about with other women.

 

[JewelFreak]

I thought Andrew had girlfriends. Saw an interview today in the Daily Mail where Fergie said he's dating a very nice girl right now. Hmmmm, hadn't heard those rumors.

 

[AmeliaG]

I thought Andrew had girlfriends. Saw an interview today in the Daily Mail where Fergie said he's dating a very nice girl right now. Hmmmm, hadn't heard those rumors.

Me neither. He's always had a reputation as a ladykiller. My mom told me he once dated a **** star before he met Fergie. I imagine that didn't go over too well with the royals. Sarah didn't go over too well either. Ah well, as they say in Britain, Andrew just seemed to never go out with the right sort.

Although Sarah seemed the right sort for awhile - my mom maintains the Royal Family loved Sarah when she first came into the family which I find hard to believe. Apparently Diana was getting mad because everyone was telling her 'Why can't you be more like Sarah?' Ouch.

I have no confirmation for this other than my mom but she's a pretty loyal royal watcher and she usually is right.

 

[AGBF]

I thought Andrew had girlfriends. Saw an interview today in the Daily Mail where Fergie said he's dating a very nice girl right now. Hmmmm, hadn't heard those rumors.

Me neither. He's always had a reputation as a ladykiller. My mom told me he once dated a **** star before he met Fergie. I imagine that didn't go over too well with the royals. Sarah didn't go over too well either. Ah well, as they say in Britain, Andrew just seemed to never go out with the right sort.

Although Sarah seemed the right sort for awhile - my mom maintains the Royal Family loved Sarah when she first came into the family which I find hard to believe. Apparently Diana was getting mad because everyone was telling her 'Why can't you be more like Sarah?' Ouch.

I have no confirmation for this other than my mom but she's a pretty loyal royal watcher and she usually is right.

Andrew's reputation was, indeed, as a ladies' man. And I remember Koo Stark very well. What his closet proclivities may be, I have no idea, but if he is interested in other men, I find it very hard to believe that he does not, at least, swing both ways! I am sure that he is interested in women!

AGBF