The Queen, Gun Control, and the Fool

by Michael Z. Williamson

"The children will leave when I leave, I will leave when the King leaves, and the King is not leaving."

So said Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon Windsor, Duchess of York, otherwise known as the Queen Mother. The issue in question was when the Royal Family would leave London during the Blitz. Buckingham Palace had already been hit by one bomb, and the press was demanding to know when they would seek safety.

To be sure, Tony Blair or Bill Clinton or others of their ilk would be wetting their pants, running for cover, and trying to cut a deal. The British Royal Family is made of sterner stuff. There was no way to evacuate everyone from London, so they stayed as a political statement. As of that moment, Germany had lost the war. Hitler could kill every Briton, but he could never beat them. The public would never surrender until the King did, and the King would never surrender even if dead.

NRA members sent millions of rifles over for the British Home Guard (militia), in case of invasion. There was a grim determination that the Nazis should have seen and understood, but were too blind with the evil of a pure, one-race world, free of dispute and strife. Sounds a lot like the UN, doesn't it? Of course, the UN has good intentions, but you know what they say about those.

Britain started on its suicidal trend of gun control right after the War. All those rifles donated to the cause were tossed into the sea, or used as rebar in concrete walkways. The barrels still surface now and then. One wonders if next time Britain is threatened, will we send more, or just point at the sea and tell them to help themselves?

Next was a ban on "assault rifles," many of which now have American caretakers, against the day when once again their owners may be "allowed" to possess them. Restrictions on pistols, airguns, and even pocketknives followed, to "keep crime down." That worked as well as belling the cat always does.

What was the Royal Family's response to this? Prince Charles was roasted by the press for taking his sons William and Henry hunting. He actually (Gasp!) shoved William for making a cheerfully rude comment. Horseplay! While they held unloaded and broken shotguns across their shoulders, muzzles safely pointed at the ground. Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh (the Queen's husband), was vilified for stating that target shooters were not criminals, and that restricting them was the wrong course of action.

Perhaps the Royals remember that it was Alfred the Great who created the modern militia over a thousand years ago. "One could walk the length and breadth of England with a sack of gold and not be molested," was the claim. His Fyrd was responsible for maintaining its own weapons and serving up to 90 days a year, and fought the invading Danes to a standstill...until Aethelred the Poorly Counseled decided to pay them off, with the predictable result of three Danish kings succeeding him. Perhaps they remember it was levied Welsh longbowmen who slaughtered the French Chivalry at Crecy, Poitiers, Agincourt, and throughout the Hundred Years War. That privateers, including Sir Francis Drake, defeated the Spanish Armada. That the English Civil War was fought in Britain and on American soil by armed citizens, without which the Monarchy would no longer exist. That the Zulus were defeated in part by local volunteers, which was good, and by registration and confiscation of their muskets, which was bad.

Perhaps they remember that the kings and queens of England have led from the front in every major war. That then Princess Elizabeth was a truck mechanic for the British Army in WWII, and well within range of German air attacks. Or that Prince Charles is a qualified soldier, parachutist, marine, sailor, and ship's captain. That Prince Andrew used his helicopter to play dodge-ems with Argentine Exocet missiles during the Falklands War.

Perhaps Tony Blair and his revisionist Fascist friends should study the history of their own monarchs. There's a lot to be learned from real leaders. Leaders who know their lives are on the line, and that lies and evasions will be remembered for centuries.

What can the Queen do to stop the insanity now? Not much, unfortunately. The Magna Carta was signed by weakling John to stop his own incompetence and corruption. Much of his power went to the barons. Then after the Civil War and the Restoration, the British Constitution was signed in 1688, giving even more power to Parliament, and taking it away from the Monarchy. This was supposed to create a check on the power of one ruler. But no one remembered to put a check on Parliament. Any law they pass that contradicts the Constitution simply invalidates that section of it. They literally can sign away their rights bit by bit--and are doing so.

At most, the Queen could demand Tony Blair's resignation. He would certainly be re-elected the next day, and the modern weakness of the Crown would be displayed publicly. If she has not done so, it is because of political restraint and national interest, not fear. She has demanded civil servants resign before, and will do so again. Hopefully, the situation will soon be ripe for her to demand his. 

My family left Britain 26 years ago, and left Canada--part of the Commonwealth--22 years ago. I am disgusted with the current leadership of my homeland, and have publicly stated that I will not return under the current political climate. I refuse to do business with British corporations, and harangue my former countrymen and women to rebel, vote, shout, anything that might have an effect. I may be as effective as King Cnut ordering the tide not to come in (which was intended as an object lesson for those who would attempt to legislate against the inevitable; a lesson that has been forgotten because the story was turned about to make him look like a conceited fool, a self-serving ass--a politician, rather than a statesman.). But like King William of Orange (Holland), "I Maintain!"

There have been good monarchs and bad ones, and the system is archaic, perhaps even outdated. But the royalty, every single one of them, knew that any errors lay on their own shoulders. With absolute power comes absolute responsibility. Something democrats always shy from...and always will. Blame is for those other guys.

A common statement in America is "I love my country, it's my government I fear." A variation on that serves me. "I love my Queen, it's her government I despise."

Wake up, Tony. Yours is the power of the press. Hers is the power of history. In the end, you will lose.