British Royal Family

 With all the flurry surrounding the marriage today of Prince William of Wales and Kate Middleton, I’ve been checking out the royal family. (I did not get up at 4:30 a.m. to watch it!)

Some interesting facts that I have read before and forgotten:

The royal family name used to be Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, a Germanic name, because of the marriage of Queen Victoria to Prince Albert in 1840.  In 1917, King George V (grandfather of the present Queen Elizabeth) changed the family name to Windsor; he apparently wanted to get rid of Germanic connections because of Germany’s part in World War I.  

The present Queen Elizabeth’s uncle was Edward VIII, who abdicated his year-long monarchy in 1936. He wanted to marry Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American woman who would have been unacceptable as the wife of a king. My 94-year-old mother remembers hearing that he said, “What kind of monarch would I be without the woman I love?” So he gave it up, and Queen Elizabeth’s father Prince Albert became King George VI. How romantic!

Just for fun, here is Edward’s abdication speech:

HISTORIC ROYAL SPEECHES AND WRITINGS

The British Monarchy web site [http://www.royal.gov.uk]

EDWARD VIII (r. Jan – December 1936)

Broadcast after his abdication, 11 December 1936

At long last I am able to say a few words of my own. I have never wanted to

withhold anything, but until now it has not been constitutionally possible for

me to speak.

A few hours ago I discharged my last duty as King and Emperor, and now that

I have been succeeded by my brother, The Duke of York, my first words must

be to declare my allegiance to him. This I do with all my heart.

You all know the reasons which have impelled me to renounce the Throne.

But I want you to understand that in making up my mind I did not forget the

country or the Empire which as Prince of Wales, and lately as King, I have for

twenty-five years tried to serve. But you must believe me when I tell you that I

have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to

discharge my duties as King as I would wish to do without the help and

support of the woman I love.

And I want you to know that the decision I have made has been mine and

mine alone. This was a thing I had to judge entirely for myself. The other

person most nearly concerned has tried up to the last to persuade me to take

a different course. I have made this, the most serious decision of my life, only

upon the single thought of what would in the end be best for all.

This decision has been made less difficult to me by the sure knowledge that

my brother, with his long training in the public affairs of this country and with

his fine qualities, will be able to take my place forthwith, without interruption or

injury to the life and progress of the Empire. And he has one matchless

blessing, enjoyed by so many of you and not bestowed on me - a happy home

with his wife and children.

During these hard days I have been comforted by Her Majesty my mother and

by my family. The Ministers of the Crown, and in particular Mr Baldwin, the

Prime Minister, have always treated me with full consideration. There has

never been any constitutional difference between me and them and between

me and Parliament. Bred in the constitutional tradition by my father, I should

never have allowed any such issue to arise.

Ever since I was Prince of Wales, and later on when I occupied the Throne, I

have been treated with the greatest kindness by all classes of the people,

wherever I have lived or journeyed throughout the Empire. For that I am very

grateful.

I now quit altogether public affairs, and I lay down my burden. It may be some

time before I return to my native land, but I shall always follow the fortunes of

the British race and Empire with profound interest, and if at any time in the

future I can be found of service to His Majesty in a private station I shall not

fail.

II

HISTORIC ROYAL SPEECHES AND WRITINGS

The British Monarchy web site [http://www.royal.gov.uk]

And now we all have a new King. I wish him, and you, his people, happiness

and prosperity with all my heart. God bless you all. God Save The King.

*I borrowed the picture of William and Kate from this site: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/gossip/2011/04/prince-william-kate-kiss-twice-royal-wedding.html  

British Royal Family

https://connectionsgodandtheworld.blogspot.com/2011/04/british-royal-family.html

Astronaut's Diary from Columbia

Here is something only God could do:

When the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated during its re-entry on Feb. 1, 2003, seven crew members were killed. Only bits and pieces of the shuttle were recovered, mostly in east Texas, near Palestine. The shuttle was only minutes from landing in Houston when it came apart.

One of the seven victims was Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut. In a field near Palestine, thirty-seven pages of his diary were found, crumpled and wet, two months after the explosion. It has taken four years to restore and decipher most of the diary.

Two pages of it will be displayed in the Israeli Museum, beginning tomorrow. The rest of it contains much personal information, and it will be kept private, according to the wishes of Ramon’s widow. The part to be displayed has a Jewish prayer, “a blessing over wine that Jews recite on the Sabbath . . . . Ramon copied the prayer into his diary so he could recite it on the space shuttle and have the blessing broadcast to Earth.”

Consider the miracle that thirty-seven pieces of paper survived being exposed to the extremes of heat and cold during re-entry to the earth’s atmosphere. And then, it’s another miracle it lasted two months out in a field without being hopelessly scattered by wind, eaten by insects, or dissolved by rain.

Read the story at this linked Yahoo news site: Astronaut’s Diary Goes on Display in Jerusalem.

The picture is from Wikipedia.

Astronaut's Diary from Columbia

https://connectionsgodandtheworld.blogspot.com/2008/10/astronauts-diary-from-columbia.html

Declining Life Expectancy

A CBS News article online reports that overall, the life expectancy of Americans continues to edge upwards, according to studies. However, reports in the news this morning said part of the population has had a downturn in life expectancy, and this is

. . . a worrisome turn: Half of Americans in the 55-to-64 age group — including the oldest of the baby boomers — have high blood pressure, and two in five are obese. That means they are in worse shape in some respects than Americans born a decade earlier were when they were that age.

That means trouble, health-wise, for a very large segment of the population—the Baby Boomers. The studies show that health has been declining in both men and women for about the last twenty years in some areas, especially the South, where widespread poverty exists.

An AFP news article reports that women in 1,000 of the 2,000 counties studied nationwide have “chronic diseases related to smoking, overweight and obesity, and high blood pressure." In other words, the decline in health is mainly due to lifestyle choices.

What does this mean for me, as a member of the Baby Boomers? It means for many years, I didn’t pay much attention to my eating and couch potato habits. I have never smoked, thanks only to the fact that my father asked me not to when he and my mother took me down to the University of Texas as a freshman; out of a sense of duty, I remained true to my word on that issue. But last October, my doctor said I had high triglycerides, and therefore was at some risk for a heart attack.

She gave me a prescription for some cholesterol medication. But after reading the side effects, I decided to try other things first. I completely changed my eating habits. Following advice in a number of health information web sites, I started eating more fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and nuts; more fish and poultry and very little beef; and sweets only once a week. I started riding my exercise bike, walking more, and lifting (not very heavy) weights.

The result is that I have lost sixteen pounds, and my triglycerides number has dropped by more than half. I feel much better, to say the least. Maybe my life expectancy has risen a little.

*The picture comes from the AFP web site linked here.

Declining Life Expectancy

https://connectionsgodandtheworld.blogspot.com/2008/04/declining-life-expectancy.html