Sixty Joyless De-Britished Uncrowned Commonpoor Years (1949-2009)

Elizabeth II Vice-Regal Saint: Remembering Paul Comtois (1895–1966), Lt.-Governor of Québec
Britannic Inheritance: Britain's proud legacy. What legacy will America leave?
English Debate: Daniel Hannan revels in making mince meat of Gordon Brown
Crazy Canucks: British MP banned from Canada on national security grounds
Happy St. Patrick's: Will Ireland ever return to the Commonwealth?
Voyage Through the Commonwealth: World cruise around the faded bits of pink.
No Queen for the Green: The Green Party of Canada votes to dispense with monarchy.
"Sir Edward Kennedy": The Queen has awarded the senator an honorary Knighthood.
President Obama: Hates Britain, but is keen to meet the Queen?
The Princess Royal: Princess Anne "outstanding" in Australia.
H.M.S. Victory: In 1744, 1000 sailors went down with a cargo of gold.
Queen's Commonwealth: Britain is letting the Commonwealth die.
Justice Kirby: His support for monarchy almost lost him appointment to High Court
Royal Military Academy: Sandhurst abolishes the Apostles' Creed.
Air Marshal Alec Maisner, R.I.P. Half Polish, half German and 100% British.
Cherie Blair: Not a vain, self regarding, shallow thinking viper after all.
Harry Potter: Celebrated rich kid thinks the Royals should not be celebrated
The Royal Jelly: A new king has been coronated, and his subjects are in a merry mood
Victoria Cross: Australian TROOPER MARK DONALDSON awarded the VC
Godless Buses: Royal Navy veteran, Ron Heather, refuses to drive his bus
Labour's Class War: To expunge those with the slightest pretensions to gentility
100 Top English Novels of All Time: The Essential Fictional Library
BIG BEN: Celebrating 150 Years of the Clock Tower

Thursday 15 March 2007

The PPCLI lose their Patricia

Mother Mountbatten, the beloved "Lady P", bids her regiment goodbye: At 83, "I am no longer able to get into a tank," says Colonel-In-Chief.

Lady Patricia, Countess Mountbatten of Burma and Colonel-in-Chief of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI), shakes hands with honour guard member Cpl. Robert Farquhar in Ottawa today. The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, former Governor-General of Canada, is scheduled to take over the Colonelcy-in-Chief on Saturday, becoming the "first Canadian" in history to head one of Her Majesty's regiments.

Lady Patricia is a link to the final glorious days of the British Empire. Her father, the Earl Mountbatten of Burma, became the last Viceroy of India in 1947. It was his job to oversee the transfer of power, ending the Raj. In 1979, he was assassinated by the IRA when a bomb ripped apart his yacht at Mullaghmore Bay in Ireland. Lady Patricia and her husband, Lord Brabourne, a movie producer whose films included Murder on the Orient Express and A Passage to India, were seriously injured in the explosion. Their 15-year-old son Nicholas, an identical twin, was killed with his grandfather. After the assassination of her father, Lady Patricia, as heir to his Earldom, became the Countess Mountbatten of Burma.

7 comments:

mrcawp said...

A sad day.

But inevitable.

Keir said...

Particulaly poignant here when one thinks of the PPLI's valour defending Hong Kong (and monstrously suffering the consequences of defeat at the hands of a savage enemy) now gone to the communists.
Always struck me as ironic that the IRA would kill the man who oversaw the British withdrawing from India...

Anonymous said...

Actually, the PPCLI were never in Hong Kong. I believe it was the Royal Rifles of Canada and the Winnipeg Grenadiers that served there. The PPCLI served with distinction in the Italian Campaign.

Anonymous said...

A sad day indeed.

What's also sad is that Mme. Clarkson is constantly referred to as "the first Canadian" to become C-in-C of a Canadian regiment. While I can understand this type of bias (or ignorance) from the media, I'm surprised it's been repeated here. Would not the Monarch of Canada and all those in line for her throne themselves be Canadians? To say otherwise marks them as foreigners.

Keir said...

OUCH!
SSO- you've humiliated me! Put it down to writing quickly ibetween classes and let's forget my blunder, shall we?

The Monarchist said...

James is right, Tweedy. I'm going to edit your Liberal talking point by putting "first Canadian" in quotations.

Bearhunter said...

How lovely of you to recall those who died at Mullaghmore. Was Paul Maxwell the 15 year old crew member not aristocratic enough to warrant mention?
And why is it ironic that the IRA should target the man who oversaw the switch to independence in India? Indian affairs had no bearing on Northern Ireland.