tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3390382704873671828.post7516572602272755113..comments2023-11-03T07:23:30.909-05:00Comments on The Monarchist 2.0: The Post of High CommissionerUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3390382704873671828.post-5084905302662211012008-05-24T08:29:00.000-05:002008-05-24T08:29:00.000-05:00They are not invited to state banquets anymore bec...They are not invited to state banquets anymore because there are too many of them now - one-third of diplomats come from Commonwealth countries. However, I'm pretty sure the old dominions still get considerable preferential treatment.<BR/><BR/>The fact that meeting High Commissioners is more informal is a good thing - they are part of the family. That room is the same room that the Queen meets her Commonwealth prime ministers on many occasions - so what if they are not stiffer affairs, they are not state to state meetings.<BR/><BR/>As for the future, the article goes to pains to point out that new diplomatyic arrangements, such as teh closer cooperation of EU ambassadors, has not in any way supplanted commonwealth ones, but in fact have only supplemented them.Lord Strathcona's Horsehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16778796076032701085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3390382704873671828.post-58894093262456120092008-05-23T16:34:00.000-05:002008-05-23T16:34:00.000-05:00The piece on High Commissioners is idealistic in t...The piece on High Commissioners is idealistic in the extreme. There are no longer reserved seats for High Commissioners at State Banquets - they are invited on a case-by-case basis. While there are special places for the representatives of the Old Dominions in Westminster Abbey, that seems to be the extent of the privileges left.<BR/><BR/>In fact, High Commissioners of countries which still recognize The Queen as their Head of State are received at the Palace with little ceremony - and they are received in the Queen's Audience Chamber, rather than the Main Floor State rooms - not the difference in the rooms in the photographs. In fact, several of the High Commissioners regret that they do not receive a horse-drawn escort to the Palace but find their own way there. While they recognize that they share the Sovereign with the UK, it is odd that those who are in fact monarchies receive the least ceremony.<BR/><BR/>As this hierarchy of representatives to the UK from amongst the various groups of High Commissioners and Ambassadors has the potential to cause offence to some and it is likely it may be revisted in the years ahead as the UK moves away from the Commonwealth (witness the scholarship question) and to a more level playing field amongst all countries with diplomatic representation in the UK.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3390382704873671828.post-40120902642152216472008-05-23T13:50:00.000-05:002008-05-23T13:50:00.000-05:00How about some consideration of the curious positi...How about some consideration of the curious position of another High Commissioner (of sorts) - HM's Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland: His Grace, the Rt Hon. George Reid (last year, the His Grace, the Duke of York - the honorific there actually outranking that of HRH while he served the role). <BR/><BR/>At present, George Reid is the third highest person in the Order of Precedence in Scotland: ranking only behind HM and the Duke of Edinburgh. He is, in effect, treated as a Regent in operation of his role: he need not use licence plates on his car, and should he bump into Prince Charles, it would be the latter who would be expected to bow.<BR/><BR/>He has quite an impressive staff, and is currently to be found resident in Holyrood Palace.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3390382704873671828.post-82714091870865117302008-05-23T10:32:00.000-05:002008-05-23T10:32:00.000-05:00Very interesting, M'Lud, particularly the angst th...Very interesting, M'Lud, particularly the angst the development of this office was going through in the early/mid 20th century. It is also interesting that after all this time, high commissioner still comes with a few more perks than ambassadorBeaverbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06957034620891207177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3390382704873671828.post-39447515152251802962008-05-23T07:56:00.000-05:002008-05-23T07:56:00.000-05:00I agree that Her Majesty's Name should never have ...I agree that Her Majesty's Name should never have been removed from the Letters of Credence in Canada, or Australia and New Zealand for that matter. The most irritating aspect to it is that it was done under a shroud of secrecy, no formal announcement was made, and there has yet to be a real satisfactory explanation as to why it was done.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com