Chuckie Cornwall Wales Windsor Germania Aryan Battenberg Mountbatten, better known to the world as King Charles III.
Think of the Kardashian family, only European and a lot more inbred.
Anyhow, Chuck’s about to be crowned the next King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Diego Garcia, South Georgia and Pitcairn Islands. Let’s not forget the 660 thousand square miles of the British Antarctic Territory. In a weird sort of way, Charlie can legitimately claim to be the King of the South Pole.
With that aside, the days of one-in-four people on the planet being subjects of the British Crown are over. For the most part, the British “Empire” is closer to “I’ll take ‘Real or Tolkien‘ for a thousand, Alex.”
It’s pretty bad when the Jewel in the Crown is Tristan da Cunha. Hell, I thought Tristan da Cunha was the latest winner of America’s Got Talent.
But back to the topic at hand.
I remember that in his salad days, Chuck was the skipper of his very own warship. Specifically, the Royal Navy’s minesweeper, the HMS Bronington (M1115).
Granted, the USS Gerald R. Ford, it ain’t. But the fact of the matter is that Chuck did have the command of a warship. Don’t forget, in her day the Bronington was the technological cutting edge of anti-mine warfare.
Sadly, what happened to the Bronington is the personification of what’s happened to the British Empire itself.
When she was retired in 1988, the Bronington was designated as a nautical museum for a time under the auspices of Bronington Trust, a legitimate British charity. Believe it or not, the official patron for this particular charity is… wait for it… King Chuckles.
When the Bronington Trust went belly-up, she ended-up being neglected to the point where she literally sank where she was moored.
Ironically, the new charity (the HMS Bronington Preservation Trust) is bogged-down in legendary British bureaucracy. So, in the meantime, the Bronington remains partially sunk at the Vittoria Dock in Birkenhead, England.
For some off reason, I get the feeling that if Chuck donated 1/20th of his coronation cash to getting the old girl restored, generations of young British kids for generations could see the glory that once was their nation.
At least we know where Charlie has his priorities.
