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Queen's WWIII Speech Revealed
EzInKy writes "This BBC article provides details of the script the United Kingdom's Queen was to deliver in the event of a nuclear holocaust. The document, released by the government under the 30-year rule, was drawn up as part of a war-gaming exercise in the spring of 1983, working through potential scenarios. In it, the Queen was expected to urge the people of the United Kingdom to 'pray' in the event of a nuclear war. Although it was only a simulation, the text of the Queen's address — written as if broadcast at midday on Friday 4 March 1983 — seeks to prepare the country for the ordeal of World War III. The script reads: 'Now this madness of war is once more spreading through the world and our brave country must again prepare itself to survive against great odds. I have never forgotten the sorrow and the pride I felt as my sister and I huddled around the nursery wireless set listening to my father's inspiring words on that fateful day in 1939. Not for a single moment did I imagine that this solemn and awful duty would one day fall to me. But whatever terrors lie in wait for us all, the qualities that have helped to keep our freedom intact twice already during this sad century will once more be our strength.'" I prefer Tom Lehrer's approach.
"Not for a single moment did I imagine that this solemn and awful duty would one day fall to me"
It's fun to see those words in a prepared speech. :)
Here's the speech:
"We are the champions, my friends.
And we'll keep on fighting, 'till the end!
We are the Champions,
We are the Champions!
No room for losers, cause we are the Champions,
Of the World."
Oh... wait.. you meant THAT Queen?
Nevermind.
AntiFA: An abbreviation for Anti First Amendment.
In it, the Queen was expected to urge the people of the United Kingdom to 'pray' in the event of a nuclear war.
What's with the scare quotes? Does the submitter think there's something weird about the Supreme Governor of the Church of England urging the membership of her church to pray?
Some ridiculous, flag waving drivel written by some speech writer somewhere for a monarch in the event of a war that didn't actually happen?
Come on editors, this is stretching News For Nerds a bit, don't you think?
Nowadays you'd probably have just enough time for the EAS to squawk, and the President to come on screen and say "A nuclear launch was detected, and is headed towards the United States. May god have mercy on our souls."
This was a waste of time, OP. RTFA - the speech was not written for the Queen, it was never intended to be read by the Queen under any circumstances. It was scripted for a wargame scenario, a fictional engagement. You might as well post the inspiring speech written for the US President in the film "Independence Day."
I prefer this for a WWIII broadcast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ob60Y5PlaHQ
Sometimes you had better be careful when you rattle your saber.
The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
Just over a year later, on August 11, 1984, President Reagan's sound-check could have given her a chance to use the speech if the Russians had itchier trigger fingers: "My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes."
In SOVIET RUSSIA... erm...NSA AMERICA, the Internet logs onto YOU!
Lets go for it. Let the best man win.
Since we are already stealing, cheating, spying on each other like never before in human history.
WWIII should be, every man for himself. There is no need to ruin all the fun with nukes. Btw. There is practically no where to drop nuki without directly destroying own interests in form of own properties, factories, resources or other investments.
Just grab a hoe (tool) and get going.
Keep Calm and Die A Slow Painful Death
"Never give up, for that is just the time and place when the tide will change." -Harriet Beecher Stowe ^_^
Definitely funny, but not exactly ... you could have a Zombie Preparedness Plan or Alien Invasion Plan or Ant Uprising Plan ... you might even write it yourself, but that doesn't mean you actually believe it's going to happen. It's just what you'd do if it did happen, quite probably involving a speech where you utter your surprise that it actually happened.
Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage
OK, who read that while hearing Jon Stewart's British queen voice?
Perhaps you missed that most of the British Royal Family have served and fought in wars at one time or another. Possible exception of the Queen Mother, I suppose.
One of the current princes was out flying Apache gunships and has spoken of gunning down terrorist camps in Afghanistan from it. His brother also served. And his father.
I'm about as far from a royalist as you can get, but you can't claim they don't serve - in fact they have more military time than anyone else I know - and not just as back-end colonels pushing about figures on a wargaming board like it used to be.
Actually, it is the same thing, you ignorant asiatic hillbilly.
He never said the Queen ruled, and if you think the Queen writes all her own speeches you're an idiot. Sorry, but honestly. Yes, she "could" have easily "wrote" those words, but let's be honest -- she didn't. Was made aware of them, yes, sure, I can believe that -- I'd be surprised if she wasn't. Suggested changes? Maybe. Wrote them? Not a chance.
He also never said the Queen was a "fucking president". He never even said she was a "president". He never actually even said she was a "head of state", though actually she is that.
(Your use of "wrote" suggests you're American. That in turn suggests perhaps leaving discussions over the famously unwritten British constitution either to the British or to people better educated in it than yourself. Deal? Thanks. It will hurt my head a hell of a fucking lot less.)
From the transcript of an actual audio recording of The Queen practicing The Queen's Speech:
"Now this madness of war is once more spreading through the world and our brave country must again prepare itself to survive against great fuck fuck shit fuckin' shit odds. I have never forgotten the sorrow and the pride I felt as my sister. fuck shit (singsong) Mary had a little jug-eared baaaaaaaaaaaby and I huddled around the nursery wireless set listening to my father's inspiring words on that fateful day in 1939."
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
In her native language which just happens to be German: Friss Scheisse und vereck daran Du miese Fotze, that's Eat shit and die from it you worthless cunt.
Because you know if there's ever an imminent threat the members of the Royal Family aren't going to be sat at Buck House with a cuppa tea counting down the seconds...they'll be on their merry way to the other three corners of the globe.
Any member of the Royal Family who did that would rightly be disowned by the rest of the family and the British public, and would probably be looked down upon by much of the rest of the world as well. If the monarch herself did it (and I can't imagine Elizabeth II doing it in a thousand years--she may look like a little granny, but she has far too much backbone for that), she would effectively have abdicated. In the face of such a selfish, craven act, Britain would either find itself a new monarch with more spine, or get rid of the monarchy entirely.
The Royal Family enjoys a lot of privileges, but in the end they exist to serve the British state, as its personification. Their lives are far more controlled and circumscribed than ordinary people.
Just look at the case of Edward VIII to see how Britain might treat a monarch who doesn't take his duty seriously.
Yeah they serve all right.. I'm guessing it's not too terribly dangerous to fly about in an armored helicopter shooting at a bunch of asiatic hillbillies with AK-47s.
With AK-47s, and heavy machine guns, and RPG launchers, and portable surface-to-air missiles and such. Oh, and there's always the risks of bad weather and mechanical failure inherent to helicopter flight. Helicopters are dangerous, period, and the Apaches are far from invulnerable. A number have been lost in Afghanistan and Iraq, and some crews have died.
In general, when a piece of military hardware is heavily protected, it also faces powerful threats that make that protection necessary. Otherwise it'd just be carrying extra dead weight that would better be replaced with useful equipment. The military isn't in the business of building invulnerable weapons or letting soldiers fight in "god mode".
And don't you think their opponents wouldn't love to have the coup of bringing down a royal? Just by being in the combat zone, they put themselves at risk.
Actually, she did serve. I caught a bit of coverage of the new baby and it talked about how all the royals are expected to serve. From Wikipedia:
In February 1945, she joined the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service, as an honorary Second Subaltern with the service number of 230873. She trained as a driver and mechanic.
She was born in April 1926, so she was not yet 19 in February of '45. V-E day came along a few months later. (May 1945)
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
"Take refuge behind the sofa!"
Have gnu, will travel.
Possible exception of the Queen Mother, I suppose.
And still, Adolf Hitler described her as "the most dangerous woman in Europe"...
You prepare for things you don't imagine could actually happen, particularly when you are talking the government of a country. You want to have contingency plans in place, even for disasters you say "There's no way that is going to happen."
Well, in that case perhaps you're unaware that the whole of the royal family stayed in London - despite having plenty of other places to go to - when it was being bombed nightly during the Blitz. They were in residence when Buckingham Palace itself was hit.
Seriously, give it up. There are plenty of valid complaints you can make about them, but this line of attack is just laughable.
Yeah they serve all right.. I'm guessing it's not too terribly dangerous to fly about in an armored helicopter shooting at a bunch of asiatic hillbillies with AK-47s.
Not exactly the same thing as 'going down with the ship' in the face of a nuclear missile strike, is it?
Hey man I have a buddy who was a DART member (Downed Aircraft Rescue Team). His group would go out in Blackhawks to either salvage or destroy downed Apaches. Twice the aircraft he traveled in was shot down by hostiles as they attempted to land to execute their mission. I don't know how many aircraft he went in to recover, but they usually bring in other aircraft to provide support when they go into land, so obviously those hillbillies can still be dangerous.
How many Cuban missile crises were there?
"Bend over, put your head between your legs, and kiss your ass goodbye."
The Lyndon LaRouche cult is going to go ape-shit over this.
"Send wire, main office, tell them I said 'ow!' - gotcha!'
There are scenarios where exile is the best decision.
One example from these parts: When Norway was invaded by the Nazis, the King of Norway fled to London to help lead the Resistance in cooperation with the rest of the legal government in exile in London.
The King refused to stay in a country where he might be exploited or forced to legitimize the Nazi administration.
His actions have to my knowledge never been criticized in Norway, in what remains an uncommonly popular royal family.
toresbe
Wasn`t it Prince William who flew decoy missions (get the Exocet to lock onto your helicopter, then jink at the last moment) to try to protect the fleet?
"Britain would either find itself a new monarch with more spine"
Is enhanced Spinal growth/strength etc a common reaction to radiation?
Must consult with Master Splinter and Bruce Banner to confirm.
I'm SO happy I'm not the only one who knows and loves Tom Leher. The guy is easily better than as good as all entertainers that came after him. Look and listen on Facebook :).
Someone's got to write the story of the Queen's WW3 speech during Thatcher's Britain, throw Ronald Regan in, and somehow include zombies in the plot.
READY.
PRINT ""+-0
THE NEW BABY ALREADY TALKS??? Holy crap! Royalty does have its perks!
If your "sufficiently distant from ground zero" the best thing to do would be to get into a car and drive to ground zero...
Correction:
The King refused to stay in a country where he might be exploited or forced to legitimize the GERMAN administration.
Good lord in the event of nuclear war do you think any of that would matter? How would the struggling survivors in London, Birmingham or Newcastle know what happened to the royal family? In a nuclear exchange the Uk is totally and utterly fucked... along with most of Western Europe.
...go to timothy for mentioning Tom Lehrer, my childhood hero.
A phenomenal intellect paired with incredible song-writing skills and a real awareness of all socio-political issues of the time.
Thank you, timothy.
An effective "democracy" creates the illusion the people have a say in their government.
... It's OK
-- 29A the number of the Beast
The administration at the time consisted almost wholly of Norwegian Nazis; an "administrative council" led by Vidkun Quisling.
It was, of course, a puppet regime - but I still believe that my formulation was more precise.
toresbe
MWAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA
she "could" have easily "wrote" those words
she "could" have easily "written" those words.
FTFY.
The queen is British after all!