I love Sunday mornings. We usually go to 7.30 am Mass and then when we get home, we have a leisurely breakfast in the family room. While we’re eating toast and Nutella and porridge and syrup, we talk.
“What’s the latest royal news, Dad?” someone always asks.
Andy grabs his phone and does some googling, and then he entertains us with the latest royal gossip. The goings-on in the royal family is our fun topic.
“It looks like Meghan Markle really did have a baby. So much for the conspiracy theories!”
“What’s the baby’s name?”
“Archie Harrison.”
“Archie? Short for Archibald?
“No, it’s just Archie.”
“Harrison? After Harrison Ford?”
“No, after Prince Harry. You know: Harry’s son.”
“Oh.”
Our conversation is usually light, but sometimes one thing leads to another and we find ourselves in a deep discussion.
“Can a British monarch marry a Catholic?”
“Is the monarchy outdated?”
“Are there any benefits from being part of the Commonwealth?”
“Should Australia become a republic?”
“Should a monarch place her duty to her country and God ahead of her duty to her family? Should we?”
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Talking of royalty, the other week Gemma-Rose and I watched an interesting documentary – The King in the Car Park – about King Richard III. Did you hear how his body was discovered under a car park about four years ago? We were familiar with Richard III because we watched a couple of versions of the Shakespeare play about this king. Like many people, we wondered if Shakespeare portrayed Richard correctly or did he do him a disservice? Perhaps the king wasn’t as bad as Shakespeare made out? Shakespeare did get one thing right: Richard III did have a severe curvature of the spine. .
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There are lots of videos on YouTube about Richard III and the discovery of his body if you’re interested. And Gemma-Rose and I would recommend The Hollow Crown which is a collection of Shakespeare’s historical plays including Richard III. Benedict Cumberbatch’s portrayal of this king is excellent.
It seems that lots of people have a royal fascination because there are numerous movies and series about kings and queens. One series I’ve enjoyed very much is The Crown which is about Queen Elizabeth II. After watching one of the episodes, we had an interesting discussion about education and the value or not of toughening up kids by sending them to schools that practise strict discipline.
But back to our Sunday morning breakfasts. As you can see, our light and fluffy conversations sometimes turn into deep and serious discussions. But if they don’t, it doesn’t matter. Fun and trivial things can make us smile. And smiling together as a family is important, isn’t it?
And mobile phones aren’t always a distraction. They don’t always get in the way of family relationships. Sometimes they can bring us together.
“Did you hear that the Queen has announced her successor?”
“Can the Queen choose who succeeds her?”
“I thought the next person in line always inherits the throne.”
Andy grabs his phone. “I’ll do some googling and find out more!”
I’ve just thought of something else: Next weekend is a long weekend. Next Monday is a public holiday here in Australia because it’s the Queen’s birthday. Strictly speaking, it’s not her birthday. The Queen was born on 21st April, not 10th June. But it doesn’t matter. A holiday is a holiday. I’m guessing that republican or not, everyone will enjoy this benefit of belonging to the Commonwealth.
So I’m wondering:
Does your family has a favourite fun topic you like to chat about? Do you ever read the royal gossip? And what do you think about Shakespeare? Are you fans like us?
Coming Soon!
Hi Sue!
I enjoy reading about the British royal family as well. I have English blood from my father’s side just a few generations back so I think it comes naturally. I also apparently have Loyalist blood from the time of the Revolution on my mother’s side. I like reading and watching videos on YouTube about England and Scotland and the old ways, The Blitz, etc. I follow quite a few British bloggers as well. I would love to visit England and Scotland in person, but I’m not sure that will ever happen so it’s nice to enjoy them in other ways.
We look up random stuff all the time while we are learning or out and about. I think those are the bits we remember the most.
I haven’t done any Shakespeare with Caroline yet. We’ll probably start with a children’s book of retellings and watch movies first. I know you have a number of posts about that and I have them in the back of my mind to come back and look at in the next year or so. I’m not a huge Shakespeare fan myself. I’ve read a number of plays and have seen a few performed in Stratford (Canada), but I don’t go out of my way to read/view them. I’ll mostly do them for the benefit of Caroline’s education at this point in my life.
I hope you are well!
Sallie
Sallie,
I’d love to take my family to England and visit all the castles and other historic sites. I went to a university in Wales and I would love to visit that country too.
I didn’t like Shakespeare when I was at school. I found the language very difficult. But, like you, I felt I should introduce my children to Shakespeare. We watched a play starring and directed by Kenneth Branagh. Suddenly, the words came alive and it all made sense. And from then on, we’ve been great fans!
We’re all well, thank you! It’s always good to catch up with you. I hope you’re enjoying the weekend!
Yes, I love family discussions like this. It’s becoming so rare today to have this amount of time for free flowing connections. I guess my year has been unusually busy so I appreciate these times even more in my own family right now. I do think the British royal family may be a little odd in this day and age. Where will they go from here? But I do have a soft spot for Queen Elizabeth. I read a biography about her as a child. I thought it was good that they followed the regular rations imposed during WWII and really seemed to stand by the people and not run off in their privilege. I also remember Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret had a playhouse(which was a gift from the people of Wales) with a thatched roof that was rethatched every year by a thatcher from Wales. I loved that for some reason.
Venisa,
Yes, life gets busy and we don’t always have the opportunity for long and interesting conversations that go from one thing to another. I feel sad about that. But we have Sunday mornings! It’s the one time of the week when we’re all home together and we can spend time relaxing and connecting with each other.
I hadn’t heard about the playhouse so I did some googling. What a wonderful house!
I’ve always been fascinated by Queen Mary’s dolls house. It’s at Winsor Castle. I saw it many years ago.
I hope you’re having a relaxing weekend!
The doll house is amazing! I was able to watch an online video. I imagine it would be much more magical as a child and in person. What a neat experience! Things from my childhood seem very magical as I remember them! But it really is an amazing doll house, with real tiny books and flushing toilets even.
Venisa,
Isn’t it wonderful that they dolls house is on public display? Anyone can visit it or see it online. I love how the royal family have shared this and many other treasures for us all to enjoy!
Lovely post! Our family fun topic usually starts off with Marvel movies, then heads off into various different topics! Is violence ever justifiable? What does Captain America really represent to modern man? How on earth does Thor get hotter every movie!!?? Excellent writing Sue, I love reading your blog as it reminds me to take notice of the good moments at home with our unschoolers.
Dee,
Marvel movies! We enjoy talking about them too! At the moment, I’m enjoying the Agents of Shield series. A few times a week, Imogen, Sophie and I watch an episode or two together. Lots of fun!
Thank you for your kind words and for stopping by! xx