h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Saw a bit of Mrs Queen opening Parliament today.

She was wiggling her head around quite a bit which made me wonder how an old biddy like that can keep that heavy crown on her head. So, does she have a fake one that weighs less?

Not sure if her crown was fake, but her words certainly were:

http://mikesivier.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/the-queens-speech-brief-words-signifying-so-much-harm/

St Edward's Crown The coronation crown weighs 4 lb 12 oz or 2.2 kg

The weight of a World War II era US army M1 is approximately 3 pounds,if that's a guide

Not the rifle I presume. Or the tank.

no the tin hat

but tin-hats are (as far as I remember) easier to wear because they don't perch on the top of your head. Plus most soldiers aren't 85

Most elderly people can retire if they wish to. Even the Pope can do so, though it has been extremely rare until this year. Kings and Queens don't seem to retire once they've been at it for along time. Actors and comedians sometimes semi-retire, relaxing more but taking the occasional gig. George Burns had planned to appear at the Palladium in London on his 100th birthday, but he was indisposed. He died shortly thereafter, so rescheduling was not possible. Lillian Gish was still appearing in films in her late 90s. Kitty Carlisle appeared in a one-woman show that toured dozens of U.S. cities when she was 96. She, too, was not able to continue due to death.

It seems that it comes with the job when she feels its time she will perhaps let Charles take over, the last few years of any Monarchs reign are the hardest, sadly it seems retirement is not an option.

the british Queen believes that it is her duty, ordained by God, to be queen and therefore it is not for her, unlike the Dutch queen, to lay that duty aside.

I'm still intrigued by the crown though

She has more than one crown, doesn't she? (Don't we all?) Some of the crowns are lighter than the one she wore for her coronation.

Yep, seems she has a few crowns she can pick from. Do any of these look familiar?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_Jewels_of_the_United_Kingdom#Crowns

Could I suggest that regardless of where the crown might have come from, if there's a monarch beneath it, then it is not a fake?


Geggs

Good point, Geggs. So - is it a light replica of the one that we see in the tower of london?

How do we know it was the real queen?

http://www.lookalikes.info/our-lookalikes/royals/the-queen-(jeannette-charles)

Apparently if anyone had listened to the commentary, the Queen practices wearing the Crown during the days ahead of a Queen's Speech. I suggest also that after 60 years of QSs she must have some idea of how it feels and how to wear it.

Perhaps there was an invisible nylon thread going upwards from the crown to an overhead pulley of some sort, and at the other end of the thread, a palace official whose job it is to match the Queen's every move so that if she nods, the crown doesn't stay up in the air but descends with her head.

oh I expect that's the correct answer

Don't dismiss the idea of a small anti gravity device.

The Queen is a performer. She loved putting on plays when she was growing up. She is said to be nervous just before public appearances, but afterwards she relaxes. Is her compensation too high? Well, look at the performers who appear in blockbuster movies. They get paid a great deal, too, as do many professional athletes and business executives. The world is what it is. As an actress, the Queen has a wonderful role, but she can never play a different one in public. That means she has to get it absolutely right every time. I am not the first to say that it was fortunate that such a fine person found herself playing that role. It could have turned out far worse.