And I watched a video yesterday that perfectly encapsulated everything that is wrong with Britain. The whole thing. A lifetime of systemic failure, of grotesque inequality, of ruling-class contempt disguised as concern, all of it distilled into a single glittering, nauseating image.

There he was. King Charles III. Dressed in his finest robes, the Imperial State Crown on his head (this is a solid gold construction studded with 2,868 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, 269 pearls, and four rubies). The Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross contains the largest clear-cut diamond in the world, weighing in at 530 carats…was present but not in the shot. The crown jewels are estimated to be worth up to $8 billion in total. And this man, wearing a hat that could solve homelessness in London, who holds a stick that could fund the NHS for a year, draped in robes worth more than most people will earn in a thousand lifetimes, was telling the British people to ‘weather the storm’ of the cost of living crisis.

Crosspost from https://lemmygrad.ml/post/11612563

  • otter@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    2 days ago

    French history would imply that hat’d look better next to a wicker basket on a public stage. 🤷🏼‍♂️

  • foodandart@lemmy.zip
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    2 days ago

    Reader’s Digest has a good breakdown on the crown jewels and what their worth is and where they’re kept and under who’s auspices.

        • otter@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          1 day ago

          At least Guidepost/Watchtower/et al are forthright with their propagandism. Readers Digest was a curious thing when I was half-sized and full of innocent wonder, but even my naivete couldn’t reconcile their pattern of cross-gargling noise. 🫪