[daijones]

The Queen of the United Kingdom is Queen of a nation that includes the sub-entity England, yes. The equivalent would be describing President Obama as the President of Maine. Nobody does describe him in that way, and I'm pretty sure that's not the sense of the phrase "Queen of England" being taken in the article's title: rather, the phrase is being used as if it were the Queen's official title, which it isn't. The important point is that there are not separate crowns for England, Scotland, etc, just one unified crown. There are separate crowns for the UK, Australia, Canada etc that are all held by the same person.

Sorry to bang on about it: it's just quite frustrating for those of us from parts of the UK other than England when the two terms are used interchangeably. I should imagine the feelings of a Welsh person, like myself, when casually called English would be akin to those of a Texan when called a Yankee.

The rest of this post is just a brief digression on British history and constitution, though I can't imagine many would want to read it!

The most recent Princess of Wales died in a car crash about 12 years ago. The title of "Prince of Wales", as used since 1301, is conferred on the eldest son of the ruling Monarch, the heir apparent. If the ruling monarch has no son, there is no Prince of Wales. When the Prince of Wales ascends to the throne then they give up the title of Prince of Wales, passing it to their oldest son if there is one. The title is gender specific, and is only given to sons - if the ruling monarch has only daughters there is no Princess of Wales. The wife of the Prince of Wales can adopt the title of "Princess of Wales", as Diana did, but needn't: Camilla hasn't, mainly to avoid offending the more reactionary elements of the British press.

A bit of history. The post-1301 role of Prince of Wales, as opposed to the former native Princes of Wales, came about when Edward I conquered Wales. I'd guess it was an attempt to consolidate his rule. Wales was effectively held as occupied territory until Henry VIII annexed it. The entity at that time was officially called "England and Wales", and that term is still used in certain legal contexts, but everyone just called it England. Great Britain came about in 1707 with the official unification of the crowns of Scotland and England & Wales; prior to that, since 1603, the monarch had been simultaneously, but separately, monarch of both Scotland and England & Wales. The United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Ireland) didn't come into existence until 1801, when the Kingdom of Great Britain was merged with the Kingdom of Ireland. Following Irish independence in 1922 the title changed once again to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Sorry to be a bore.

[rab777hp]

our tax dollars at work

[paulgunn]

Ipods being a great product withstanding, I wouldn't say it would be an appropriate gift for the Queen. It seems that even President Obama's gifts has to say more about him than to who he gives it to. "Hey, I'm young and hip. Here's an Ipod." Totally classless. I hope the Queen returns the favor and gives him a pacifier as if to say, "I hope you grow up some day."

[JimShea]

Unfortunately, the iPod's preloaded content will be erased once the Queen syncs the device with another computer.

[moose_n_squirrel]

paulgunn said:

Ipods being a great product withstanding, I wouldn't say it would be an appropriate gift for the Queen...Totally classless. I hope the Queen returns the favor and gives him a pacifier as if to say, "I hope you grow up some day."

Not appropriate? Classless?

This is easily settled in a non-ideological way:
Queen Elizabeth is an iPod fan
{quote} 17th of June 2005...Her Majesty Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom has bought a silverish pocket-seized digital music player for only 169 pounds from the Regent Street Apple Store...The Queen, 79, has proved to be an iPod fan as she is said to have bought a 6GB silver model for 169 notes and coins with her own picture on them, according to Currnet Bun, quoted by the Inquirer magazine...According to The Sun, Queen Elizabeth II, a music lover, is impressed with her new small and handy iPod which can hold up to 10,000 downloaded songs. {quote}

Apparently, it is you who would have received a stern reprimand in etiquette and researching your gift recipient if you had not brought the Queen an iPod. :)

[Macnificent]

Mrs. Windsor is the "Queen of England" and also of vastly larger regions.
However, in Britain she is never refered to as "Queen of England": it would be offensive to the residents of Scotland, Wales and some in Northern Ireland. Plus irritating to Commonwealth countries for which she is also Head of State.
Betty Windsor is normally known as Queen Elizabeth which is a title unlikely to be confused with another other than the first Queen Elizabeth (450 years ago).
The folk who sometimes make this mistake tend only to be in the United States, where this odd term is probably used in schools. Even the last President dropped this clanger. Americans generally don't have much historical interest or knowledge or outside their own land.
Having got that out of the way, I can now disagree that the iPod was an inappropriate gift.

In fact I think it was a spectacularly well chosen gift and reflects well on Obama and America.
Some people have criticized the relatively low monetary value of the gift. That is about as tacky, vulgar and "classless" a remark as one could make in the circumstances. It is sad that so often, money is thought to equal class and this is a faux pas equation frequently made in America. It really is the thought that counts and this was a stunningly thoughtful gift for a number of reasons: Betty is a known fan of iPods and has at least one already.
Additionally, the iPod:

* showcases the best of American technology
* was loaded with music she likes
* contained video of her previous visit to the US
* cost a modest amount, in Tune with current straightened times and the financial crisis talks Obama is attendin
* is a personal product for personal use (and personal appreciation)
* is a common point of reference for many citizens of the world
No other single gift could accomplish all this. A Microsoft Zune would have met all the criteria, except the first and last. The fact that it was an exceedingly well chosen gift will have been noticed by Her Maj. and Barack will be added to her Christmas Card list as a result. As one of the world's richest women, she is far more likely to be impressed by the thoughtfulness of the gift than by its cash value. Her own standard gift (so as not to show favouritism) of a signed framed photo seems dowdy by comparison.
It has been a terrific shock (and relief) to the rest of the world that the United States has a thinking leader with brains as well as charm.

- Citizen of Britain & of a Commonwealth country
Message was edited by: Macnificent

[Nanosound]

Nice to see a more frugal gift (although the bill for this trip will be anything but).

[embraboy]

Be as pedantic as you like. Shall we start referring to Obama as President of New York?

[oxygenhose]

Sorry, my mistake. I wasn't born before 1776, so the 'royal hierarchy' of England, Ireland, France or Canada isn't something I really have to worry about. But if I were English, I would be rather upset having to pay for a powerless mascot/religious leader. So imagine as an American, I would be really upset if I had to... oh yeah... nevermind.

[Macnificent]

Oh dear.
Royal hierachy in Ireland and France? Do you know what most Irish think of the British Monarchy? Have you heard of the French Revolution? What are you taught in school?!
I don't know what you mean by "royal heierarchy" - this is garbled gobbledegook.
I think its safe to say everyone in the world today was not born before 1776.
The reason you don't have to worry about the Monarchy is not because you were not born before 1776. It is because you don't have a Monarch. That is your good fortune. It should not be assumed that those who live in Monarchies necessarily support the monarchical principal. Many British (not English) and Commonwealth "subjects" are upset at having to pay for a (largely) powerless mascot/religious leader, as you say. Some dislike it on principle (like this writer!)
The lack of knowledge of the world outside America, by Americans, can be frightening at times. I think I read once that only eight per cent of the US population held passports and probably many of those passport holders only ventured as far afield as Canada and Mexico. When George Bush described Mexico as America's closest ally, jaws dropped around the world.
You need to keep in mind we are talking about Heads of State.

When President Obama, as a Head of State, gives a well-chosen present to another Head of State (who happens to be a Monarch), he is not expressing approval for monarchy, merely being polite and courteous.

This is normal. I'm sure such an educated man as he, would no more refer to QE2 as Queen "of England" than she would call him the President of Illinois. To do so would be ignorant, not a supporer of monarchy.

[Dfluxx]

This "president's" lack of class continues to amaze me.

[paulgunn]

True the iPod had a video of her trip to the U.S. (but I would be pretty sure that she also had it in her archives). It was also loaded with a a lot of Obama's speeches. (Again it's all about him.) If President Bush had done this it would be considered classless and I would agree.

[macFanDave]

Dfluxx said:

This "president's" lack of class continues to amaze me.

The President's lack of pretense refreshes me.

[embraboy]

Me too. I sincerely hope he is given a fair chance by those more... blinkered citizens of the US of A.

:)