I haven’t really followed the Duke of Edinburgh story on the tv up to now so it was a massive surprise to see pictures from the royal town showing very few people milling around without masks. Have the rules been relaxed in the UK ?
From what I’ve seen on tv, mask wearing in the street is a bit hit and miss in the UK. The funeral is next Saturday, so they’re a bit early.
We had to go to an opticians in a local hyper market this morning and then went to a local market close to a public park and I can honestly say that everyone we crossed wore a mask.
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I have raised the question with my daughter in UK. Apparently masks do not have to be worn outside in UK.
(it does look odd on TV coverage for people not to be wearing masks)
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Well that’s good news then, a sign that things are getting back to normal. Hopefully we can get to that stage in a couple of months.
Yes.
If you’re mourning the death of a woman who was killed by an off-duty policeman you must wear a mask and you will be assaulted by the police.
If you’re mourning the death of a man who was married to the Queen you need not wear a mask and the police will give you every assistance.
That seems to be the law now.
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There is also some debate about who will attend the funeral. Currently, in the UK, only 30 mourners are allowed at funerals and the Queen (actually probably not the Queen) is having to decide which members of the family will attend and which members will not.
Tricky eh?
Izzy x
Or if the police in Bristol exaggerate their colleagues injuries in a riot Patel and Johnson decry the violence and vow vengeance, but if 88 police in Northern Ireland are really hurt due to Johnson’s border lies… silence (apart from one tweet from the Clown in No. 10).
Funny old World Brian.
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Very tricky Izzy. Headaches for the protocol wallahs. Will Megan be invited and will Harry have to quarantine? Tune in next week to find out…
Plus the BBC seems to have misread public interest. While very sad, Philip’s passing was, it would seem, no reason to bump Eastenders.
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You don’t have to wear a mask out of doors in the UK. However if you take part in a large prohibited gathering you will get arrested - just as you would in France. I’ve seen no crowds protesting around Windsor.
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The problem here is that we haven’t had the death of a significant member of the royal family for quite some time (Queen Mother in 2002) and the protocols that the BBC apply are even more ancient (dating back to the 1950’s I believe).
The country is a different place to 2002 (even without the pandemic) and Phillip, respected as he was, was not as revered by the public as the Queen Mother. Shutting down all BBC TV channels except for BBC1 (well, and BBC2 but the same material was shown on both channels) is simply an archaic response.
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Yes, I agree, the mistake the BBC made was trying “force” their viewers to watch Philip tributes. The blanket coverage on BBC 1 and BBC 2 was a mistake. Plus, since 2002 most young people are now pull not push viewers. They watch what they want when that want it, on multiple platforms. The State broadcaster has failed to adapt. Where’s Richard Dimbleby when we need him 
I wonder what lessons will have been learnt…
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Not if you have a petrol bomb in Northern Ireland you won’t. But if you’re a defenceless woman in London, watch out.
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My Mum’s a staunch royalist and even she wasn’t happy that her usual programs were cancelled. It really was a bit over the top. Even the local radio station replaced it’s schedule with hours of sombre music. It was impossible to escape the news on Friday.
Izzy x
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I think one BBC channel and the news channel would have been enough
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It was one night, one night without EastEnders or Corrie is a bonus as far as I am concerned, folks need to get a grip 
Even Classic FM was playing sombre music.
Radio 3 this morning cancelled the bird song recognition lesson, which is something I think that HRH would approved of.
Totally over the top.
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I missed it all. Did they really show the same content on BBC1 and 2? How crazy is that?
Coercive grieving!
It was all day and all evening on all major channels Mum said. The same thing over and over with people desperately searching for new things to say.
Izzy x
How much more do we have to take of this mourning lark ?
Ok, he was a loyal family and business partner to HM and I totally respect that and feel for her and her family’s loss but life goes on for the rest of her subjects many of whom are going through tough times at the moment. Maybe more humility from this privileged bunch during these difficult times wouldn’t go amiss ?