British economists to the Queen: Sorry, m'lady for that financial crisis!

O Britain! Only in the U.K. could an 83-year-old billionaire living on the public dole -- Queen Elizabeth II -- demand answers from Her Majesty's Economists (HME), and have them dutifully oblige Her Majesty's request. The Royal Request: Why didn't you predict the financial crisis? Their response: We f%^$ed up.

And therein lies the cleverness of what it takes to survive under a monarchy: failing to put a single person in charge and therefore making it difficult to sever just one economist's head from his neck. According to The Observer, the Queen made her request to a group of leading economists during a visit to the London School of Economics. Of the origins of the financial crisis, she asked: "Why did nobody notice it?"