It's long before my time: it's still floating around (even for millennials like me) as a turning point in the UK's history, but I always thought of it as a bit

It's long before my time: it's still floating around (even for millennials like me) as a turning point in the UK's history, but I always thought of it as a bit like the US-Spain war, or a less-grimy opium war, the marker of a fait accompli. I mean, everybody must have been aware for decades at that point that the UK didn't have the resources to do imperial power politics. I grew up firmly in the era of the 'imperial memory hole', so it's really been brexit (and all the culture war stuff that accompanied it) that's made me pay attention to the whole british empire thing. EDIT: On the PPhillip thing, I guess I don't own a TV, or a radio, so that probably helps. But still, a guy whose only claim to fame is that he's married to a woman who is famous for never saying anything has to be the least noteworthy celebrity I've ever heard of. You actually have to do stuff to register.