‘Continuity’ (in
this sense a ‘constitutional monarchy claiming to represent the interests of
the people before the elected Government’) is the word of the day in describing
the Queen on her Diamond Jubilee. How exciting to be in London not only for the
Royal wedding in 2011 but the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee festivities in May/June
2012.
It’s difficult
battling the public transport and crowds, not being able to see anything but
one scrambles to watch these events on a big screen in a park or square and
then come home to watch it all back on the BBC iPlayer. I can say I took part
in it all, including school community celebrations and lunches.
No one can put
on a regal pageant like the Brits, which is one of the bargaining chips for the
impending London Olympics.
It’s a big year
for Londoners and for all those around the country; the Royal wedding between
our ‘Kate and Wills’, ‘Queen Lizzie’s’ Diamond Jubilee and to top it off, the
Olympics, where I will be living in the middle of it, the renamed: Royal
Borough of Greenwich.
All this pomp and
ceremony has brought back many memories of broadcasts: Charles and Dianna’s
wedding, the Edinburgh Tattoos, and the Queen’s annual Christmas messages. Who
will forget the Queen’s year of ‘annus horribilis’; March 1992 with the
separation of her son Prince Andrew and Sarah, the divorce between her daughter
Princess Anne and Captain Mark Philips, the book Diana, Her True Story was published, Windsor Castle caught fire
and as a result some of the Queen’s residences were opened to the public in
order to fund the cost of the repairs and in December, Prince Charles and Diana
announced their divorce. Apart from this, in 1997 she was visibly upset with the
decommissioning of the Royal Yacht Britannia and with the death of Diana, the
years that followed were difficult.
But most of all,
I fondly remember singing the National Anthem-God Save The Queen in primary school assemblies in Australia
whilst looking at a framed print of the Queen. In fact, nearly every classroom
had a picture of the Queen. God Save The Queen was sung alongside our school song but was
eventually phased out whilst in high school in the 1970’s. Advance
Australia Fair was
proclaimed our National anthem in 1984, which helped all Australians 'feel both
pride and joy in our country'. When I became a citizen of Great Britain last
year, I was very proud to sing God Save the Queen high and loud but I am ashamed to say
that I don’t know the second verse?
The only time I
have ever crossed paths with the Queen was at Royal Randwick Race Course in
Sydney. I had locked my keys in the car and after a while managed to get them
out with some assistance. As a result I was an hour late in meeting up with
friends in the stands but as I crossed the grassy car park, a Daimler passed by
me with the Queen sitting in the back. I did a double take because I had no
idea she was to be at the races that day?
Now that I am a
British subject (and an Australian) I am not embarrassed to say I am a
Royalist, that is, loyal to the Queen alone. She is one of the most
photographed and painted women in the world (including her image on postage
stamps and money). She looks quite well for her 86 years but for a woman in the
public eye, she is modest, which is a most admirable quality, whilst retaining
an air of mystery. I have no doubt she will be our Queen right to the end but
with a 1,000-year-old family history behind her, long may this modern day
monarch reign supreme. On May 12, 2011 she became the longest reigning monarch
in British history having reigned for 21,645 days and in September 2015 she
will surpass Queen Victoria’s record.
I have a
fascination with the monarchies long and bloody history, more so the late
1400’s-1600’s. The Royal family were powerful, wealthy and in constant danger
with the threat of treason and assassinations from members of their immediate
families and relations. Religion, producing a male heir (and a spare), marrying
into other Royal European families for the sake of peace or politics, adjoining
powerful regimes in the acquisition of wealth, were paramount in the day but
thanks to King Henry VIII who made himself the head of the Anglican Church (for
reasons other than religion), Queen Elizabeth II is still the head of the
Anglican Church. As a Methodist, the Anglican Church in Britain is the one I
most frequent for worship. The ever-regal religious ceremonies and processions
are a sight to behold in my two favourite places of worship; Southwark and St
Paul’s Cathedrals, where one can get lost in the heavenly voices, singing
anthems and hymns accompanied by a big thumping pipe organ at choral evensong.
During the
Jubilee celebrations I read much and watched many a documentary in order to
learn more about our Queen who is still as elusive and an enigma today as she
was 60 years ago. Andrew Marr and Sir Roy Strong’s writings, of which I have
based many of my facts, mention that as head of state and the Commonwealth ‘she
is a living symbol of Nations…she is wry and knowing but she feels a
calling…vocation…which cannot be evaded’. Intensely shy like her father and not
a natural public speaker she has an incredibly exhausting diary of engagements
and commitments and has been ‘on call’ since the age of 26.
A mother who bore
4 children, she is now a great grandmother. She not only adores all children,
taking the time to accept posies from young children, but so too, animals play a
huge part in her life especially her horses and corgis. Constant
attention is required for the demanding reading of ‘official secret business’ and as the
symbol of authority; she is the commander in chief to the British forces. Other
duties include; the opening of parliament (reading the prime minister’s words
without feeling or emotion), assented more than 3,000 bills passed by Parliament, politely greeting and welcoming foreign
dignitaries, ministers and heads of state into her home, weekly audiences with Prime Ministers of which there have been 12 Prime Ministers to date, she is the supreme defender
of the Church of England faith, she bestows medals and knighthoods, patronage to numerous charities, leads grand ceremonial occasions and is the keeper of many
a National secret. The Queen is a thrifty but colourfully well-dressed person
who shows very little emotion. She doesn’t have a gregarious or boisterous personality but comes across as bland and neutral whilst hiding a wicked wit.
I would love
nothing more than to take tea with the Queen and swap a few stories but I am
happy to have been alive during her reign and I am satisfied that ‘with the
Duke of Edinburgh by her side and her grandchildren…the future of the
succession seems assured, which is a source of tremendous pride and
satisfaction to her.’
Three cheers for
our Queen; hurrah, hurrah, hurrah! May God bless and save The Queen.
