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| The Queen Mother with the then Princess Elizabeth, 1937 |
Happy 90th Birthday to Queen Elizabeth II.
This week seems to be one of anniversaries, some good and some bad. The 200th anniversary of the birth of Charlotte Bronte, the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare who is believed to have died on what would have been his 52nd birthday, and of course, the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's longest reigning monarch. Which is perhaps all the more remarkable because she was not born to be Queen.
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| In the beginning Princess Elizabeth in her pram in 1929 |
I understand that not everyone believes that having a monarchy rather than a republic benefits ordinary people. But I do. Having been born in a country without monarchy and now lived more than half of my life in Britain I have seen what differences there are and I prefer the royals, for better or for worse. It is a misunderstanding to believe that getting rid of a monarchy will make it's citizens more equal. All that will happen is that the castles will fall down or be lived in by politicians without any sense of duty or history.
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| Princess Elizabeth aged 7, 1933 Philipe de Laszlo |
And anyway who wants a collection of political memorabilia when you can have a royal collection?
There is nothing like a crown, as I am certain William Shakespeare would agree.
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| Queen Elizabeth I, Coronation portrait by unknown artist National Gallery London |
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| The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II |
Some of my favourite moments, and portraits in the long life of Queen Elizabeth II.
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| Formal portrait by William Dargie |
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| By David Poole |
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| The official Diamond Jubilee portrait |
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| Riding down the course before racing at Royal Ascot 1961 |
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| Riding in Windsor Great Park |
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| Epsom Derby Meeting, with the Queen Mother. "I told you that would win!" |
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| Daniel Craig picks her up! (under the watchful eyes of those Corgies) |
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| The Queen's homebred fily Estimate wins the Ascot Gold Cup for her. |
If you enjoy the momarchy you might like to read two other posts about them.
The story of how we went to London to see the Queen on the Diamond Jubilee in 2012,
Here:
And you can read about The Sport of Kings, Here:
The Queen is an example to so many. Despite the privilege into which she was born she has had her share of hardship and heartbreak, none of which she has either hidden or displayed mawkishly. What dignity and service!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the Monarchy. We toasted the Queen at my day centre yesterday with Lambrusco! I love the photograph of the Queen and the Queen Mother on the balcony.
ReplyDeleteResiding in a Commonwealth country, our ties to the British Royal Family are strong, but not as pervasive in most areas of life (save for on our currency) as that of the UK, yet there's no denying that the Queen (and clan) still influence certain elements of life in Canada and goodness knows we get giddy when a visit from any monarch occurs. Interestingly, many decades ago, one of my great aunts put on a tea for the Queen's parents here in Canada and thus got to meet them. If we're channeling Kevin Bacon, that's a rather close degree of separation for me. I don't think I'll be getting handed a crown anytime soon, but I like to picture how marvelous an experience it must have been for said great-aunt (who sadly I never got to meet) and can only imagine the butterflies she must have felt!
ReplyDelete♥ Jessica
This is a lovely post. I love our Queen, she is so likeable and has seen so much life in her 90s years.Have a lovely week. Sharon
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