It’s the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee… and 60 years ago on June 2 1953 when Queen
Elizabeth rode down the streets of London in her carriage…I was there… really I
was… in my baby buggy...at the Queens Coronation… my sister sitting atop my
Father’s shoulders (she swears she remembers the procession) … my Mom waving
the Union Jack…
And here it is 60 years later… Of course I’m celebrating… I sent the Queen a birthday card... and she sent me this Thank You note back. And even though it was a PDF file... I remembered how good a thank you note can make you feel. You can send a message to Her Majesty too... go here... it feels pretty darn swell when she writes you back... After all... she is the Queen... and she does rule over 15 Commonwealth Realms in addition to the UK... and she takes her job very seriously... and she's polite... and I hear she's a good listener... and I don't think she's mean spirited... how I wish a little of that would rub off on our citizens and politicians here in the USA...
I have
felt very British this week… My consumption of tea has increased… I had to
fight the urge to grab my tiara before heading to my dentist appointment… I
found myself waving to the postman like I was screwing in a light bulb… and as
I closed my eyes at night flashes of Union Jacks danced in my head to the strains of God
Save the Queen …
Here a few things you might not know about the Queen…
pretty interesting stuff…
1. She doesn’t have a passport.
Despite being history’s most widely traveled head of state—she has reportedly
visited 116 countries during her 60-year reign—Elizabeth does not hold a
passport. Since all British passports are issued in the queen’s name, she
herself doesn’t need one. She also doesn't require a driver’s license, though
she has been known to take joyrides around her various estates in her Range
Rover.
I never really thought about this…but I
guess it would be dumb to issue a passport to yourself in your own name…
2. She has two different
birthdays.
The reigning British monarch was born Elizabeth Alexandra Mary of York on April
21, 1926. However, each Commonwealth country traditionally celebrates her
birthday on a designated day in May or June. In the United Kingdom, for
instance, it falls on the first, second or third Saturday in June. Britain has
officially marked its sovereign’s birthday since 1748, when the event was
merged with the annual “Trooping the Colour” ceremony and parade. Elizabeth
spends her real birthday enjoying private festivities with her family.
This is just plain weird. Why so many birthdays? Does she get confused
on how old she really is? I am not sure I would want two birthdays… too many birthday celebrations for me, plus I think I would feel twice as old. Sometimes I celebrate an un-birthday but I'm pretty sure that's not what they are doing here...
3. She drove a truck during
World War II.
After months of begging her father to let his heir pitch in, Elizabeth—then an
18-year-old princess—joined the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service during
World War II. Known as Second Subaltern Elizabeth Windsor, she donned a pair of
coveralls and trained in London as a mechanic and military truck driver. The
queen remains the only female member of the royal family to have entered the
armed forces and is the only living head of state who served in World War II.
I think this is pretty darn cool… the British pitch in spirit...
4. She paid for her wedding
dress with ration coupons.
Princess Elizabeth married her third cousin Philip Mountbatten, formerly prince
of Greece and Denmark, on November 20, 1947. Held during the postwar recovery
years, their wedding was a relatively understated affair, at least compared to
the lavish union of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in July 1981. With
austerity measures still in effect, Elizabeth had to save up ration coupons to
purchase the material for her wedding dress, an ivory satin gown designed by
Norman Hartnell and encrusted with 10,000 white pearls.
I am sure this made her appreciate her
wedding that much more…
5. She didn’t take her
husband’s name.
Elizabeth’s father, George VI, was born into the House of Saxe-Coburg and
Gotha, but during World War I the family name was changed to Windsor amid
anti-German sentiment. Similarly, her husband Prince Philip dropped his
father’s Germanic surname, Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, and
adopted that of his maternal grandparents, Mountbatten, during their
engagement. But when Elizabeth ascended the throne, her mother and Prime
Minister Winston Churchill did everything in their power to prevent the queen
and her line from becoming the House of Mountbatten. They succeeded, but
several years later Elizabeth proclaimed that some of her descendants would
carry the name Mountbatten-Windsor—probably in an attempt to placate her fuming
husband.
A
rose by any other name would smell as sweet… but I feel bad for Phil...
6. She sent an email in 1976.
On March 26, 1976, Queen Elizabeth sent her first email while taking part in a
network technology demonstration at the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment,
a research facility in Malvern, England. The message was transmitted over
ARPANET, the forerunner of the modern Internet. She is considered the first
head of state to have used electronic mail.
FYI...The
Queen also has a twitter, facebook and youTube accounts… which says the
monarchy is trying to update their image and live in the moment... jolly good indeed.
Lean back onto your Union Jack pillow and Listen to The Queens message
