Long Live the Queen (Please!)
The UK has a monumental and unique anniversary coming up later this week, and I am here to write about it with gushing excitement 😊
To set the tone of this piece right up front, I love the Queen. And this Thursday – she will mark 70 years on the throne. She is already the longest-reigning monarch the United Kingdom has ever had, and the longest-reigning Queen the world has ever seen. So, I thought this week I would write emphatically of my love and adoration for her, and my excitement about this Diamond Jubilee. *cue gay boy squealing*
Party time
If you are living in London at the moment, and probably across the United Kingdom, you can’t escape the build-up to this week’s celebrations. Not least as we have a 4 day, long weekend in recognition of the event starting from Thursday – the whole nation gets an extra holiday! Exciting stuff! I am already bought in, even though it means having to give my busy team an extra day off to stand around in party hats toasting her Majesty for a day. (I do not begrudge this AT ALL team, in case any of you are reading this!) Haha.
To get us all in the mood, the media is inundating us with documentaries and articles talking about her long reign, her influence, her work to modernise the royal family and have them stay relevant in today’s modern era, her continuity and self-sacrifice. There have been portraits made, there is a party and a concert at Buckingham Palace, the usual aeronautics from the Red Arrows and the RAF, for which the Queen will be standing on the balcony in Buckingham Palace with her family. I might well yet be a part of the crowd on The Mall for this – as I think the number of times she has left, standing on that balcony in public displays in the future, is sadly limited. I might have to catch it whilst we still can!
She herself released a beautiful documentary yesterday largely commentaried by the monarch, featuring never before seen footage, from her own personal archives, over her life. I was gripped – it was great seeing some informality behind all the pomp and ceremony.
Stability and continuity
She is the monarch who has seen the most change during her time on the throne – she definitely (like many of us around today) had an analogue upbringing and a digital later life – but has also seen huge change in global issues such as climate change and politics/war. She has spent years striving to ‘future proof’ the monarchy for the next generation and generations after that – moving with the times and keeping them relevant.
She understood that the ‘British Empire’ of yesteryear, ruled by the UK as almost a superpower, was now out of touch with the new world and was instrumental in its rebranding and shift of focus into what is now the Commonwealth. It is now a club based on mutual respect and admiration, which you can leave by choice if you wish. Those parties remaining as part of the collective do so of their own choice. HRH has often said that serving the Commonwealth has been very much one of her favourite parts of her job throughout the decades, and one that she cherishes every day.
She has reigned through fourteen Prime Ministers in the UK, if you include (and I, unfortunately, think I must) the incompetent, rule-breaking narcissist we currently have at the helm**. If you factor in the commonwealth she has worked with one hundred and seventy PMs in her time! So her wealth of political knowledge, although it will never be put to use outside of the weekly PM audience with the Queen, must be vast. From Churchill through Thatcher and Blair to Johnson – she has known them all intimately and has been a counsel to them and a resource they can tap into when making important decisions. Imagine the wealth of knowledge tucked away in her mind. It is unlikely that anyone will ever have the same exposure again.
The passing of the torch
She has opened up her homes to the public, and entered the family into the modern age of media. Traditionally they were more of a figurehead and concept, rather than the publicly serving family they are today, attending events up and down the country and giving us all a glimpse of them. This also shifted the focus of the public away from the increasing awareness that they were a publicly funded enterprise – although they do generate revenue of their own. Again, keeping the institution safe for the future.
As she steps back from the weight of public duty she has delivered over the years, she is using this jubilee to spread a message of continuity, and emphasising how, through change, it is good to have some consistency. I think she is consciously preparing us for the fact that it will not be too long until we have a new face on our banknotes, and doing what she can to secure the monarchy in the hearts of the British public for up and coming generations, both within her own household and without.
Stronger together
This Sunday the country is invited to take to the streets, to party with those living around us. This is unusual in some of our bigger cities where it is common not to know your next-door neighbours! I myself will be heading to some friends’ place to join in the throng of both our gang and also the local residents. We will have bunting and a barbecue and the overriding theme of this – at Her Majesty’s suggestion / request, is that of unity and togetherness. Queen Elizabeth II is a firm believer that we are stronger together than we are apart.
Be that at your local street party, as a nation, a commonwealth or even a planet, it is a good value to live by and one I share.
So wherever you are in the world, whatever your nationality, political beliefs or native language – I hope that we can all share a moment over this weekend to hope that the world of change that we currently live in can be unified some time soon by utilising some of Queen Elizabeth II’s knowledge and counsel, that she has worked so hard to acquire.
Long live the Queen!
** These were the nicest words I could find for him.
