Watching the Diamond Jubilee celebrations on TV was quite an occasion which shows that the hard done by Brits are still capable of putting on the razzmatazz.
We must admire Queen Elizabeth who had held the reigns for sixty years remarkably well and has achieved the longest reign since Queen Victoria (sixty three years). I could not help but think of the Queen I have written about, The Queen of Misfortune who was Jane Grey – being the shortest reigning Queen from 10 July until 19 July 1553 just nine days during the Tudor dynasty.
It is mind-bending to see just how many crowds attended the functions, watching from the roadsides and the river bank during the super Silver Jubilee Thames Pageant in the pouring rain showing their stalwart allegiance to her Majesty.
But just 15 years ago many were angry when on August 31 1997 Princess Diana died in that horrible car crash and the Queen seemed uncharacteristically uncaring when not lowering the flag over Buckingham Palace at half mast as a token of respect to the mother of her grandchildren.
The queen hastily retuned from Balmoral in an effort to put things to rights when crowds of shocked people laid a host of flowers along the railings surrounding the palace.
It was no doubt the only time her popularity shrunk by thousands and it was if she had no idea of just how popular Diana was and how her people would react. She seemed to be terribly out of touch – but she did well to overcome that, and perhaps the proverbial kick was what she wanted – if indeed she was losing her touch and, for the sake of the monarchy which was looking a little vulnerable at the time, she needed to be made aware.
I guess there are many things of which we are unaware that caused the Queen to take the stance she did.
In attempting to find answers as to why the Queen was late to respond, apart from the fact that Dianne was then Charles’ divorced wife and her prior outbursts to the media were obviously unpopular and upsetting, she was no longer a member lf the Royal Family and according to tradition it would have seemingly been incorrect to fly the half-mast flag.
But by the same token it would seem Dianna had every reason to be equally upset and distressed in announcing that there were three in their marriage that Charles was already with Camilla a divorcee. Many have said that Diana was merely a breeding mare prompted by none other than Philip the Duke of Edinburgh because Charles’s true love, Camilla could not have children and producing an heir to the throne has always been paramount with any royal marriage.
But it seems as though the children produced by Charles and Diana have grown up well balanced despite the knowledge of how their mother must have suffered, their association with their father seems sound and happy so perhaps there is something that has not been made public which has helped the boys adapt and accept.
During those last days of her life Diana seems to have found some happiness and of course she was never without admirers and it was no secret that she dated more than one guy before she met the person with whom she would met the end of her life, Dodi Fayed.
But the Queen must be praised for regaining the public’s adoration after that set -back in her life and of course nothing stands still and time marches on.
But it would seem that despite both Charles and Camilla being divorcées, unlike his great uncle King Edward VIII who was not allowed to marry a divorcee and be the King of England, the rules have changed and it seems generally assumed that Charles and Camilla will follow Queen Elizabeth.
Time cures and time will tell but Elizabeth it has been said has no intention of relinquishing her crown yet.
QUEEN OF MISFORTUNE A Lady Jane Grey Novel by Peter Carroll
A Love Story of Shakespearean Dimension!
Queen Of Misfortune is the fictional story of Lady Jane Grey as told by her beloved tutor, John Aylmer. At the time of her execution a stranger is recorded to have assisted her when, blind folded, she lost her way upon the scaffold. Was it the same strange who was also recorded to have visited her when she was imprisoned in the Tower? Little is known of this unfortunate girl who was beheaded for treason in the 16th Century. She was only 16. She is omitted from the list of monarchs but was actually queen for nine days. Author Peter Carroll, in his novel, follows John Aylmer’s close relationship with Jane as her tutor and later, as she grows up, her lover. [More...]
We are the only country that makes guns, including military-style assault weapons, available to anyone who wants to buy them. This is not freedom. It is a tyranny of death and destruction — a tyranny of which the National Rifle Association is proud. The Washington Post
Watching the Diamond Jubilee celebrations on TV was quite an occasion which shows that the hard done by Brits are still capable of putting on the razzmatazz.
