Platinum Jubilee
I expect you guessed this would be the topic of my blog this week and I apologise to those not interested! I loved every minute of it and felt so proud to be British again, something which I haven’t felt in recent years as you may know.
So why do I and so many other Brits (did you see the way they cheered) admire and respect the Queen so much? In a recent poll by YouGov, the British market research firm, about 80% of Britons view the Queen positively, versus 12% who see her negatively. You have to understand the Queen has been the Queen all my life (and that is quite a long time), has always shown great dignity and compassion (Würde and Mitgefühl) and never taken herself too seriously. She has a great sense of humour (just look at the Paddington sketch) and has stood above all the gossip surrounding the Royal Family (and there’s certainly been enough of that!), keeping her own marriage intact for 73 years – amazing.
Watch six of the best royal moments in the following BBC article to see what I mean about the celebrations …
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-61695085
Of course, the big question is what will happen when Charles becomes King? There are certainly enough of us still around who loved Princess Diana and don’t look too fondly at Camilla (which may not be fair but that is the way it is). However with his great interest in the environment, his popularity is improving, especially with the younger generation. I certainly liked his tribute to the Queen, his “Mummy”.
Of course it is interesting that monarchs don’t have to pass exams or win elections to become kings or queens and the following article from the Guardian looks at Charles quite critically …. basically saying that “a monarch who does not know his place would be a disaster for an unstable Britain”. This means he has to stay out of politics which he has found difficult to do in the past. If you wish to take the time to read it, you might need a dictionary but it is quite interesting.