myguideBritain Blog

Happy Diamond Anniversary your Majesty

November 19th, 2007

The Queen and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh celebrate 60 years of married life tomorrow although the ceremony to celebrate this takes place today at Westminster Abbey. The guests will include not only the great and the good but also 10 couples who married on the same day as her - nice touch.

We at myguideBritain send her our best wishes…….just in case she reads our blogs. Somehow I don’t think she’ll have time with all the Tiara changing that will be going on this week between the various celebrations.

Amazingly she’s been our head of state for 56 years. At 81 years old she’s still going strong,supported by the 86year old Phillip. In public she’s hardly put a foot wrong - he’s been prone to the odd gaffe. Although he’s always stayed in the background he’s quite a colourful character. Born Prince Philip Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksberg in Corfu, Greece to Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice, with German, Danish, Dutch and Russian Ancestry he’s the great, great grandson of Queen Victoria. His mother was committed to a lunatic asylum when he was 8 years old and his Playboy father wandered around Europe in a state of near depression……… It was no surprise then that there was official disapproval of his marriage to the 21yr old Princess Elizabeth.

The Queen is Supreme Governor of the Church of England and head of state with the power (technically) to dissolve Parliament but importantly she’s above Politics - unlike most or all presidents of Republics. However much has changed during her reign and we no longer have the deferential society of the 40’s and 50’s. The monarchy exists because the British people wish it to. Whether her heirs will have the same affection shown to them by Britain is a different matter.

I personally doubt it.

Entry Filed under: All of Britain, England