Jubilee

It would be remiss of me not to take this opportunity to congratulate Her Majesty, the Queen, on the occasion of her Platinum Jubilee. Whatever one’s opinions on the merits (or otherwise) of the monarchy itself – or of ways that it could and should evolve – I think only the most churlish would fail to acknowledge the nature and extent of Her Majesty’s service to the United Kingdom. I doubt that we will see her like again.

I was born almost two years after Elizabeth succeeded to the throne but only a little more than six months after her coronation. My first memories of the Queen – and indeed of royalty in general – came from watching black and white Pathe News footage with my mother and siblings in the British News Theatre cinema that once graced one end of the concourse at Waterloo station in London. I have what is clearly a false memory of watching footage of the coronation – though what we probably saw were references to it in the coverage of Princess Margaret’s wedding to Anthony Armstrong-Jones seven years later in 1960. This was the first royal wedding to be televised but, as we did not acquire a TV set for getting on for another decade, mother made occasional use of the Waterloo cinema when in town to keep abreast of such events.

The Silver Jubilee in 1977 largely passed us by. We knew that there were street parties (though not in the ‘Grove’ in which my parents lived) but us young folk were too wrapped up in music, theatre and each other to pay much mind to the celebrations. It was also the time of the Sex Pistols and ‘Anarchy in the UK’ – which may have had something to do with it.

In 2002 – the year of the Golden Jubilee – I did actually engage with events, spending a day in London and joining the crowds on The Mall for the big concert that was held in the grounds of Buckingham Palace. The whole of The Mall and much of St James’ Park had been equipped with huge video screens and a sound system that was surprisingly good for such a large event. Though not in the concert grounds themselves it still felt like being part of the whole occasion, particularly when Brian May of Queen played the National Anthem from the palace rooftops and when the Queen joined us all in The Mall for the fireworks.

The following day saw a big procession from the Guildhall back to the palace after which we all watched a spectacular flypast of Spitfires, Hurricanes and a Lancaster – followed by the stunning sight of a Concorde surrounded by a flight of the Red Arrows. I was watching this part of the proceedings at home on TV and got to see the flypast twice, because my apartment in Buckinghamshire was in a direct line with The Mall twenty miles away. We were, as a result, directly under the flightpath for the parade of aircraft as they dispersed.

As for the Diamond Jubilee in 2012 I have two impressions – the first is of that wet and windy water pageant that took place largely on the Thames and was something of a damp squib all ways round. The second is that the event was totally overshadowed a little later in the year by the London Olympics. Bad planning, guys!

As for the Platinum Jubilee…? Well – it is hard not to see in it elements of the coming transition. The Queen will not see another Jubilee even should she live to be 100 and more. Here in Canada it is difficult not to feel rather remote from it all.

Many in Canada respect and love The Queen, though I’m not sure that many think that she or her successors should be heads of state for this young nation. Though something of a royalist myself I would agree with those who feel this way, but even earnest Canadian republicans are too damned polite to do anything serious about it.