A-Z #17 (Q)

Q is for QUEEN (n. a female sovereign or monarch)

I am sure there are lots of other interesting words that begin with the letter Q but this had to be my choice.  I have always admired Queen Elizabeth and my mother, perhaps because she was English, adored the British Royal Family.

It may have begun when mum accompanied my dad to Buckingham Palace toward the end of WW1 when he was presented with the MBE, for service to his country, by King George V.  Mum would have been quite young at the time and I feel she really enjoyed being part of this event.

Our Queen was born on 12th April, 1926 and married Prince Philip on 20th November, 1947.  She came to the throne after the death of her father, King George VI, in 1952.  He had become king when his brother Edward abdicated when he decided his love for a woman far outweighed the love of his country (my comment).  The Queen and Prince Philip were holidaying in Kenya when she received the news of her father's death.

When the Queen came to the throne in 1952 sugar, eggs, cheese and meat were still being rationed in Britain following cessation of WW2 hostilities in 1945.

The coronation of Queen Elizabeth took place on 2nd June, 1953.  This is the royal coach used on that day.  She is the 40th British monarch since William the Conquerer was crowned on Christmas Day in 1066.

My other half was one of the British soldiers that lined the route at the time of the coronation in 1953 and stood to attention as Queen Elizabeth in the royal carriage went past on her way to Westminster Abbey.  A close friend of ours from Perth was also involved as he was one of the Australian soldiers chosen to be part of the coronation pageantry.

If I remember rightly mum met the Queen on several occasions when she was in Perth including one or two garden parties at Government House and I think mum also attended a Royal Ball.  I am not sure if this was in 1954 or in later years.  I do have the invitations packed away somewhere with other memorabilia of mum's.

When the Queen was in Perth in 1954 there was an epidemic of polio and she was not allowed to shake hands with anyone nor stay at Government House. Rather she slept on board Brittania which was berthed at Fremantle. I remember seeing her and Prince Philip driving down Thomas Street in Subiaco and thought they looked such a charming couple.  I think we also saw them in Adelaide Terrace on another occasion.

The Queen has no number plate on her State car nor does she need to have a passport.  She has visited Australia on 16 occasions, Canada 22 times, and New Zealand 10 times.  During her reign there have been 12 U.S. Presidents and she has met with all of them.  There have been 12 Australian Prime Ministers; 12 Canadian Prime Ministers; and 15 New Zealand Prime Ministers.

She breeds thoroughbred race horses and enjoys attending race meetings on a regular basis.  She has a love of dogs and her favourite breed appears to be the corgi, many of which she is often seen with.

I love this happy picture of the Queen in this delightful yellow outfit and this other one where she is wearing blue and she's sharing a joke with a friend or perhaps a family member.  It seems she has quite a sense of humour which I am sure has stood her in good stead during some of the more arduous tasks she is sometimes called upon to perform.

I admire this lady who at age 86 seems almost unstoppable.  I cannot even imagine what it must be like to have always to be dressed up and be amiable to all.  Imagine shaking hands with hundreds of people and sometimes having to stand for great lengths of time.

I hope you will forgive me for indulging myself in this post.  Yes, I am a monarchist as I fear that if Australia becomes a republic we may suffer for it.  It is possible that in future years this may well happen and if it does I hope it is done with much serious thought.