The bunting is starting to go up for the Queens Diamond jubilee. 60 years in the same job is remarkable. I think my 43 years is a long time!
I am surprised to see so much bunting appear from Wednesday. I noted with amusement that the people who put up Christmas decorations in November are also the first people to put up the bunting. They are the people who live on the coucil estate I cycle through from work. The poorest people. the people who you would think probably have the most resentment about class and priveledge.
I am a reluctant Royalist. My take is…I hate the thought of inequality, but realistically, every country has a head of state who costs the country money and so, on balance, I would prefer a politically neutral head of state who has been trained for the job by centuries of family culture, than a elected politician who could abuse their power and costs a fortune to elect every few years. Who possibly only gets to be the head of state because they are the most ambitious, pushiest and richest candidate, or God forbid the biggest bully.
Plus, I will be honest, I enjoy the whole voyeuristic, gossipy, fascination of the soap opera that is the “life of the royals”, as they play out their life and loves in public…and it brings in a lot of tourist revenue!
Maybe that is why we got rid of our monarchy in 1649 only to bring it back with Charles 2nd twenty years later! Maybe we saw the error of our ways……… and needed something to gossip about!
It is also my opinion, that the experience of the week after Diana died, when the public mood was ugly, made the Queen and family realise how precarious their position is and that they are in the position they are, because we, the public, keep them there and that can change very quickly.
Last year I went to London to see the Royal wedding of William and Kate, with an American friend. I really enjoyed the whole experience. I love weddings anyway. and was not at that point particularly Royalist. But I came under a lot of fire from some of my more republican friends and family.
My experience at the wedding not only made me proud to be British but also gave me a bit of appreciation of how restricted the Royals must be. Not just by security and fame but also by their upbringing and duty,.
Imagine having to consult a protocol book for every decision you make and having a set of family values that are so in the dark ages, when the rest of the country have freedom to do more or less what they want.
So I look forward to the Jubilee weekend and what entertainment it brings.
Love Denise
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denisefrombolton 
Reading this post, I realized that I've never given a great deal of thought to the reasons that one might want a royal family. I guess that it runs counter to my American upbringing. Having said that, we're certainly happy that the UK has a royal family. It's like having the best of both worlds. We get to gossip about them but don't have to pay for them.I do, however, admire them. It must be hard to always live one's life according to duty.
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It's the person currently at the head of our royal family for whom I have a somewhat grudging respect! She's 86 years old and still seems to be going strong. I think in the past few years she also seems to have softened her public image and comes across as a bit more human than she used to do.However if she abdicated or popped her clogs tomorrow, the thought of Charles in her place would immediately turn me into a rampant republican!
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I agree Janet, any 86 year old who still does a job, reading dispatch boxes every day and entertaining people she may not really like and sitting through often boring ceremonials with a smile on her face. Deserves to celebrate 60 years…..can you imagine how tedious "God save the Queen must sound to her" she must pray they don't play more than one verse!Of course she also enjoys immense priveledge, but as she doesn't know any deprivation she will not understand that….and Charles may well surprise you, To his credit, he stood up to the establishment eventually, when Diana died. But the way things are going he will not be king for long, if ever.
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Well, I am not a Royalist of course, but I do enjoy seeing the fashions of Kate Middleton! ha! Loved her red dress and hat at the Jubilee today..okay…so that is the least of it all..but is rather fun (she has very nice taste). Too bad the weather was so poor at the Jubilee (when I tuned in, it was raining). Alas…I guess the pomp of it all is rather fun as well. But as you say, the Royals are there only by public approval and they do live a restricted (albeit a privileged) life. Think the restrictions are of course part of what Diana found so difficult to abide.
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Hi Sue, nice to hear from you..I watched the jubilee river pageant today. Such a pity about the rain. I felt so sorry for the choir at the end, singing their hearts out. All those ladies had probably had their hair done for the occasion and they were just drenched! LOL!To her credit, the Queen stood up through the whole thing and didn't retire to the cabin below. Yes Kate looked lovely in the red. She looked cold. I wonder why she didn't get a wrap like the Queen?………and have you noticed that whenever the Queen and Camilla are together in public they always talk a lot and laugh. I think they get on very well.Love Denise
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