..in red.
...in orange.
...in yellow.
...in green.
...in blue.
...in indigo.
...in violet...
...and in pink!
One hundred years ago today, our beloved - and still sadly missed - HM The Queen Elizabeth, the longest-reigning monarch the United Kingdom ever had [and second-longest-reigning in history, after France's Louis XIV], was born.
Generations of people knew no other monarch except her. She saw 15 British prime ministers and 14 US presidents come and go during her reign, as well as numerous global conflicts from Korea to the Gulf, the Cold War from Stalin's death through to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the transition of Empire to Commonwealth (on occasions bloodily, sometimes peacefully), the rise and fall of apartheid in South Africa, myriad political scandals from Profumo to "Partygate", tragedies from the Aberfan disaster to IRA bombing campaigns to the Dunblane massacre to the Grenfell Tower inferno, the decline of major British industries, the invention of the internet and the rise of the information age, a palace intruder, Royal weddings and divorces and the "annus horribilis", the death of Diana [as well as her mum The Queen Mother, her sister Margaret, and her husband Prince Philip], pretending to parachute into the Olympic Stadium with James Bond, the COVID pandemic and "tea with Paddington". She gave Royal Assent to 2,820 public bills and 235 private bills into law, presided over 70 State Openings of Parliament and almost the same number of Christmas broadcasts - and heaven only knows how many other speeches or dedications she must have made during her extensive visits to just about every country on the planet!
When she died four years ago, millions watched coverage of her funeral, and thousands upon thousands of people paid tribute in person, queuing - myself included, for eleven hours - to pay respects at her lying in-state.
Cheers, Ma'am. Nothing's quite the same without you.
Here's another tribute (of sorts):
Then one of us will be a Queen,
And sit on a golden throne,
With a crown instead
Of a hat on her head,
And diamonds all her own!
With a beautiful robe of gold and green,
I've always understood;
I wonder whether
She'd wear a feather?
I rather think she should!
Oh, 'tis a glorious thing, I ween,
To be a regular Royal Queen!
No half-and-half affair, I mean,
No half-and-half affair,
But a right-down regular,
Regular, regular,
Regular Royal Queen!
She'll drive about in a carriage and pair,
With the King on her left-hand side,
And a milk-white horse,
As a matter of course,
Whenever she wants to ride!
With beautiful silver shoes to wear
Upon her dainty feet;
With endless stocks
Of beautiful frocks
And as much as she wants to eat!
Oh, 'tis a glorious thing, I ween,
To be a regular Royal Queen!
No half-and-half affair, I mean,
No half-and-half affair,
But a right-down regular,
Regular, regular,
Regular Royal Queen!
HM The Queen Elizabeth II (21st April 1926 - 8th September 2022)
