More aspects of being queen

Now that July is coming to an end, I hope that everyone was able to see the final two episodes of the wonderful series, Queen and Country. 

On Sunday, July 15, The Queen's Possessions took a look at some of the more unusual things that the queen owns.  Items belonging to the queen include the Royal Swans, the Tower of London and the Royal Collection of portraits. 

This episode begins by following a session of "swan upping," the annual census of the swans along the River Thames. The swans are rounded up, counted and marked with a ring around one leg.  The Swan Marker and his crew wear traditional red coats and the Swan Marker himself sports a jaunty swan feather in his cap.  The ceremony takes 5 days to complete and draws crowds who line the banks to watch the activity.

While we all learned recently that the Queen is a good sport, she has participated in intricate media events before.  We get to see the process which created the 3D hologram of the queen which is currently on display in the Tudor Great Hall at Mont Orguiel Castle on the island of Jersey.  The creation of the work involved taking over 10,000 images of the queen over two sessions.  The finished product is an amazingly intricate portrait of the queen.

The final episode of the series, Traveler, debuted on Sunday, July 22 and covers the many trips that the queen has embarked upon since beginning her reign 60 years ago.  The most poignant was in 1952, when then Princess Elizabeth embarked on a 36,000 mile visit to the Commonwealth.  Her parents came to see her off, and she said goodbye, not knowing it would be the last time she would see her father.  King George VI died only one week after the start of the trip, and Elizabeth was called home from
Kenya.
 

From 1954 until 1997, the Royal Yacht Britannia served as the Queen's home at sea.  It covered over 1 million miles and hosted a variety of events and guests.  Eventually, it was deemed too expensive to maintain and was sent to Edinburgh to become a tourist attraction.  Queen Elizabeth is currently the head of 16 realms and 54 countries of the Commonwealth.  I was surprised to learn that there are still countries being added to the Commonwealth, the latest being Cameroon (which joined in 1995).

During her reign, the queen has made 325 visits to 150 countries.  Her longest trip was a 5 month tour which included a stop in Australia, where she was greeted by enormous crowds. During her travels, she has visited all the Commonwealth countries (except for that new member, Cameroon!).  She has also been an occasional visitor to the United States, and addressed the United Nations on several occasions.

I was sad to see the series come to an end, but it was so fascinating to get a closer look into so many aspects of the Queen's life.  Certainly, any future rulers will have a difficult time matching her longevity on the throne and her varied and colorful experiences.  I hope she will continue to be a vibrant and beloved presence for many years to come!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of Queen and Country for the purpose of this review.

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Queen and Country celebrates 60 years on the throne

As everyone has surely noticed by now, 2012 marks the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth's reign on the British throne.  Not only is that the second longest reign in history, but at 86, the Queen shows no signs of slowing down her demanding schedule of official engagements. 

Sundays in July, PBS will be showing  Queen and Country, a four part series showcasing the queen's 60 years on the throne.  Thanks to WNET, I was able to view the first two episodes of the series, and they are wonderful!  The program really brings a lot of perspective to the relationship between the Queen (and the monarchy in general) and the British people and why she is more popular than ever.

Episode One (airing July 1), is titled London: Royal City and documents the Queen's relationship to the city.  Although she spent most of her youth at Windsor, the Queen has spent the majority of her years on the throne at Buckingham Palace.  In this episode, it is mentioned that Prince Charles has spoken of moving his court to Windsor when he takes over as king, but commentators feel that because of the close connection between the royal family and London that this is unlikely.  The episode goes on to show the military regiments that have the official duty of guarding the Queen and Buckingham Place.  The soldiers are all active duty, so they could be getting ready to serve in combat zones, or recently returned from one.  They are all unanimous in their dedication to the job and their appreciation of the honor that such a position holds.  The narrator of the series, Sir Trevor McDonald, points out that the Queen is greatly revered for "never having put a foot wrong" during her public life.  Most of this is due to the fact that the Queen has never been interviewed, and only gives official speeches.  While the Queen is often photographed greeting and talking with people who come out to see her, there is even an unofficial rule that you never disclose what the Queen said to you!  This air of dignity and mystery has helped to ensure that the Queen's popularity has never wavered.

Episode Two (airing July 8) is Royal Visit and highlights the many official duties that the Queen has undertaken, starting from about 3 weeks after ascending to the throne in 1952 and continuing on to the present day.  This episode shows archival footage of the Queen visiting a Scottish mine early in her reign, opening a museum in Liverpool late in 2011 and naming the Cunard ship the Queen Elizabeth in 2010.  During her 60 years as Queen, she has hosted 102 state visits in London, met 12 US presidents, and kept up a non-stop calendar of official visits in Britain.  In 2011 alone, she had 325 engagements in Britain and 45 overseas.  That would be exhausting for anyone, but the Queen continues to take her duties seriously -- at an age when most people have long since retired!  People still turn out in masses at every event, in hopes of getting a chance to chat with (or even catch a glimpse of) her.  This episode also shows the Queen's great love of Scotland, which she has visited more than 70 times. Every year she spends part of her time at Balmoral and attends the Braemar Gathering (formerly known as the Highland Games) and presents trophies to the winners of the events.Pretty impressive for a lady who has said that if she wasn't the Queen, she'd like to be living out in the country with a lot of horses and dogs! 

The remaining episodes include The Queen's Possessions (July 15) and Traveller (July 22).  I am looking forward to watching them to learn more about this remarkable lady!  Do check your local PBS station for the time that this fascinating program will air in your area.

Disclaimer:  I received a copy of the first two episodes of Queen and Country for the purpose of this review.

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