UlstermanAbroad
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I was eleven for the Queen's Silver Jubilee. I don't recall much about that celebration, as my eleventh year was quite eventful in it's own right. I have just remembered getting a special jubilee Scout badge, which I thought looked quite impressive, as it had a lot of silver coloured stitching.
The Golden and Diamond Jubilee's were also eventful times and times of transition, so I don't much recall them. Not even being in the country.
The Platinum Jubilee passed pretty quietly and it's given me time to think about The Queen's reign. This monarch is the only one I've known. She has been a constant in my life and a source of reassurance that no matter what happens to the country. She'll be there to lead us through it. When I joined the Army, I took an oath to serve my Sovereign and her heirs and successors.
I took that oath seriously and still do. I would be proud to serve The Queen in any capacity. Though I'm not so sure about her heirs or successors. I recall thinking that, even as I spoke the words.
I watched The Queen turn away from the crowds in front of Buckingham Palace this evening and I thought she looked very frail. Not much longer for this earth. The prospect fills me with sadness. She has served this country as much as anyone else I can think of. I would put her on a par with Churchill. I heard it said that her papers won't be released until fifty or seventy-five years after her death and that saddens me too. Obviously, I won't live to see, what I'd speculate will be, amongst the most fascinating journals, letters and other records of our time.
Whether a monarchist or republican, I think that you would have to admit that no other head of state has served their country so well, for so long. And amongst the seven and a half billion people on earth. We have been amongst the luckiest. We have lived our lives in a liberal democracy, not prone to earthquakes or tornadoes and we have not been forced to defend ourselves for three generations. And our head of state has led the country by an example unequalled in our lifetimes.
By any measure, The Queen is an exceptional human being. And we have been the luckiest people alive, to have been her subjects. I am not an ardent monarchist, nor an unrepentant republican. I sit somewhere in between.
I suspect though. When she passes. I shall mourn her passing, as much as I would, one of my own family.
The Golden and Diamond Jubilee's were also eventful times and times of transition, so I don't much recall them. Not even being in the country.
The Platinum Jubilee passed pretty quietly and it's given me time to think about The Queen's reign. This monarch is the only one I've known. She has been a constant in my life and a source of reassurance that no matter what happens to the country. She'll be there to lead us through it. When I joined the Army, I took an oath to serve my Sovereign and her heirs and successors.
I took that oath seriously and still do. I would be proud to serve The Queen in any capacity. Though I'm not so sure about her heirs or successors. I recall thinking that, even as I spoke the words.
I watched The Queen turn away from the crowds in front of Buckingham Palace this evening and I thought she looked very frail. Not much longer for this earth. The prospect fills me with sadness. She has served this country as much as anyone else I can think of. I would put her on a par with Churchill. I heard it said that her papers won't be released until fifty or seventy-five years after her death and that saddens me too. Obviously, I won't live to see, what I'd speculate will be, amongst the most fascinating journals, letters and other records of our time.
Whether a monarchist or republican, I think that you would have to admit that no other head of state has served their country so well, for so long. And amongst the seven and a half billion people on earth. We have been amongst the luckiest. We have lived our lives in a liberal democracy, not prone to earthquakes or tornadoes and we have not been forced to defend ourselves for three generations. And our head of state has led the country by an example unequalled in our lifetimes.
By any measure, The Queen is an exceptional human being. And we have been the luckiest people alive, to have been her subjects. I am not an ardent monarchist, nor an unrepentant republican. I sit somewhere in between.
I suspect though. When she passes. I shall mourn her passing, as much as I would, one of my own family.