This Side of the Pond

Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee finally arrived last weekend and, as one commentator pointed out, my home country currently consists of 90% bunting. It’s the first time a British monarch has reached the impressive tenure of 70 years on the throne, so I’d guess there are probably more Union Jacks than people within our borders at this moment.

For most people, I suspect, the jubilation has a lot to do with the extra four-day weekend (as well, of course, as there being many more excuses to eat cake than at most times of the year). Still, the majority of us still enjoy a bit of pomp and circumstance, and there was plenty of that on display.

The weekend began with Trooping the Color, which featured all the pageantry you’d expect from a birthday celebration fit for a queen. It’s held on her official birthday – her real one is in April, but we’ve had an official day set aside for our monarchs for 260 years.

An estimated 1400 soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians marched the military parade, including the Household Division that acts as her personal troops. The “colors”, as over here, refer to the flags representing the different regiments of our army.

Usually, the Queen will take the salute herself but, at 96 years old, she has been experiencing mobility issues over recent months and hasn’t been seen that much in public. Consequently, it was Prince Charles who inspected the troops on her behalf, accompanied on horseback by his son, Prince William, and sister, Princess Anne.

But she did make an appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace as the parade drew to a close, waving to tens of thousands of well-wishers while the Royal Air Force performed a fly-past and 82 gun salutes took place across the nation and in Hyde Park. I can attest that this would have been an extraordinarily noisy moment, having been present for the booms during her Golden Jubilee in 2002.

The second day of Jubilee was marked by a service of thanksgiving at St. Paul’s Cathedral. On Saturday, the Queen hosted a party at Buckingham Palace, including live music from Queen (the band, not the monarch), Alicia Keys, Craig David and Diana Ross in her first live UK performance for 15 years, all in front of 22,000 spectators and broadcast live to the nation.

The Queen herself stole the show, though. The party opened with a pre-recorded skit in which Paddington Bear came for tea at the palace, drinking directly from the teapot, accidentally flicking cream at a footman and generally making a nuisance of himself.

Paddington revealed that he keeps a marmalade sandwich on his person, just in case. As it turned out, so does the Queen – she has a spare in her purse at all times. I heartily recommend a quick internet search to view the clip for yourself, I promise you won’t regret it.

On Sunday, an estimated ten million people took part in street parties and celebrations during the Big Jubilee Lunch. This was followed by the London pageant, which included giant puppets, a military parade and Ed Sheeran, which is quite the grab bag of random party favors.

We also found innovative ways to show our devotion, my favorite being the corgi parade in London. The Queen has owned more than 30 of the breed over her reign, so will no doubt have been thrilled to hear that the winner was given a coronation of its own.

As evening fell on the first day, the Queen lit the Jubilee beacon at Windsor Castle, kicking off a display of 3500 beacons throughout the UK and across the Commonwealth, from the Tower of London to Australia, Canada, India, Jamaica, Singapore, Cape Town and many more. The beacons of Hadrian’s Wall were ignited by Roman-style archers using flaming arrows, which was quite the sight.

In case you’re not aware, the beacons have existed as a warning system since the dawn of civilization. A famous use took place when the Spanish Armada was sighted off the coast of England in 1588 and their fires carried a warning from Land’s End on the western tip of the country all the way to London.

These days, the phone signal is much better on the mainland, so the beacons are mainly used as a symbol of togetherness at moments of national significance.

While the weekend was the official Jubilee, events to celebrate this moment have been going on for months. Last month, for instance, saw 500 horses and 1000 participants pay tribute to the Queen at the “Gallop Through History” event on the Royal Windsor Horse Show event grounds.

An occasion this grand is bound to involve some strange moments, which is why it’s not particularly surprising to hear that Tom Cruise was a guest host. Apparently, he’s a huge fan of our monarch.

“Not just Americans but the world knows the dignity, devotion and kindness, that is what I have always felt about her. Someone that understands her position and has held it through a history that’s just been extraordinary the past 70 years,” he said, during the pre-show.

He introduced a section of the event involving the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery. And while I’m not shocked he was there in the first place, I am a little surprised that an actor known for rock climbing without ropes, clambering up skyscrapers and flinging himself out of planes described it as, “one of the most enthralling, thrilling, heart-in-mouth displays in the land if not the world.”

You may be wondering why so many of us still heartily support an institution as outdated as the monarchy, and I don’t really blame you, but the Platinum Jubilee has been a time for remembering why the majority of Brits are still so loyal to their Queen.

Much of the discussion has centered on the idea of consistency, the key quality she has aimed to embody throughout her long reign. She is a comfort in the dark times, an inspiration when it’s most needed, through political turmoil, recessions, wars, terrorism and so much more.

It was the Queen, as she ascended to the throne, who recognized the world was changing and the spirit of colonialism had long since sputtered out. She championed the Commonwealth to bring together Britain and its former colonies in a new alliance of friendship, loyalty and peace.

“To that new conception of an equal partnership of nations and races I shall give myself heart and soul every day of my life,” she said, and she has kept that promise.

Funnily enough, President Emmanuel Macron of France may have put it best. He gifted her one of the Élysée palace’s prize thoroughbreds, led a rendition of our national anthem and gave a speech in which he called her an element of stability throughout wars and profound changes in society.

“Throughout these transformations, your devotion to our alliance and to our friendship has remained and has helped build the trust that brought freedom and prosperity to our continent.”

God Save the Queen, indeed.