Today in Culture: UK Edition

At 6:00 AM on 20 June 1837, Alexandrina Victoria—at the time just 18 years old—was awoken by her mother, Marie Luise Viktoria. Alexandrina was informed that the Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Conyngham were there to see her. She hurried downstairs and, once alone with the men, Lord Conyngham explained to Alexandrina that her paternal uncle, William Henry, had died at 2:12 that morning. As expected, with no other heir, she was the next Queen of Great Britain and Ireland. Per the young queen’s request, she was henceforth known as Queen Victoria.

Arthur Christopher Benson; Viscount Esher (1907). The Letters of Queen Victoria. Volume 1.

 Years later, on 23 September 1896, Queen Victoria became the longest-reigning monarch in the UK’s history—surpassing other notable kings and queens like Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, and James VI (Scotland) / I (England). 

But she wasn’t done yet: in 1897 Queen Victoria celebrated her Diamond Jubilee, which marked 60 years since her ascent to the throne! The only other monarch to come close at the time was her grandfather, George III, who—despite insanity/dementia, resulting in his being locked away—was king of England for 59 years and 96 days.

Queen Victoria photographed for her Diamond jubilee, 1897

Three-and-one-half years later, on 22 January 1901, at 6:30 PM, Queen Victoria passed away at the age of 81.

Flash forward...

On 6 February 1952, at Sagana Lodge in Kenya, Philip Mountbatten broke the sad news to his young wife, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, that her father—Albert Frederick Arthur George—had died in his sleep the night before. As the young woman readied to return home, her private secretary, Martin Charteris, asked her to choose a regnal name—unlike Queen Victoria, she stuck with her first name, become Queen Elizabeth II.

Elizabeth returns from Kenya, now a queen!

 Sixth of February 2012—today—marks Accession Day. But, not only does this day mark the anniversary-start of Elizabeth II’s reign, perhaps more significantly it marks 60 years since that fateful day. Yes, Queen Elizabeth II has joined her great-great grandmother (Queen Victoria) as one of only two English monarchs to warrant a Diamond Jubilee celebration! 

Queen Elizabeth II's official Diamond Jubilee portrait—notice the Victoria Monument in the background.

And, at the young age of 85, she’s not showing any signs of slowing down—perhaps she will even surpass Queen Victoria, and become the first UK monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee (6 February 2022). 

Here are some other interesting tidbits about Queen Elizabeth II’s (future) reign:

• On 10 September 2015, Queen Elizabeth II (at 89 years old) will actually surpass Queen Victoria as the longest-reigning monarch in British and Commonwealth history (as well as the longest-reigning female monarch in world history).
• On 26 May 2024, Queen Elizabeth II (at 98 years old) will surpass France’s King Louis XIV as the longest reigning monarch in European history.

Now, don’t get me wrong: I recognize that I seem to be celebrating a facet of the monarchial system, and that there are certain inherent problems with the idea of the monarchy (classism, anyone?). And there is, of course, the colonialist and Imperialist side of it all: I’ve got Murphy blood in me, for goodness’ sake, so I get that—I’m not excusing such behavior. Finally, I recognize that not all UK citizens are fans of Queen Elizabeth II and the rest of her family, so don’t expect me to go running around and publically shouting how excited I am about her Diamond Jubilee (excepting circumstances where others are doing the same). 

But, I’m also biased in a way that many non-citizens tend to be—namely, none of my tax money goes to support the Royal Family, so I can sit back and enjoy the idea of it from afar. Also, I happen to live in a country that escaped the yolk of British rule while George III was king, so I’ve never experienced it firsthand. (The grass is always somewhat greener on the other side, right?)

At any rate, what I’m trying to get at is this: yes, I do tend to put rose-colored glasses on when it comes to Britain’s Royal Family—well, at least its queens (and that is a very clear distinction and bias I have)—and I’m trying to reconcile that fact with what I know about the more problematic facets of their status. And here’s what I’ve come up with as I document my attempt at such reconciliation:

As I (somewhat) mentioned in my last post, I grew up watching a fantasy cartoon (He-Man) that depicted a practically utopian kingdom, ruled by a compassionate and just king and queen. At the same time—in the ‘real’ world—I bore witness to US leaders like Reagan and Bush (I), whose fiscal polices reflected zero compassion for the average US citizen, and whose Imperialist…er, militaristic policies resulted in wars and the suffering of people all over the world. So, I think that at some point I might have started to view the monarchy—as represented by Queen Elizabeth II (whose hands seemed, to my young mind, unsullied by the Gulf War)—as being a more civilized institution (again, a concept I recognize as problematic in-and-of-itself).

Or, maybe I’ve just always been fascinated by the idea of the monarchy because my last name is ‘King.’ (And I don’t say that too offhandedly—part of me thinks that it very well could be as simple as that.)

Whatever the answer may be, I think it’s a facet of myself worthy of continued exploration. In the meantime, yes, I will continue to take part in the festivities marking this important historical occasion—please don't hold it against me, friends!

_____

On a totally unrelated note: I’m still sick! BLAH!  

I spent much of the earlier part of today bundled up tightly in a fleece sweatshirt that has a hood. At once point I took the following photo, just to demonstrate to you how miserable I’m feeling:

 I’m convinced that you can see how sick and suffering I am just by looking in the pixilated representation of my eyes.

But, I also wanted to find a way of bridging the theme of this post with my illness-image... and then I realized that I kind of looked a bit like Emperor Palpatine from the Star Wars movies. But I’ll need a Sith name. Personally, I’m leaning toward either Darth Sickheis (‘Sick+he+is') or Darth Grayskull. What do you think?

Feel the illness flow through you... Good; good! Hehehehe...