A Royal Success!

It finally happened today—I caught a glimpse of Queen Elizabeth II!

I have so much that I should be doing at the moment (on top of the post-holiday exhaustion I’m feeling) that I had pretty much scrapped the notion of trying to catch Her Majesty at Westminster Abbey today. But, at the last minute, I opted to go for it…

So, at about 2:00 PM I found myself standing once more outside of the Abbey. The occasion: the Commonwealth Observance, which

“is the annual celebration of the Commonwealth. The centre-piece of the day is a multi-faith service at Westminster Abbey organised by The Royal Commonwealth Society, on behalf of the Council of Commonwealth Societies.

The theme for this year is 'Connecting Cultures'. Through a mix of world music, dance and personal testimonies, the service will explore the golden threads that tie together people from every continent, faith and ethnicity.

In April 1949, Heads of State from Australia, Britain, Ceylon, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, and the Canadian Secretary of State for External Affairs met in London and deliberated over six days. The outcome was the Declaration of London which gave birth to the modern Commonwealth. The origins of the Commonwealth stretch back much further than sixty years, but 1949 marks the pivotal point at which the Commonwealth's colonial legacy was positively transformed into a partnership based on equality, choice, and consensus. The organisation decided at a meeting in Canberra in 1976 that Commonwealth Day would be celebrated on the second Monday in March each year.” ~ Westminster Abbey Website

Somewhat unfortunately, the spot that I had—which in other respects was great—was right next to a bunch of Republicans who were protesting the monarchy. (Again, I get it—but at this particular moment I wanted to just enjoy being in the moment as an ‘outsider’ who doesn’t often get the chance to witness such pomp and circumstance.) Fortunately for the Royal Family, there seemed to be far more supporters than detractors in the ever-growing crowd.

Regardless, I enjoyed watching the representatives from the various Commonwealth nations arriving, many of whom were dressed in the traditional dress of their home-countries. 

And then the Royal Family began to trickle in…

The first to appear was Sophie, the Countess of Wessex.

I had no clue who she was at the time (and if you’re too lazy to click the link above, she’s the wife of Prince Edward, The Queen’s youngest son—she’s also supposedly the only one of The Queen’s daughters-in-law that she’s ever been especially close to). Despite not knowing who she was at the time, I loved her hat. I mean, fer realz, I need to gets me one of those!

I recognized the owner of the purple hat in the next limo immediately: Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. She was sitting on ‘my’ side of the limo as it turned into the Abbey’s driveway, and she was staring out at the crowd—with the aid of her hat and a beaming smile, the duchess completely filled the window. 

In fact, Camilla so thoroughly caught my attention that I completely overlooked Prince Charles’ presence and assumed she had gone to the service alone. It wasn’t until I got home and reviewed the video I recorded more closely that I caught the Prince of Wales.

A couple more moments passed, and then the burgundy limo I only snagged a glimpse of the other day rolled past once more. 

This time I was looking right at The Queen, and she was smiling at the crowd (despite the protesters) as it turned into the drive. At that point, my view became somewhat obstructed owing to the support vehicles and police officers that followed her in—but, regardless, I did finally see Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh.

Before I close, there's just one thing that I want you to consider—something that struck me on the way back home afterwards: 

Setting aside for a moment the problematics surrounding the institution of the monarchy, and looking at the situation purely in terms of historical continuity, think about how many people in your life remember a world without Queen Elizabeth II upon the British Throne. 

Immediately, you’re forced to look at only those over the age of 60. And now reduce that again, to just those who are old enough to actually remember the reign of her father—now you’re talking about those between 65-70 and older.

Love the monarchy or hate it, the historical continuity afforded by Queen Elizabeth’s long reign is pretty impressive.