Diamond jubilee will be once in a lifetime event
Wednesday 2nd November 2011, 9:56AM GMT.
It already promises to be the most fabulous royal jubilee in our lifetime, locally, nationally and internationally, writes Shirley Tart.
And so it should be. A reign lasting for 60 eventful years through so many changing scenes, should be celebrated and enjoyed by as many of us as possible. Most particularly, by Her Majesty herself.
And so horses galore, river craft, pageants, thousands of street parties, Coronation concerts, many royal visits, thanksgiving services and numerous other events will mark the moment when a young Princess unexpectedly became Queen.
Now, during this historic moment in an extraordinary reign, celebratory events will include what promises to be a certain highlight, a spectacular Diamond Jubilee Pageant marking the incredible 250 State and Commonwealth visits the Queen has made during her reign.
Shropshire, which has welcomed Her Majesty several times through those years, will be playing its part in the celebrations with many local events already being planned.
A county jubilee committee has already been set up and is headed by Lord Lieutenant Algy Heber-Percy, the queen’s representative in Shropshire.
On the national stage, the latest announcement as a curtain raiser to the Jubilee celebrations, will tick all the royal enjoyment boxes – an unprecedented equine event at Windsor Castle which promises to be a breathtaking start to the Diamond Year.
The World Comes to Windsor aims to take the queen and an audience of thousands on a journey around the world in 90 minutes with more than 500 horses and 800 performers from dozens of different nations.
While the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant will be something else.
A super-high in a year of special moments, the flotilla of boats rowing, sailing, steaming maybe even paddling down the Thames will be spectacular. There was a river pageant during the 1977 celebrations of the Queen’s Jubilee which then featured just 140 vessels, this time there will be hundreds.
It is set to be the biggest most splendid river spectacle for more than 300 years with a surely thrilled Queen heading up the procession on board a new Royal Barge for the seven mile, 90-minute water parade.
In a year which also includes the London Olympic Games, this royal celebration is already set to live up to its name. A real Diamond.
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The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee is set to be a huge event in the UK. We are hoping Shrewsbury will have its own river spectacle with a proposed River Festival on June 3rd to coincide with the Thames flotilla – however, all depends on achieving sufficient funding for the event in time to organise it – half-way there but end November has to be the deadline. Any suggestions/offers so Shrewsbury doesn’t miss out?
Jan
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It also depends on you holding it before the council fence the river off and ruin it as a recreational asset for such an event.
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Jan. Yes, let them pay for it themselves, unlike us pensioners they can afford it. “Ask Air Miles Andy” he seams to be well off.
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Sorry should be “seems”
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Yawn !!
I’ll make sure i am doing something more interesting instead, whilst lavish amounts of Tax payers money is put to waste.
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Are you mistaking us for people who are interested?
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How can we get tickets? So excited!!
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Are you the kinda guy whom moans at everything? The one that believes, if I am miserable, so should everyone else?
Live a little, forget the woes of everyday life and just relax a little. This celebration will be something not many people today, let alone generations from now will get to celebrate again.
Oh and if you are worrying about taxpayer amounts, what we shall pay for will be tiny compared to the entire cost the government will have to pay.
If you don’t want to celebrate, that’s fine, just go away, don’t comment and let the people whom want to celebrate this event do so in peace.
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Oh and if you are worrying about taxpayer amounts, what we shall pay for will be tiny compared to the entire cost the government will have to pay.
And where do you imagine they will get the money from in the first instance? The magic money tree? David Camerons piggy bank?
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“if you are worrying about taxpayer amounts, what we shall pay for will be tiny compared to the entire cost the government will have to pay”
…thanks for that reassuring note Simon Joseph – here was me thinking that the government was funded by taxpayers – I didn’t know they had a private income….
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“What we shall pay for will be tiny compared to the entire cost the government will have to pay.”
Eh?? What a buffoon. Who do you think fills the government’s coffers?
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Sorry Colin D and Rob, your comments weren’t there when I posted mine this morning.
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No problem Drone, the more the merrier. The poor guy needs all the help he can get.
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I’m with you Ron. Ms Tart seems to expect us all to be growing forelocks to tug and buying caps to doff – I don’t think so!
I’m not sure to what extent this type of blatant fawning curries any favour with the Royals – I suspect that they can see right through it, and are pretty tired of it after 60 years…
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Fine. Lets have a BIG party. On the understanding that afterwards the monarchy is disolved and the queen and her greek boyfriend move back to her native Germany. Or Greece for that matter. The monarchy, for me, is a symbol of all that is wrong in our so called ‘classless’ society. It truly is shocking that the majority of citizens in this country are struggling (and failing mostly) to make ends meet while being expected to foot the bill for this sort of frivolity. It displays utter contempt for the hard working taxpayer. Move along sheeple.
@Simon JosephLaw – never mind freedom of speech / expression then. Everyone has a right to air their views.
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@Simon JosephLaw as a tax payer i have every right to comment, even if the amount of my tax is used is small, combined i am sure the many millions it will cost could be put to better use say on “Ordinary Citizens” such as those who are expect to freeze over winter because of rising costs etc.
I wonder if the Queen and her ilk will suffer similar.
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Interesting point Ron – it’s only a few years ago that the Queen’s Deputy Assistant High Groveller applied on her behalf for a grant to help reduce heating costs at Buckingham Palace, where heating bills were approaching ONE MILLION POUNDS a year.
The grant would have come from a fund intended to combat fuel poverty, especially among the elderly.
Don’t take my word for it – just Google “queen claims heating”.
I wonder if she was given the helpful advice that is dished out to other pensioners:
“instead of heating the whole palace, just make sure that one or two hundred rooms are kept properly heated”….”if you’re feeling cold why not put on an extra layer (of ermine, although mink is also an excellent insulator)”….”make sure you have at least one hot banquet/state dinner every day”.
Is there no end to the hideous greed of this bunch of parasites?
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Avoiding the urge to vomit at Ms. Tart’s usual sycophancy . In the midst of the deepest recession in living memory it seems bizarre to be celebrating the richest woman in the country, and being asked to pay for the privilege of doing so.
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Hey everyone you’re getting poorer by the day, worried about your job and making ends meet, well we’ve found the solutuin.. have a day off to fawn over some rich people who wouldn’t know real life if it bit them in the bum.
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There’s little doubt that Ms Tart slides further into self-parody with every royal piece she writes. Also, from the little I know about the Queen, I suspect she would view this fawning with absolute disdain.
That said, I’ve no objection to parties if people want to have them – no’one’s forcing me to join in and that’s fair enough.
What I wish people would pay more attention to is the increasing meddling of certain younger royals (younger than the Queen, anyway) in national matters ; Prince Andrew and his dodgy meetings with even dodgier people, for example, or the recent revelation that Charles is often privately consulted on whether he wants to exercise his ancient right of veto on any democratically passed legislation directly or indirectly affecting his Duchy of Cornwall estates. In a word, feudalism.
At least the Queen understands what her role as unelected head of state in a democracy means. I can’t help respecting her for that even if I’d never attend a street party in her honour.
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The royal family again. In the past I have been damned by the royalists for my remarks about this outdated, unnecessary institution.
This winter, there WILL be old people who die because they cannot afford to heat their homes and eat. I find this disgraceful in what is touted as being a caring society.
Now we have folk urging us to celebrate 60 years of paying this woman a fortune for,—–,,err,,—, well, for being queen actually. I doubt this woman could go in a shop and pay cash for something, she probably would not have a clue what the different notes and coins were.
I’ll celebrate when they get the hell out of the country and go back to their roots.
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I like the idea of a few boats etc on the severn in the quarry .
Well as long as we can have the sex pistols recreating there 1977 boat trip to celebrate the silver jubilee they took on the thames,
God save the queen anyone ? .
Now That would be worth watching
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