70 years on the throne is an incredible achievement
THOUSANDS of people up and down the land will be joining in the celebrations to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, including we ourselves at the Macaulay Area Action Group (MAAG) Hall.
For even republicans, such as myself, recognise the fact that being on the throne for 70 years is an historic achievement, something never previously reached, and not likely to ever happen again.
Yet I can’t help thinking that it’ll be the last time there will be a royal occasion on such a scale.
To begin with, the Queen is now 96 years old and has already cut back her personal appearances on health grounds.
However long she lives, it is unfair to expect a person of that age to do more.
Which brings us to the king in waiting, Prince Charles and his second wife Camilla.
However, much people forget the circumstances which brought them together, there won’t be the same enthusiasm for the oldest British monarch to be crowned as there was when Elizabeth had her Coronation in June 1953. With a husband in his early thirties and the mother of two young children, ren, there was talk of a new Elizabethan Age to lighten the post-war gloom.
The world though has changed ged since then, with many seeing the he royals as being merely part of the celebrity circus. And the series s of scandals over the years has dented nted the image of the “perfect family” y” we used to read about at the time me of the 1977 Silver Jubilee.
Then the talk was of finding a suitable bride for Prince Charles, es, whereas today we’ve the sorry case of Prince Andrew and the antics of a certain couple who want the publicity that goes with ith being a royal, but none of the responsibility.
Indeed, who knows what Prince ince Harry will say about his stepmother when his book comes mes out later this year?
So, as the reign of Elizabeth draws to a close, if our senior royals continue to live long lives, es, we’ll be faced with a series of kings ascending to the throne at an age when the rest of us will have retired.
A far cry from the heady days s of 1953 you could say.