Long to reign over us
THE QUEEN’S 70 YEARS ON THE THRONE ARE CELEBRATED IN OK!’S ROYAL COLLECTOR’S PLATINUM JUBILEE SPECIAL EDITION
AS the Queen prepares to mark her historic Platinum Jubilee with a string of celebrations in June, her former Press Secretary Dickie Arbiter says it will be a “real once-in-a-lifetime event for Britain”.
Speaking exclusively in OK!’s special collector’s edition, Dickie, who served as the Queen’s press secretary from 1988 to 2000, says: “The Queen’s 70 years on the throne is simply an extraordinary achievement.
“It is a real cause for celebration and it will very much be a public affair. We’ll probably never see anything like this ever again.”
With Prince Charles, 73, likely to be several years away from ascending to the throne, Dickie explains: “He might get 20 years as King under his belt. Then Prince William will likely come to the throne in his sixties, and Prince George might be in his fifties or sixties when he ascends. So it’s fairly clear there will never be another 70-year celebration again.”
Although the milestone occasion will be the source of enormous pride for Her Majesty, she will surely miss having her late husband Prince Philip, who she described as her “strength and stay” during their 73-year marriage, there to celebrate with her.
Dickie tells OK!: “She will find it very difficult not to have him by her side.”
However, he believes she’s grateful for the precious time they shared shielding from Covid 19 in their “HMS Bubble” at Windsor Castle.
“The pandemic saw them spend the longest time
together in the entirety of their marriage,” he tells OK!.
“I suppose the Queen is thankful she had that quality time with Philip.”
OK!’s magnificent 196-page collector’s edition pays homage to the Queen and Prince Philip’s enduring marriage, celebrates Her Majesty’s magnificent reign and recounts her glittering coronation in 1953.
Royal biographer Deborah Hart Strober reveals how the occasion –the first coronation in history to be televised – was bittersweet for young Princess Elizabeth, who was just 27 at the time.
“Her emotions would have been very mixed,” she says. “She was Queen because her beloved father had passed on and she must have been thinking, ‘I’m only here because I’ve lost him.’ It’s a situation Charles is going to face too when he becomes King.”
In the last seven decades, the Queen has led the UK through many national triumphs and tragedies, while also enduring extreme personal challenges within her family.
OK!’s special edition revisits these remarkable highs and lows, while sharing beautiful, historic portraits and rarely seen images.
OK! also celebrates Her Majesty’s most iconic fashion looks, delves into her unique childhood and provides a fascinating insight into what the woman behind the crown is really like.