Divisive labels undermine the Jubilee pageant
sir – In your report (May 1) on the excellent choice of Janice Ho as the star dancer to portray the young Princess Elizabeth at the forthcoming Platinum Jubilee Pageant, you quote the artistic director, Angie Bual, describing her as a “woman of colour”. I wonder if the originally Singaporean Miss Ho agrees with this term – whatever it actually means – being used to describe her.
For my part, as a Chinese woman, I would be offended to be described by a label which, just like the term Bame, seems deliberately divisive in our modern multicultural Britain.
I was born and raised in Malaysia and am proud of my family’s heritage. However, I am honoured now to be a British citizen in a country where I have brought up a beautiful mixedrace daughter, and where I am grateful for the welcome I have received and all the opportunities it has offered me. Phaik Kim Ellis
Pershore, Worcestershire
sir – For me, the Jubilee pageant should be about the United Kingdom coming together to thank the Queen for her 70 years’ selfless service to our country and the Commonwealth. It should be an event she will love and enjoy.
For music, these sprang to mind: a
Welsh male voice choir, Scottish pipes and drums, English choral music, Irish fiddlers and the Notting Hill carnival.
Equestrians could reflect the Queen’s passion for horses. We love sport and are blessed with fantastic museums, theatres and buildings looked after by English Heritage and the National Trust. The Queen has supported many of these, as well as charities and volunteer services.
Many of these people would have loved to join in the pageant to give the Queen a happy event to enjoy. I fear current plans may not fulfil this goal. Professor Elizabeth Juniper Bosham, West Sussex
sir – Having served with the Royal Navy in the “Rusty B” (HMS Bulwark), I have a great respect for the Navy’s approach to public relations. However, the plea (Letters, April 30) for it to be represented in the Jubilee flypast is a case of crying before one is hurt.
In the Armed Forces, personnel often serve with other services. An F35 squadron at RAF Marham is commanded by a naval officer.
One year, the Battle of Britain flypast over Buckingham Palace was led by Hauptmann Dieter Knorr, a Luftwaffe officer on an exchange with the RAF. Wing Commander Colin Cummings Yelvertoft, Northamptonshire