Back to reality, and long may she reign!

Well the Diamond Jubilee is well and truly over and we have all gone back to work after a wonderfully flag waving, patriotic weekend.

There’s nothing like a bit of national pride to cheer you up, is there? Watching the celebrations on the telly brought quite a lump to the throat, and in particular watching the poor old Queen on her own on Monday and Tuesday after her husband went into hospital was quite emotional. She looked so small and lonely, and I felt desperately sorry for her that in what should have been her greatest moment of celebration, she was alone (by the way, I gather from the tabloid press that one of the reasons she looked a little strained on Monday evening at the concert was because she was wearing ear plugs to keep out the excessive noise!).

A few people have, of course, carped about the cost of the whole thing and questioned why we are celebrating the longevity of an archaic institution which has a shield of incredible wealth and privilege and is simply there by right of birth and not by any elected public will.

But the fact is that it is a whole lot better than the alternatives, and the monarchy has a massive majority of public support. The last time a proper poll was taken (by which I mean one carried out by MORI and not some half arsed thing done by The Sun or Daily Mail with about 20 people) about 80% of people supported the Queen herself and over 70% supported the monarchy as an institution.

The Queen’s face was on newspapers all over the world this weekend, and many countries are envious of the wonderful public persona that she presents and the fact that she is such a tireless ambassador for this country. She has worked hard for her country for sixty years completely selflessly simply to foster its interests internationally and support her elected government (why on earth otherwise would you want to sit through endless children’s choirs, native dances, posh dinners and boring speeches and get dressed up in posh clothes when you would much rather slump around in trackie bottoms and a t-shirt watching Corrie and eating beans on toast). She has tried to bring up her family (with varying degrees of success) with a similar work ethic and an acknowledgement that although they are in their positions by birth, they owe a payment to the nation in return.

I for one am grateful that we do not live in a republic. There are countless examples all over the world where republics have gone bad and where presidents have assumed absolute power at the expense of their people. Even in a democratically elected presidency (such as America) there are countless abuses of power because there are no controls and checks on the powerful relationship of the President with the security services who do his/her bidding and are themselves totally unaccountable.

Last year, as I have blogged before, The Hubby and I went round Buckingham Palace and did the tourist thing. He was reluctant – not sure why, I know he’s not really an ardent royalist but I don’t think he is a closet republican – but we both thoroughly enjoyed it. And the information given out about the royals certainly made us think more about the value they add to the UK, which is considerable.

Anyway, I joined in the flag waving this weekend with enthusiasm, although I had to pretend with the actual waving thing since no one had actually bought me a Union Jack or any bunting. It was all really nice, which is an inadequate word but somehow appropriately warm and fuzzy, and it was a joy to see so many people packed into London all with smiles on their faces and just there to soak up the atmosphere and be supportive.

So long live the Queen, and much longer may she reign!