Britain goes all patriotic about Jubilee
Two former journalistic colleagues, Ray and Alex, told me over lunch they planned to flee abroad to escape the celebrations for Queen Elizabeth’s 60 years as head of state, the great Diamond Jubilee, which climax this weekend.
Ray is an American, so I guess he is a republican (small r) by right and can do what he wants, and Alex is of French provenance so anti-royalism is probably in his DNA.
It has become non-PC to admit you might be interested in the great royalist blow-out, at least among the chattering classes.
Big Leonard said he would stay tuned to Sky Sports throughout the June 2-5 holiday weekend in case he should glimpse a royal on the news channels, and Davey planned a horse-racing jag – though I hope he avoided Epsom because the Queen was due there for Derby Day.
Patriotism is not a flag-waving, hand-on-the-heart affair in Britain and it is many years since theatres gave up playing the national anthem because nobody would stand up.
But every now and then, the country is seized with a bout of national fervour – the Falklands, the Queen’s Silver Jubilee, the World Cup, last night of the Promenade Concerts.
And my suspicion is that all the self-proclaimed anti-royalists will be sneaking a quick look at the great events this weekend if they think nobody is watching them.
For if there is one thing this country does really well, it is to lay on a royal show, as millions of foreign tourists have testified over many years.
Already, the critics have been stirred to reluctant admiration by the sight of 2,500 servicemen and women marching past the Queen at Windsor Castle, followed by a flypast of 78 current and historic aircraft highlighted by the Red Arrows display flight.
My own favourite is scheduled today – a seven-mile-long flotilla of 1,000 private boats crewed by 20,000 people escorting the Queen, on her specially designed scarlet and gold royal barge, in an unprecedented cruise down the River Thames.
All kinds of craft were taking part – rowing boats, pleasure craft, working vessels, canoes and kayaks. A million spectators lined 14 miles of river banks.
The Queen and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, and other members of the royal family have been touring England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland since March 1, with visits overseas to Malaysia, Singapore, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas.
Some 2,012 beacons were set for firing up in the UK and around the world, and Union flags and bunting were strung up from house to house.
Where the jubilee is genuinely acclaimed is among children. Not only do they get an extended holiday from school, but mums have laid on street parties by the thousand and every community seems to have planned sports days, fancy dress parties and musical parades.
The final day of the Jubilee weekend Tuesday will be marked by a national service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral, a carriage procession through the city centre, a 60-gun salute at Buckingham Palace and a “Feu de Joie,” a cascade of fire by the Queen’s Guard.
Somebody once joked there were only five queens of note, the Queen of Hearts, the Queen of Diamonds, the Queen of Spades and the Queen of Clubs.
Oh, yes, and the Queen of England.
Whatever the anti-royalists say, there is no doubting the very genuine popularity of Queen Elizabeth. The only question is, after 60 years on the throne and now aged 86, how much longer will she reign o’er us?
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Well, that’s patriotism British style and whatever you think of it, it has to be better than the ugly displays of nationalistic fervour BBC viewers watched last week in the run-up to the Euro 2012 football championship.
The Panorama programme went to Poland and the Ukraine, joint holders of the competition, and witnessed straight-arm Nazi salutes from the terraces, black players being taunted with monkey chants, rampant anti-Semitism and a vicious assault on a group of Asian students.
Sol Campbell, a former captain of the England football team, who is black, watched the footage, looking visibly shocked, then advised fans: “Stay at home, watch it on TV, don’t even risk it because you could be coming back in a coffin.”
European football’s governing body, Uefa, said security would be massively greater at championship games and it was working with both Poland and Ukraine to ensure the safety of travelling teams and their fans.
Despite these assurances, the families of two of England’s black players, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, have decided to stay away.
Uefa said giving the tournament to these two countries was an opportunity for them to address societal issues.
Campbell said Uefa was wrong. “What they should say is, ‘If you want this tournament, sort your problems out. Until we see a massive improvement, you do not deserve these prestigious tournaments in your country.’”
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Definition of the perfect sermon: a good beginning and a good ending, as close together as possible.
