This weekend Her Majesty the Queen celebrates her Diamond Jubilee. She became Queen in February 1952 following the death of her father King George VI and was crowned on 2nd June 1953. As head of State for 60 years she has witnessed significant change within the world. She has had 12 British Prime Ministers, her first being Winston Churchill. And she has seen American Presidents come and go. The Queen is unique in that she is seen as more than simply the Head of State, she is seen as the trusted grandmother of the Commonwealth.

The Queen and Royal Family remain incredibly popular; a recent poll showed that only 10% of the British people want the United Kingdom to become a Republic. As people across the Commonwealth celebrate her 60 years on the throne, I too say Congratulations Your Majesty on 60 glorious years and long may you reign.

Sixty years ago today, His Majesty King George VI peacefully passed away during his sleep. The King failed to recover from a lung operation which he had some months earlier as a result of his heavy smoking and died aged 56 at Sandringham House. Princess Elizabeth who was in Kenya with Prince Philip left the United Kingdom as a Princess and returned as a Queen. She was a 25 year old mother of two and the Heir to the throne of several countries was now just 3 years old.

The announcement of the King’s death was made at 10:45 on 6th February 1952 in which the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill announced that “We cannot at this moment do more than record the spontaneous expression of grief”.

For 60 years, Queen Elizabeth II has been serving her subjects at home and abroad. She has and continues to be the beating heart of the Commonwealth and is widely respected by world leaders past and present. A true public servant who works in the national interest, she is also the Queen of 15 other realms. The Queen has reigned over 12 British Prime Ministers, the first being Winston Churchill.

The Queen normally spends February 6th privately n Sandringham to mark the anniversary of the death of her father, however today she will have two engagements.

To mark 60 years on the throne, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee will be celebrated around the Commonwealth with a flotilla of more than 1000 boats along the River Thames in June and members of the Royal family will visit every Commonwealth country. The Queen and Prince Philip will remain in the UK and visit England, Scotland and Wales. This is largely due to the age of the Monarch and Prince Philip’s recent health scare.

Whilst today we mark 60 years of having Queen Elizabeth II reigning over us, we too must pay tribute to Price Philip who has stood by the Queen and has been her rock. We may know the Duke of Edinburgh for his gaffes but he does an awful lot of work for charitable causes not least the hugely successful Duke of Edinburgh Scheme which has helped millions of people.

Whatever you think of the Monarchy or the Royal family, we owe them a debt of gratitude particularly the Queen. She is an excellent ambassador for the country and has served the country well for 60 long years.

Queen Elizabeth is only the second British monarch in history to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee, the first being Queen Victoria who reigned for 63 years. If Queen Elizabeth is still reigning on 10th September 2015 she will become the longest reigning monarch in British history.

Long May She Reign.

He served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War, and has been a rock for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for almost 60 years during her reign; he is known for his gaffes and political incorrectness and today His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh celebrates his 90^th birthday. Prince Philip is rather unlike any member of the Royal family before him, he appears to be a genuinely down to earth chap who quite frankly does not care too much about what the press say about him. Certainly watching the BBC programme ‘Duke at 90’ which was broadcast last night, this comes across during his interview with Fiona Bruce.

It is remarkable how much he does for this country and around the world, from the Duke of Edinburgh scheme which has benefitted hundreds of people to support the Queen in her constitutional duties. For a man of 90 to still be carrying out over 200 official duties a year, to still be carrying on with the DoE award and to still be doing endless amounts of work for charity, is something that deserves to be recognised.

If you didn’t manage to see Duke at 90 you can do so by clicking here.

Happy Birthday Prince Philip!

TSF

The Prime Minister David Cameron has hinted that Britain should have an extra bank holiday to celebrate the marriage of Prince William to Kate Middleton next year. The idea is also supported by the Prince and his fiance according to St James’s Palace. So that sounds nice an extra day off to watch the Royal wedding, but is it really such a good idea? We know the economy is still fragile, an extra bank holiday would cost the British economy a up to £6 billion according to the CBI. So is that extra bank holiday really worth it? Or is the Prime Minister just wanting to make it a national day off so he can boost his popularity?

TSF

I like so many others am thrilled to hear the news that HRH Prince William is to marry his long term partner Kate Middleton. The news was announced by Clarence House that the future king would marry next year in London in either the spring or summer. Prince William will make a splendid King and indeed Kate Middleton would be a wonderful Queen. The leaders of all three main parties in Britain have congratulated the happy couple. It will be interesting to see if when The Queen decides to stand down as monarch (i’m guessing after 2012, her diamond jubilee) if Charles will just pass the Crown to William.

Prince William is very much like his late mother, he is a charitable person seen regularly helping causes. He attended a special remembrance service in Afghanistan on Remembrance Sunday and it well liked around the world. I remember not so long ago an Australian TV Network conducted a poll of who Australians would prefer as King, Charles or William a huge number preferred William because he is young, down to earth and respected for his charity work. Prince William and Kate Middleton have been in a relationship since 2003 when they met at University. The date for the marriage has not been announced but Saturday 13th August is a possible date.

Again I wish the Royal couple well.