February 6, 2012

Long Live the Queen

God save our gracious Queen,
Long live our noble Queen,
God save the Queen:
Send her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us:
God save the Queen.

HM60In 1952, HM Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne on the death of her father. In 2012, we celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of this occasion. Regardless of what you think of the monarchy, what HM does is remarkable.

To celebrate, there are numerous events throughout the year including a stellar exhibition at the V&A Museum of Cecil Beaton’s photographs of the Royal Family, taken from 1939 to 1968.Queen-Elizabeth-II-1968-BeatonMany of the photographs in this show have not been exhibited prior to this.

In a speech marking her 60 years of reigning, the Queen says: "Today, as I mark 60 years as your Queen, I am writing to thank you for the wonderful support and encouragement that you have given to me and Prince Philip over these years and to tell you how deeply moved we have been to receive so many kind messages about the diamond jubilee.”

Buckingham Palace will host an exhibition of royal diamonds for this Diamond Jubilee, including this piece which is called the Girls of Great Britain tiara.  Also included will be the pieces that HM refers to as “her best diamonds”. Can you even imagine?Girls-of-Great-Britain-tiara

The major celebrations are planned for June 2012.

11 comments:

  1. Even though I'm an American, I always tear up when I hear God Save the Queen. Ditto with Pomp and Circumstance. What is it with these British composers?

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  2. I was in London in 2002 during the Queen's Golden Jubilee - the buses were painted gold and so much more. It was so exciting and fun - I can barely imagine how amazing the Diamond Jubilee will be!

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  3. What's very interesting to me is the little strap at the back of the crown. I always wondered how they stay on.

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  4. I am a fan of the Queen... She does an amazing job in all types of circumstances... Your 'tiara' is on 'my daily click' today Meg... Thank you for the inspiration... xv

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  5. I would love to see the Cecil Beaton photos. When I was very little I loved to look at my great-grandmother's coronation photo books. I still find it endlessly fascinating.

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  6. I love the Queen. And your new blog header.

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  7. A wonderful celebration! God save the Queen, indeed!!!

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  8. I cannot even imagine the number of hours HM has dedicated to her country. She deserves to be honored.

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  9. I adore the queen, God bless her. Hope to get back to UK before the olympics start. Thank you for the reminder, Meg
    xxpeggybraswelldesign

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  10. IIRC, this is known within the Royal Family as "Granny's tiara," for Queen Mary. It's so gorgeous, plus the bottom row of diamonds can be detached for a bit of a different look. While I'm here, it has just occurred to me that perhaps the reason the Queen has never changed her hairstyle in all these years is that the tiaras and coronets set so well upon it, so why change?

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  11. We are headed to England in May/June mainly so John can tour gardens (Hidcote, Great Dixter, Sissinghurst, Beth Chatto...). When I made the arrangements it didn't even occur to me that it would coincide with Jubilee doings. How exciting.

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