It was May 1971. I was attending Grade 1 at Edith Cavell Annex, across Cambie Street from Vancouver City Hall. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited my hometown’s City Hall. I was one of the thousands of schoolchildren who gave them a warm welcome! I’m going to miss her.
Ex-Royal cop recalls Queen’s joke
https://mobile.twitter.com/brianlilley/status/1567964614771589120?cxt=HHwWgIC-vc_gw8IrAAAA
From 1955 to 1967, I went to a public Catholic school with nuns at the helm. (The nuns were under contract with our public school district.) Every morning, we sang ”God Save the Queen.” Her photo was at the front of the class. Later on in high school, every morning, we had to raise the Union Jack above the flat plains of SW Sask. In Feb. 1965, we took the Union Jack down and raised the Maple Leaf. The photo of the Queen however stayed until I graduated from grade 12. God Bless her soul.
My nephew is in the US Coast Guard, and spent a couple years in a program where US service members are sent over to the UK to help the Royal Navy train for skilled positions where they are understaffed.
Towards the end of his stint, there was a big military review attended by the Queen. This was only about 5 years ago, and he was amazed at her stamina as she stood during the long event.
What was most impressive , though, was that she came up to the small group of Americans and spoke to each one individually for a couple of minutes- asking them about their background, what they had been doing during their time in the UK, and thanking them for making the sacrifices they did to spend a long time away from home to help out the Royal Navy. Total class.
May God be with our gracious Queen, who was wise to stand above the political fray and represent something that stood outside of time. She resisted cheapening her image in order to serve the fad de jour.
I never met her, never had interaction with her. I saw her picture on the classroom wall every day and every day at end of class we would stand and sing God Save the Queen. Her passing has left me without any feeling or sentiment at all. The only time Canada needed her was when Trudeau put a cartoon constitution in front of her and said ‘Sign”. Sadly she did. Canada was destroyed that day. The queen failed Canada at its most critical time. Oh I know the law etc etc etc. But if the monarch of a country cannot prevent the self destruction of the country then the monarch is little more than a waste of time and energy. Sadly now we have the international embarrassment – Kotex the III on the throne.
Joe, you last line is perfect LOL!
This made me laugh too, and brazenly stolen from twatter;
“Can’t believe that they are going to make a man The Queen.
Really, this woke nonsense has gone too far!”
https://twitter.com/unfortunatalie/status/1567970723091693570
Another version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvMxqcgBhWQ
Under our constitution it would be the Governor General (in 1982) who might have intervened in the repatriation of the Constitution. The Queen had no advice from the GG on that matter and so (rightly) made the trip over to attend the ceremony.
If there is to be a debate or discussion then it should be on the role played by the Governor General at that time.
Perhaps a more valid criticism might be that if part of the Queen’s role is to be “Defender of the faith” then comments or criticisms might have been appropriate as the UK changed its laws about same sex marriage (and the same could be said about Governors General etc in commonwealth countries). Here, I think it may have been a desire to stay out of politics rather than any great enthusiasm for homosexuality that produced these results. One might add that the Royal family is more widely associated with heterosexuality to a rather excessive degree in some cases.
I never met the Queen but my grandmother did, at her shop in east London, many years ago. We still have a picture of the two of them having a brief animated chat about something, probably the price of oranges. I was at the Queen’s coronation as a young chap turning four years old, but I have no direct memories of it, just the family pictures taken by my parents. As some will know, they waited 15 months for that public spectacle, for a variety of reasons. Queen Elizabeth II began her reign in February 1952 but the coronation was in early June of 1953.
Robert, I was in Vancouver at the same time in 1971 at Vancouver College, near 41st and Granville.
We all got out of school and lined Granville from 39th-37th Ave and watched her limo drive past us when she waved at us. I still remember that!
Actually a friend, Bobby Park’s dad had the limo in his garage with the placket stating it was for HRH.
Uncle was very involved in sports and officiated at various events. At one event, he moved out of the designated area and was pinned by an errant javelin. However, Uncle got basic first aid treatment and came back to reassure the javelin thrower that all was well.
Fast forward to the Commonwealth Game in Edmonton, and Uncle is one of the officials. Word is that there is to be no acknowledgement of Her Majesty by the officials as they walk out, but Uncle thinks otherwise and persuades fellow official that they should doff their caps as they passed by the royal box. Which they did; and received much censure for their actions.
Uncle died – far too young – a few years later. I still remember his good works.