ORIENT congratulates Queen Elizabeth II
In the famous song there are such childishly naive, but very sweet lines, “Unfortunately, the birthday is only once a year.” However, British monarchs need not be sad. They, unlike ordinary people, have two birthdays a year. Including the Queen of Great Britain Elizabeth II. But it is not the crowned lady that established this seemingly strange tradition - it has existed for 274 years and dates back to the reign of King George II.
This monarch was born in November, when torrential rains fall on foggy Albion. And George II wanted the celebration in honor of his birthday to be held solemnly and with a large gathering of people, which was not facilitated by weather conditions. And then the English monarch decided to celebrate his birthday ... in June, when the weather is favorable for mass events in the kingdom.
So, in 1748, for the first time in June, the British publicly celebrated the official birthday of the king, and the monarch celebrated his real - the so-called passport birthday - in a narrow family circle. Since then, this tradition has been continued by all subsequent rulers of Great Britain.
On the eve of the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, Ambassador of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Lucia Wilde answered questions from ORIENT.
– Madam Ambassador, Great Britain is the birthplace of outstanding writers and playwrights, remarkable actors and directors, advanced science and a developed economy, great musicians and athletes, and finally, the official founder of modern football.
But in this rather extensive list, a special place is occupied by the fact that England is the birthplace of one of the oldest monarchies in the world. Most recently, in February of this year, the whole world celebrated the 70th anniversary of Her Majesty's reign. However, the celebrations are still going on. A few words about this, please.
– We are celebrating this week the Queen's official birthday.
So, this year, we are celebrating 70 years of Her Majesty on the throne.
It's a really big important event and the whole country will be celebrating, because, as you quite rightly said Her Majesty means a lot to us the people.
But she also means a lot to many people around the world.
I was listening to a radio program yesterday at BBC Radio program and talking about Her Majesty of our foremost diplomat having visited more than a hundred countries. She's also probably the most famous woman in the world.
In Great Britain and in many world countries this event is going to be celebrating in the weekends and we are doing the same in Ashkhabat as well. So, absolutely very important events for us, but also, for very many people around the world.
– Queen Elizabeth II is undoubtedly an outstanding person, who is treated with great respect by the largest political and state figures. Tell me, how, in your opinion, is it perceived by ordinary inhabitants of our planet?
– I think what Her Majesty represents for us but also for many people around the world is continuity and stability. Over a period when she became the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland the world had seen incredible changes. But Her Majesty has been a symbol of continuity and stability and she has done that in a way that I think many people respect.
So, she is someone who has lived her life according to the principles of service and of duty and of hard work. And those are the principles that many of us try to emulate and I think everybody respects in how much to the Queen. So, she is a really important figure for us nationally, but also around the world; and I think it's absolutely right that we should be celebrating her and her reign this weekend.
– There are many unique, amazing and simply wonderful facts in the biography of Her Majesty. But I would like to know which of them delighted you the most?
– Queen Elizabeth II represents thousands of years of monarchy. But her herself, as you’ve quite rightly said has been reigning over long 70 years and she has seen a lot of changes over that time. I really liked what a listened yesterday about trip she did-historic trip that she did to Berlin timed to 20 years of the end of the World War II. It was a really important trip for reconciliation and building of a new relationship.
What I was quite struck by was that not only did the crowds in West Berlin, turned out to see her but also hundreds of people on the eastern side of the Berlin Wall turned out to see her. Such was her fame, but also such was the attraction that she had for so many people. Even Russian soldiers were taking photographs of her from the other side of the wall-as a symbol of the division of Europe.
And she was there in order to be able to help Europe to start a new phase in its relationship.
And I think that really illustrates the power that she's had as our foremost diplomat.
She has visited more than a hundred countries, more than any other monarch and has played a really important role in the diplomatic life of our nation.
There are many things that Her Majesty means for the people around the world, especially, in Great Britain and in the Commonwealth, where she has played a very important role over many years. And as I have said, she lived her life according to the principles of service, duty and hard work. But there is something else in terms of meaning, which is the Crown.
Crown is something that sits in the heart of our nation. And Her Majesty wears
the crown, she plays the role of queen and the crown is something that she protects; that she has a duty and responsibility to uphold.
And it is something that sits in the heart of our nation.
We have no written constitution (Ed. note - in the UK there is no single constitutional act with ordered chapters and clauses, but there is a certain generally recognized set of sources of law, which together make up the constitution of the kingdom) . But what we do have is the institution of the crown, which enables us to unite as a nation around that concept of duty and of service and of being together as a people, but also being together in the Commonwealth.
– Some six months ago, Queen Elizabeth II appointed you Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Turkmenistan. What do you see as your mission while in our country?
– It's a wonderful process to be part of.
I was absolutely proud to be able to present my letters of credence signed originally by Her Majesty the Queen.
And I presented them to His Excellency the President in January, here in Turkmenistan. And with those letters, what she is asking me to do is to represent us in a positive and constructive way. Represent her because I am Her Majesty’s ambassador.
I am very much looking forward to my audience with the Queen.
So, typically, ambassadors will be invited to have an audience with the Queen. Because of the pandemic and everything being online, it's going to take a little longer. But I'm really looking forward to meeting her and talking about the exciting times and the wonderful work that we're enjoying doing here in Turkmenistan.
– Madam Ambassador, anniversary celebrations in honor of the Queen of Great Britain are held at the official level in many countries of the world. Tell me, how do ordinary Britons celebrate this holiday?
– I’d like to share with you what families in the UK will be doing this weekend.
So, whenever we have a big jubilee, a big milestone or moment for our royal family, we have a strong tradition of street parties.
So up and down the UK, this weekend, families will be taking their chairs, their tables out onto the streets.
The councils will close the road and all of the neighbors and families in the street will sit down for a meal together.
Each family will take a dish, their favorite dish, and everybody will share the food together. Maybe some champagne.
There will be competitions for the children and maybe people will go in fancy dress and it's a fantastic opportunity for people to get to know each other a little bit better and celebrate Her Majesty’s jubilee.
– Thank you, Mrs. Lucia Wilde, for your detailed and interesting story. On behalf of the readers of the ORIENT website, in your person, let me congratulate Her Majesty on her birthday, wish her good health, long life and new successes in the name of the prosperity of Great Britain.
… And now some interesting facts from the life of the Queen
Elizabeth II is the oldest head of state in the world. Before Elizabeth II, her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, ruled the longest in the UK, whose record (63 years, seven months and two days) was broken by her great-granddaughter in 2015.
The first head of government under Elizabeth II was Winston Churchill, the last one so far is Boris Johnson. In total, 14 prime ministers were replaced under her.
The Queen was the first monarch to circumnavigate the world at the age of 28. This voyage in 1954 lasted six months.
In 2007, Elizabeth II celebrated a diamond wedding, becoming in this "nomination" the first and so far the only one of the British monarchs. Her husband, Prince Philip, passed away last year, just two months and one day short of his 100th birthday.
Today, even small children can easily send text messages, emails, etc. to each other, and 46 years ago, Elizabeth II became the first monarch to send an email. It happened in the telecommunications research center of the English county of Worcestershire.
For more than 65 years, Elizabeth II has been organizing dinners in a narrow circle with people who have achieved success in their work, regardless of estates and professions. And during a breakfast in honor of Yuri Gagarin, the world's first cosmonaut, violating etiquette, ate a slice of lemon directly from a cup of tea, and the Queen, out of a sense of solidarity, did the same, royally also violating protocol etiquette.
The crowned lady has been voluntarily paying taxes for almost 30 years, despite the fact that she is exempt from this obligation.
And although Elizabeth II does not have a driver's license (she has such a privilege), the Queen stopped driving a car on her own only three years ago, when she turned ... 93 years old!
And another very important document that a crowned person does not have is a passport. The fact is that passports in the UK are issued on behalf of the Queen, and she, as it were, cannot write out this necessary document for herself in many cases.
Elizabeth II invariably congratulates British and Commonwealth citizens who have reached the age of 100 and 105, as well as married couples who have lived together for 60, 65 and 70 years.
And finally, a very sweet event from the biography of the Queen: in 2007, the American magazine Vogue published a list of the 50 most charming women in the world. And, of course, everyone's favorite Elizabeth II took her rightful place in it.
Bekdurdy AMANSARIEV
