Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
    Europe

    When politics and a royal passion collide

    By Chris Peterson | China Daily Europe | Updated: 2017-06-16 08:41
    Share
    Share - WeChat

    Queen Elizabeth, we are reliably informed, is not amused - a phrase often attributed to her great-great grandmother, Queen Victoria.

    This time it's the almost certain decision by Prime Minister Theresa May's government to delay the Queen's Speech, the formal act that opens a new session of Parliament and sets out the government's agenda.

    It's a full-on formal occasion, with the Queen in the past dressed in robes of state and wearing a crown studded with jewels, although this year Buckingham Palace has announced she will "dress down" and not wear the robes and crown, perhaps in deference to the fact that she is 91.

    The Queen is fanatical about horses-it's said that when she and her team sit down to review the year's engagements, the five-day Royal Ascot race meeting is the first thing to go in the diary and everything else fits around it. The Queen's stables, in which she takes a close and active interest, have, after all, trained 22 winners for Royal Ascot over the years. She still rides in Great Windsor Park.

    So with the likelihood of the state opening of Parliament being delayed, the chances of disrupting the Queen's annual racing treat at Ascot, not far from Windsor Castle, are high. No wonder there are rumbles of dissatisfaction emanating from Buckingham Palace.

    I've been thinking about the more exotic trappings and facts surrounding Britain's Royal family.

    This was triggered in part by the most bizarre excuse ever offered by a British government official, who said that one of the reasons for delaying the Queen's Speech is that, because of the snap general election in which May failed to gain an overall majority, her Cabinet is rewriting the speech to be read by the Queen. And because that's printed on goat's skin parchment, it takes three days for the ink to dry.

    You couldn't make it up.

    Another factoid-the cellars under the Houses of Parliament are ceremoniously searched before the event, a throwback to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in which Guy Fawkes and fellow Catholic activists were caught preparing to assassinate Protestant monarch James I by igniting barrels of gunpowder.

    There's a link to the past antagonism between the monarch and Parliament in the role of a person called the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, usually an ex-military officer, whose role is to wear a unform including black tights and hammer on the door of the House of Commons, which will have just been closed in his face, with - you've guessed - it a black rod.

    His job is to summon members of the House of Commons to walk to the House of Lords chamber to hear the Queen's Speech.

    Other odd facts surrounding the Queen - she doesn't have to hold a driving license, unlike everyone else who drives on the roads here. She is, in fact, a qualified mechanic, having trained during her service in World War II with the Auxiliary Territorial Service, when women drove and maintained trucks as men went off to fight the war.

    She doesn't have a passport, either. All UK passports, technically issued by the Queen, bear the UK's royal coat of arms in gold on the front, and inside are printed the words: "Her Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State requests and requires in the name of Her Majesty all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary."

    That has been deemed by international agreement to be enough for her to be recognized.

    As I said, you couldn't make it up.

    Chris Peterson is managing editor Europe for China Daily. Contact him at chris@mail.chinadailyuk.com

    (China Daily European Weekly 06/16/2017 page11)

    Today's Top News

    Editor's picks

    Most Viewed

    Top
    BACK TO THE TOP
    English
    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
    丰满熟妇人妻Av无码区| 精品久久久久久无码中文字幕一区| 中文文字幕文字幕亚洲色| 亚洲av无码一区二区三区不卡 | 中文字幕亚洲无线码a| 亚洲国产91精品无码专区| 日韩精品真人荷官无码| 日韩精品无码免费专区午夜不卡 | 涩涩色中文综合亚洲| 精品国产a∨无码一区二区三区 | 日韩va中文字幕无码电影| 中文字幕乱码一区二区免费| 精品国精品无码自拍自在线| 亚洲av日韩av无码| 国偷自产短视频中文版| 无码av最新无码av专区| 东京热人妻无码一区二区av| 最近更新2019中文字幕| 无码中文人妻视频2019| 中文成人无码精品久久久不卡| 粉嫩高中生无码视频在线观看| 无码人妻精品一区二区三区99仓本| 中文字幕国产91| 日本中文一区二区三区亚洲| 日本精品久久久久中文字幕| 天堂а在线中文在线新版| 欧美巨大xxxx做受中文字幕| 中文字字幕在线中文乱码不卡| 久99久无码精品视频免费播放 | 国产亚洲?V无码?V男人的天堂| 少妇无码一区二区三区| 人禽无码视频在线观看 | 国产乱妇无码大片在线观看| 国产乱子伦精品无码码专区| 精品久久久久久无码专区| 高h纯肉无码视频在线观看| 精品久久久久久无码免费| 亚洲人成无码网WWW| 波多野结衣在线aⅴ中文字幕不卡| 亚洲VA中文字幕无码一二三区| 暖暖免费在线中文日本|