Four days of Platinum Jubilee celebrations and on day five an attempt to chuck out the Prime Minister.
Not a putsch but a second, splendid celebration of democracy. I almost forgot, the tube drivers in London also went on strike on Monday. Democracy is far from perfect but it mostly works for the UK. It sort of works ‘cos the rules are tweaked. Did you know there were two rule changes for the 2019 UK General Election? None of the presiding officers at the polling stations I visited knew, so don’t worry.
The rules for choosing the leader of the Conservative Party are changed all the time, seldom for the better; similar with other parties. As things stand now BJ (PM) has a get out of jail free card, valid for a year.
Likewise the role of the Monarch evolves. It was fun when the Queen shared a marmalade sandwich with a glove puppet, especially as a younger generation may only remember the Platinum Jubilee for that skit. I would have preferred Basil Brush joshing with the Queen; “boom boom” at the flypast. The Queen is the first monarch to play along and seems to put up with it but we don’t know. We do know what Queen Victoria thought about her visit to Ireland in 1900.
”We three wore bunches of real shamrocks, and my silver bonnet and parasol were embroidered with silver shamrocks. On entering my carriage, in which I sat alone, Lenchen (Princess Christian)) and Beatrice opposite me, an Address was presented from the Chairman and Councillors of Kingstown, and I said a few words in handing my reply. The procession, consisting of four carriages, then started, mine coming last. Arthur (Connaught) rode near my carriage all the way, and I had a travelling escort of the King’s Dragoon Guards. The whole route from Kingstown to Dublin was much crowded, all the people cheering loudly, and the decorations were beautiful.
The drive lasted two hours and a half. We went all along the quays in the poorer parts of the town, where thousands had gathered together and gave me a wildly enthusiastic greeting. At Trinity College the students sang ‘God Save the Queen’, and shouted themselves hoarse. The cheers and often almost screams were quite deafening. Even the Nationalists in front of the City Hall seemed to forget their politics and cheered and waved their hats. It was really a wonderful reception I got and most gratifying.” (Queen Victoria’s Journal)