All Things British

1/23/2019

Since I was a little girl, I have long been fascinated by the comings and goings of the British Royal Family.

My Father was stationed in England at the time of Queen Elizabeth's coronation ceremony. While I was quite young, and if I recall correctly, the streets of Liverpool (yes, the Beatle's Liverpool) were lined with tables. Those things may be fuzzy, but I have a cup, which is actually more the size of a small drinking glass. The cup had the royal seal printed on one side and the Queen's picture on the other side. I, along with all the other girls, were given this cup. The boys received "golden" carriages in the style of the one that the Queen used on her wedding day.

I don't know if my brother still has the carriage, but I have the cup. Over the years, the cup has been broken more than once. The outside of the cup shows the glued cracks. If it were in perfect condition, it might actually be sellable (sp) one day. On the same shelf, is another cup, also from the 50's era, that has pictures of nursery rhyme figures. How did I get it? I can't remember, but it's beautiful and in perfect condition.

PBS recently had a show about the romance of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, which I enjoyed watching. There is also another show, where that wedding is duplicated down to the exotic foods served that day. 

When Prince Charles married Diana, my friend from work and I, took the day off, and stayed glued to the television from start to finish. Maybe, not the best use of a vacation day, but for me, it was a wonderful day.

Sadly, that same friend and I, took off from work to watch the funeral of Princess Diana. While the wedding had filled us with joy, the funeral was very sad and emotional.

Since then, I have "participated" (i.e., watched) all of the royal weddings. From Prince Charles to Camilla, as well the weddings of both Charles' and Diana's sons. Babies being born, divorces, and last but not least, Prince Harry and Megan's wedding. The next big thing that will happen, at least I think so, will be the birth of Harry and Megan's baby. How exciting.

Here in America, we don't have a royal family. To be sure, we have Presidents and First Ladies, but nobody here, that I can think of anyway, are royal. The British people love the royal family as well as seeimg the pomp and circumstances of their lives. 

My Dad collected "mint" stamps. These stamps are ones that have never been used or have any kind of stamp on them. When Charles married Diana, Dad had a lot of stamps from all of the British Colonies. He painstakingly mounted each stamp and more than one album was completely filled.  When my Dad passed away, Jeff and I took all of his stamp collections, and there was a lot, and put them in our suitcases. I didn't, actually I know, that my Mother and sister wouldn't appreciate the stamps. In taking them, I didn't ask for permission, and if there had been a protest, I would have prevailed.

I do remember arriving at LAX with suitcases that were filled to capacity with these albums. Before boarding, the agent, after weighing each bag, asked us what was inside the bags that weighed so much. We laughed to ourselves, and told her that there were only stamps inside!

P