The Hindu : International : I am touched, says Queen Elizabeth

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Saturday, Apr 22, 2006

International

International

I am touched, says Queen Elizabeth

Hasan Suroor

Greetings pour in from all over the world

LONDON: A "nice, sunshiny day'' was what the Queen wanted on her 80th birthday — and that's what she got. Well, almost.

As the English weather goes, it was a perfect spring day and — unlike the mood in that other kingdom, in the Himalayas — here everyone appeared to be on a song with even the sceptics grudgingly joining the party.

"Great Queen, shame about the monarchy,'' was how The Guardian greeted the event summing up the mood among republicans.

Television channels pulled out all stops with wall-to-wall coverage of the Queen's walkabout at Windsor where hundreds of people lined up the streets to wish "Ma'm'' a happy birthday. She mingled with them, accepting bouquets and cards and chatting with well-wishers many of whom had been waiting for hours.

A band of the Irish Guards played "Happy Birthday'' as the Queen, dressed in a pink coat and hat, came out of Windsor Castle.

The staunchly royalist The Times recalled the day when the Queen was born. "Winston Churchill was Chancellor of the Exchequer, Communism was on the march, Cecil B.DeMilles' "The Volga Boatman" was playing at the Capitol Haymarket... And on page 14 of the newspaper, squeezed between news of the economy and divisions in the German Cabinet, was a small item reporting the birth of a child who would become Queen Elizabeth II — `The Duchess of York was safely delivered of a princess at 2.40 this morning. Both mother and daughter are doing well.' ''

Eighty years later, on Friday, that "princess'' had been on the throne longer than any monarch in modern European history.

Greetings poured in from all over the world and the Queen received 20,000 cards and 17,000 e-mails. She said she was "very touched'' by what people had written.

For all the media hype and apparent excitement, however, there was little enthusiasm about the monarchy.

The Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland echoed a widely-held sentiment: "Let's wish the Queen a very happy birthday... .But let's decide now that, when she goes, we bury this ludicrous institution with her.''

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