Raise your hand if you’re excited about the platinum jubilee … from donut makers to champagne houses to dog charities, my inbox has been bombarded while everyone attends the event.
The first major national celebration since the beginning of the pandemic, an opportunity for us to go out and party together, is certainly a big issue. And don’t forget that we’ve never really seen anything like it.
No other British monarch has ever reached the age of 70 on the throne and a platinum jubilee. It will be a great international event, where the focus will be again on the Queen and, of course, how much we will see her during the four days of celebrations, after her last problems walking.
But inevitably, the world will also be watching his family, and after a difficult time for the Windsors recently, with the saga of Prince Andrew and what happened to the Sussex. Somehow, it will be a test to see how Britain really feels about the monarchy.
“She’s magic, but the world isn’t magical at the moment,” said Francis Bloss, the new owner of Queen’s Square Jubilee Pub in Hemel Hempstead.
The pub is located on the Adeyfield Estate, one of the first towns Elizabeth visited as queen in 1952.
The black and white footage of the visit brings you back right away; The feathered voice station talks about the half-naked little girl who is outside a house with only her cotton shorts while a glamorous young Queen Elizabeth comes out.
The Jubilee pub opened after that visit, the flag and platinum signs are up on Sunday, but Francis is not as excited about the weekend as an owner expected me to be.
“I’m looking forward to it because it will bring a crowd to the pub that the hospitality industry (sector) needs at some point.”
But he adds: “I think there will be a lot of skeptical people, there will be a lot of people who just think it’s two more days off work.
“I think it will be mixed, because you have all the scandal that has come with the royal family at the time. If you asked a lot of young people, they wouldn’t care one way or the other, it will be because we grew up knowing her from a young age. “
And there is also the crisis of the cost of living, he says: “In self-employment, you lose two days of money and that should hurt many families.”
Image: Francis Bloss owns the Jubilee Pub in Queen’s Square in Hemel Hempstead, one of the first cities Elizabeth visited as a queen in 1952 Image: The Jubilee Pub opened after the Queen’s visit
The royals have shown that there is “great stability in a constitutional monarchy”
Donna Ellis, who works behind the bar, is more excited: “I like the queen, it’s good for the country considering what we’ve had to endure for the last few years, I think we should all go out celebrating and doing a a really great thing. “
Some of the locals tell me that their grandparents were living on the farm when the queen came, I ask Stuart Hazlett how his Majesty or his family would react now.
“I would be fine,” he tells me. “I don’t know the rest. I guess it all depends on whether you bought a drink or not.” He laughs.
Image: Donna Ellis, who works behind the bar, is excited about the platinum jubilee
Throughout his 70 years of reign there have been difficulties for which the monarchy has had to navigate. Decades of social and political change, the economic problems of the 1970s were the backdrop for the Silver Jubilee in 1977, the Golden Jubilee in 2002 came after a decade of drama for the royal family and while there was great excitement surrounding the Diamond Jubilee in 2012. only the year before had there been riots on the streets of London.
Historian and author Tessa Dunlop tells me that the Queen has always been very aware of the need for the institution to move forward with the times.
She says: “She has moderated and adapted to the changing times and so has her family. forum but often in person.
“Our lives face these different ways of interacting and being with each other, as well as the queen’s own family.”
But historian Sir Anthony Seldon says it has not always been a change for the sake of it, saying: “She has also survived so long because she herself has had an extraordinary intuition about when and to what extent to change.
“His advisers, commentators and politicians have been saying, ‘Come on, Your Majesty, it’s time to change’ and sometimes he has done it and sometimes not, and knowing when and to what extent change has been key to the survival of the world. monarchy and its enduring popularity. “
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In recent years, it has been their own relatives who have caused the institution’s reputation the most difficulties.
And it seems to have had an impact in recent polls on the royal family, which suggests that those under the age of 25 are increasingly eager to have an elected head of state.
Peaches Golding is the Lieutenant Lord of Bristol, one of dozens of Lieutenant Lords representing the Queen across the country. He still believes that the royal family is earning people with their work.
Speaking of the various social issues that now make up the majority of his charitable efforts, he tells me: “These are the things that unite us as a country, issues from the environment to mental health, I think there is great stability in a constitutional system. monarchy, His Majesty has proved it time and time again “.
The Queen, modest as ever, does not want the celebrations to be just about her, she wants it to be a celebration of what Britain does best: the elaborate and spectacular spectacle, and an opportunity to recognize how communities came together to support. each other during the pandemic.
But in a weekend where yes, we will look back, but also inevitably look to the future, Her Majesty will take advantage of these moments of great image to send a clear message to the world, to show us that despite everything that has happened she has a great believer in the ability of his family, his heirs and believes that the monarchy is in good hands.