The Queen of Diamonds

I've been travelling the globe in the last few weeks and I've missed the opportunity to comment on some news stores while they were 'hot' but, however late, it would be remiss of us not to celebrate somewhere on these pages the diamond wedding anniversary of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.

Sixty years is an achievement for anyone, but theirs is a marriage lived out under public scrutiny and speculation, which is not always kind and supportive. Over the years newspapers have been rude about them, Comedians have poked fun at them, and they have been immortalised in cartoons, books and films. There were even a couple of 'Spitting Image' puppets in a long-running series, which was a highly dubious honour.

One of the reasons I decided against Parish ministry was the emotional cost to the typical clergy family of living in a metaphorical goldfish bowl. Clergy kids are expected to be paragons. My children are normal and I wanted them to retain their pivacy to continue being normal. No hope of such anonymity for the palace dwellers.

In 1989 the Queen was quoted in the Daily Mail " Like all the best families, we have our share of eccentricities, of impetuous and wayward youngsters and of family disagreements". Of course she might have been referring to her corgis!
But the strain has been steadily worsened by divorces, death, public criticism and vague conspiracy theories which have hung over the family for more than a decade.

In spite of this the Queen has held onto her dignity and poise. She is a charming, elegant woman who has earned the respect of the nation and millions around the world. The fact that we have a Royal Family brings much of the tourist trade to London and is a massive stabilising factor to our economy and to our national pride.

As the head of the Church of England the Queen also represents the faithfulness of God to his people.

The Archbishop of Canterbury put it like this: "everyone seems to acknowledge that a wedding is a moment when we human beings have to become more than we normally are and to speak as if we were capable of more than we might ordinarily think we can do.....Christian marriage goes that one step further and says that for those who can grasp it this relationship between a man and a woman is now a living sign of God’s relation to the world, and of what God thinks about human capacity and dignity. It is a sign telling us that God is to be trusted to be faithful – and that God trusts us to echo that faithfulness."

Did she love her Prince Charming? Does she still after a lifetime together?

Well we shall never truly know. We can only hope that it is love and not duty that has kept them together through good times and bad for six decades, and assure them of our prayers and support for the future. Sixty years of marriage is the Diamond Wedding Anniversary. I propose a toast to the Queen of Diamonds. Long may she reign.