monarchy
Queen receives citizens in Sandringham shortly before the throne jubilee
Queen Elizabeth II receives local residents at her Sandringham country estate. Photo: Joe Giddens/PA Wire/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The British Queen Elizabeth II counts 70 years on the throne this weekend. She usually likes to celebrate this anniversary quietly at her country estate. This time it’s different.
70 years in office – and obviously in good spirits: Shortly before her jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II received citizens from the area at her country estate in East England, Sandringham.
The 95-year-old met with representatives of a women’s organization, former employees of the estate and other volunteers, Buckingham Palace said.
Also among the guests was former student cook Angela Wood, who helped create the recipe for the Coronation Chicken, which was popular at the time, for the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953. Dressed in festive light blue, the Queen cut a cake bearing the official anniversary emblem, baked for her by a local resident. “I don’t count,” the Queen joked when told the cake was facing the press photographers.
First major reception after a break
Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 70th anniversary on the throne on Sunday. Her father George VI. died on February 6, 1952, and his eldest daughter became his successor. No monarch before her has long reigned on the throne of the United Kingdom.
After the medically prescribed rest the Queen had taken before Christmas, the reception was her first major public appointment. Originally it was said that the Queen wanted to spend the weekend in seclusion. Larger celebrations of the platinum anniversary are not scheduled to take place until early June. But there is already a celebratory mood in the country.
The BBC on Saturday released two pieces of music that an unnamed member of the royal family is said to have secretly commissioned from a British-Israeli composer. In the text of a play designed as the Queen’s fictional soliloquy, Elizabeth II reflects on her role in public and the special time of her long reign.
“I really like the Queen and was absolutely thrilled to be asked,” London-born composer Loretta Kay-Feld told the BBC. The 73-year-old musician, who lives north of Tel Aviv, said she found inspiration for how the Queen’s decades of service could be represented musically on a walk by the sea. Music and lyrics were in the air for her. “It was all in my head, all I had to do was go home and write it down.”
A cup of courage and a tablespoon of health
A video for the solemn piece of music accompanied by piano was also created in collaboration with the Irish director Jason Figgis. A second, happier-sounding work by Kay-Feld called “70 Years a Queen” was also edited as a video. It remains secret which member of the royal family commissioned the composer, who has worked for the royals in the past. They said she was contacted by email, phone and video link. The client does not wish to be identified – but is enthusiastic about the result.
On Friday, Buckingham Palace also published memories of the Queen’s past anniversaries – including the “Recipe for a Perfect Queen”, for which, in addition to royal blood, a cup of courage, half a liter of hard work and a tablespoon of health are recommended. For the Golden Jubilee 20 years ago, a nine-year-old boy had sent her this.
Steinmeier already congratulated
In addition to these memories, the Queen, accompanied by one of her beloved dogs – a corgi named Candy – dared a look at the first submissions for her “Platinum Pudding” a few days ago at Windsor Castle. Creative gourmets can submit recipes for a cake under the call for entries. The winning recipe will be published. It should also be served at large “Jubilee Lunches” and enjoyed “by future generations”, according to the palace.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier already congratulated the Queen on her anniversary and emphasized her contribution to German-British reconciliation. “Countless people around the world admire you for your tireless service at the head of your country and the Commonwealth of Nations over an exceptionally long period of time,” he wrote. “We Germans are no exception here.” Thanks to the Queen’s commitment, Anglo-German friendship has developed to an extent “that few Germans would have dared to hope for at the time of your accession to the throne, a few years after the end of the Second World War”.