Queen’s Jubilee: Humor and 70 Years of Continuity

Queen Elizabeth may seem antiquarian to many – not only because of her 96 years. And yet the celebration of her 70th anniversary of the throne also affected people who have nothing to do with the monarchy.

When it comes to the Queen, her sense of duty and her importance to the identity of the British nation are always emphasized. And her sense of humor has been a notable trait since she – allegedly – parachuted over the stadium to open the London Olympics in 2012 in a short film starring secret agent James Bond.

A new humor chapter was added to the jubilee celebrations: The Queen receives children’s book bear Paddington for tea. Both well-placed, sympathetic embraces of British pop culture – even if critics tweeted that the illegal immigrant Paddington Bear from the Peruvian jungle was under the current government on a deportation plane bound for Rwanda and not in the Queen’s salon.

Politics are not completely left out

Politics flared briefly during the Queen’s festive season, when Prime Minister Boris Johnson was booed by royalist onlookers as he climbed the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral ahead of the thanksgiving service. The banned lockdown parties could still cost Johnson the office.

The Queen’s festive season provided a long weekend distraction from the country’s social and political woes. And the country truly and lavishly celebrated the Queen. Polls show that even Brits who don’t have much to do with the monarchy respect the 96-year-old monarch for her life’s work. And that applies to all parts of the politically diverging kingdom.

The Queen has no real power, but she does have powerful agency. It has always adhered very clearly to the requirement of political neutrality. You didn’t hear any “back talks” from her, like the Federal President can give, but in her speeches she conveyed rather softer values ​​such as solidarity and togetherness.

Solidarity not only in the pandemic

When Corona also raged in the United Kingdom in spring 2020, Elizabeth II gave comfort and hope with a speech with the striking sentence “We will meet again”. Even today, it is attested to her that she was almost the only one who struck the right tone between political helplessness and a medical emergency.

When she had to bury her husband Philip in the Corona spring of 2021, the Queen waived the special permit offered to invite more than the 30 mourners allowed at the time. She showed solidarity with other mourners in the country who had to say goodbye to their relatives under these conditions.

You won’t hear anything comparable from the Queen like: “Islam belongs to Germany”. But as the secular leader of the Anglican Church, through her personal ministry, she has developed strong ties with representatives of other faiths, promoting diversity of faith.

Inner farewell to the monarch

An air of farewell hung over the celebrations of the 70th throne jubilee. Many must have been aware that this was probably the last big celebration at which the Queen was able to appear in person and take part with pleasure. Approval for the constitutional monarchy as a form of government is slowly but steadily crumbling. Young people in particular can no longer do anything with hereditary dynasties and the old-fashioned rituals associated with them and want an elected head of state.

It remains to be seen whether a King Charles will be able to defend the monarchy against the trend of the zeitgeist. But in recent days, at least a torn country has once again celebrated the woman who has given the nation a sense of continuity over the past seven decades. And now you have to focus on the political shoals again. Because the fate of the country will be decided in the seat of government at 10 Downing Street – and not in Buckingham Palace.