Two things prompted this post. Firstly, the well deserved praise for the film The King's Speech. And secondly, the mounting excitement in anticipation of his great grandson's wedding day in April. Both have reminded me of our own royal experience over a decade ago, and it seemed a good time to share it. A touch of happy (I hope) in the midst of such heartache in the world.
click on page for clear enlargementA Boy, A Rose and A Queen
(from an email to Mom. 6 April 2000) You are probably unaware that the Queen of England is currently visiting Australia and has spent some time in the Canberra area. One of the benefits of living in the national capital is that we have dignitaries visiting here regularly, but because of our small size it is easy to get around and the crowds that form are usually small. For this reason it was decided to pull the boys out of school this Monday morning so that they might possibly get an up-close view of the Queen. With the on-going republic debate, her days as the Queen of Australia are probably numbered, so this may well be her last visit (as monarch) to this country. Her last visit was in 1988 to open the new Parliament House (as part of the Australian Bicentennial celebrations). Warren and I were out cycling on that day and realised that we were near her expected route, so we dismounted and stood along the median in front of the Prime Minister's Lodge with a handful of others. It wasn't long before she and the Duke rode past smiling at us and waving for the camera. I had thought that was a special moment.
We convinced the boys to give up school (they really wanted to be in class) and stand around in the hot sun in hopes of a glimpse of the Queen passing by. In the off-chance of a close encounter I clipped a few lavender stalks and Austin chose the best rose bud from our best rose bush and we made a posey. Austin cared for and carried it. Alistair couldn't be bothered and didn't want me to make up one for him. With shining faces and combed down hair we left home with posey, a mid-morning chocolate chip muesli bar snack, hats and camera in hand.
Parking was said to be limited at the Centre for Christianity and Culture, the venue for her scheduled appearance this morning, so we arrived early. She was coming to plant a Reconciliation Tree in the gardens. The building has yet to be built, but will be quite grand as an open venue for outdoor concerts etc. At the moment, however, it is a small cluster of open-air wooden buildings next to a small theological college. The crowd was smallish, only about five to seven deep around the perimeter, behind the orange plastic "security" fence. On the other side of the fence were chairs for dignitaries and a group of Girl Guides, a group of young girls in historic dress and a group of primary school children and several police.
While we were waiting, Warren noticed that there was room and access into the Press Area and we relocated there. From this position we were only behind a rope and next to several huge television cameras, but the boys could see better. It also proved to be a good spot because the children seated on the ground in front of us were instructed to stay seated upon the Queen's arrival so that the cameras would not be obstructed. Imagine that! I thought she would not be amused to see such disrespect!
It was hot in the sun and a rather long wait holding our spot. Finally it was time for the boys to have their morning tea. Austin carefully set down the posey he had nursed all morning. When the kids had finished, Austin agreed to allow Alistair to hold it for a bit.
And then....tatada... The Queen of England arrived with our head of state, the Governor-General and the Speaker of the Senate in tow. She walked slowly over to the tree where she ceremoniously shoveled a bit of dirt. Job done. No speech. From there she walked to the Girl Guides at the far end and began a slow walk past the children's groups, stopping for an occassional bouquet and a short chat here and there.
She came closer and closer.
I was getting some great pictures, as were the big power cameras positioned over each of my shoulders! Suddenly, for a slow moving lady, she was right before us. Warren instructed Alistair to hold up the posey that Austin and I had made that morning and then he called out, "Your Majesty!" She looked at Warren, who drew attention to the posey, and I went to adjust my camera and accidently shut it off! Fumbling to get it back on, I realised that she was speaking to our boys! She was calling them to her!
Oh, hurry up camera!!! "Come under the rope," she said, "It's easier for you to come to me than for me to come to you." Alistair, now holding Austin's posey, obeyed, walking through the seated school children, and handed it to her. Coming back toward us I snapped the only picture of the exchange -of the top of his head*.
I became aware that my hands were shaking. I don't think it was from the nerves of being singled out, as much as it was from the frustration of not being able to record it on film. Even so, I was thrilled for Alistair and the memory that he now holds of being summoned to stand before a queen (and sad for Austin that he had not gone forward because he didn't think she meant him to come since he was empty handed at the time). Alistair reported that she said, "Thank you very much." as he looked up at her and handed up the flowers. When asked if he had said anything in return he replied, "No". It was all over and done in a matter of seconds.
I gave Alistair a big hug as he told me that he thought she looked and sounded a lot like his Gran. Then I knelt to study his face for the first time since we had left home, looking for some spark of understanding or excitement. What I saw suddenly caused me to realise that it didn't matter any more. He was just another little boy with flowers in a long succession of such occasions to her. But to me, his mother, he was a little boy that could melt my heart with a smile...especially of the kind he offered me now: rimmed with the leftover chocolate from his morning snack!
The layouts above were created with several kits from Little Feet Digital Designs: 'Where I Long to Be: Calm of the Water', 'Dear Sweet Friend', 'God Bless America', 'A Little Luck' and the soon-to-be-released 'Love is in the Air'. I created the rose, lavender and chocolate embellishments from photos. I usually do not post layouts which are mostly journalling, but sometimes it is good to be reminded that our memories are best enhanced by telling our stories with words as well as pictures. My mother always urged me to keep a journal and I told her, "My letters to you will be my journal." I am so glad now that I took the time to write out some of these stories in such detail. Mom was on the road a lot and so was not always available by phone. This made our correspondence all the more important in maintaing contact over the ocean.
*The smaller 'action' photos in the layout are stills taken from TV video that we managed to locate after the event by contacting the TV stations who were filming - one had zoomed in on the exchange. It certainly pays to ask!
The day before the game we saw the 'tailgating parties' claiming their spots all around campus. This was a new concept to us: transporting your living room and kitchen to a picnic spot - complete with TV sets, easy chairs and microwaves! Gone, it seems are days when an ice chest, radio and a folding chair were considered luxury, nevermind dropping the tailgate of a pickup truck! The mind boggled.
When my explorer returned from his forage and I saw the photos, we laughed over the intensity of rivalry and jest aimed directly at the University of Texas even though that game was weeks away! No wonder we were cautioned against wearing the UT colour of orange on campus!
