Let me preface this by saying I have intentionally focused on the positive things that the royal family adds to the UK especially in comparison of the current political climate in the US. I know that she is a figurehead and she does not do 'much' for the country besides representation and bring in about $46B in revenue. (I am not kidding check this out if you don't believe me http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4341491/Royal-Family-is-worth-a-staggering-445billion.html)
"God Save the Queen" is the national athem for the UK. It is a nice song and we sing it in the US, we know it as "My Country 'Tis of Thee". I have been in plenty of places plenty of times in the US when we sing our national anthem. I have also been to plenty of events lately in the UK in which "God Saves the Queen" was sung.
It was the night of the closing ceremonies when I was in a large crowd of people at Hyde Park that I was awe struck. I had just been successful in my bid for nachos (that do not taste the same I might add, they are crap here with the Mexican flavors) and I was walking back to join my friends. The closing ceremony in the Olympic Stadium had started and the crowd talked quietly and then cheered at the introduction of Prince Harry as the official representative of the royal family and then there was some general talking in the crowd because Kate was there as well. The crowd wondered where Wills was....
Then the crowd sang "God Save the Queen". As the crowd sang, it just kind of hit me what the song and the royal family really seems to mean to the UK. It was an awesome, powerful moment to be a part of, seeing it on TV is nothing. Let me digress here a bit.
As an American, I have to say that I definitely have a fascination with the royal family. I watched Princess Diana and Prince Charles get married. I have watched countless marriages, read many articles and some books and went to the Diamond Jubilee. I also understand that not everyone finds the royal family as intriguing or as fascinating as I do....
Politics are politics, no doubt and in the US and even in the UK there is a lot of ugly posturing and power plays. What hit me as I was listening to this massive amount of people singing, is that the HRH Queen Elizabeth II provides the residents of the UK something that we don't have, a unifying figurehead that they can all get behind and be proud of. She is gracious, kind, and does lots of charity work on behalf of the poor. She pays attention to the politicians but does not get involved in the nasty craziness (because they do have some of it here), she pays attention to the state of the commonwealth and gives a talk about it every year. She unites the United Kingdom in a way that nothing else does.
As Americans it is something that we seem to be missing. Like the citizens of the United Kingdom we share a flag, an anthem, a love of our country but we seem to be missing something to unify us all. Like in the US here in the UK, there are different political parties, different religions, different thoughts on same-sex unions (which they are currently trying to make legal), and all these people with different thoughts and opinions can all unify behind HRH Queen Elizabeth II. They can be proud of her, what she has done and what she represents. She is a positive representative of the United Kingdom, something to be proud of. So, it makes sense that the citizens of the UK like the royal family. According to the recent polls 69% of the people polled believed that the UK is better off with the royal family. This is the highest approval rating in 15 years. The lowest was the year when Princess Diana died, with 48% of the people polled believing that the UK is better off with the royal family.
It makes me kind of jealous that the United Kingdom has the Queen to unify the citizens. I strongly feel that we are missing something very vital in our American culture because we do not have anything like it. We do not have something that can unify us in such a manner. It seems so important right now during this very volatile time when Conservatives and Liberals are at each others throats and suddenly now a disagreement somehow constitutes hate. Now we get closer and closer to the election and the campaign nastiness is really starting to heat up. The UK is also blessed with really short elections periods. After the government is 'called' there is about 6 weeks until the general election. (isn't that dreamy?)
Is it really that much of a wonder why I want to stay here? Wouldn't you?
"God Save the Queen" is the national athem for the UK. It is a nice song and we sing it in the US, we know it as "My Country 'Tis of Thee". I have been in plenty of places plenty of times in the US when we sing our national anthem. I have also been to plenty of events lately in the UK in which "God Saves the Queen" was sung.
It was the night of the closing ceremonies when I was in a large crowd of people at Hyde Park that I was awe struck. I had just been successful in my bid for nachos (that do not taste the same I might add, they are crap here with the Mexican flavors) and I was walking back to join my friends. The closing ceremony in the Olympic Stadium had started and the crowd talked quietly and then cheered at the introduction of Prince Harry as the official representative of the royal family and then there was some general talking in the crowd because Kate was there as well. The crowd wondered where Wills was....
Then the crowd sang "God Save the Queen". As the crowd sang, it just kind of hit me what the song and the royal family really seems to mean to the UK. It was an awesome, powerful moment to be a part of, seeing it on TV is nothing. Let me digress here a bit.
As an American, I have to say that I definitely have a fascination with the royal family. I watched Princess Diana and Prince Charles get married. I have watched countless marriages, read many articles and some books and went to the Diamond Jubilee. I also understand that not everyone finds the royal family as intriguing or as fascinating as I do....
Politics are politics, no doubt and in the US and even in the UK there is a lot of ugly posturing and power plays. What hit me as I was listening to this massive amount of people singing, is that the HRH Queen Elizabeth II provides the residents of the UK something that we don't have, a unifying figurehead that they can all get behind and be proud of. She is gracious, kind, and does lots of charity work on behalf of the poor. She pays attention to the politicians but does not get involved in the nasty craziness (because they do have some of it here), she pays attention to the state of the commonwealth and gives a talk about it every year. She unites the United Kingdom in a way that nothing else does.
As Americans it is something that we seem to be missing. Like the citizens of the United Kingdom we share a flag, an anthem, a love of our country but we seem to be missing something to unify us all. Like in the US here in the UK, there are different political parties, different religions, different thoughts on same-sex unions (which they are currently trying to make legal), and all these people with different thoughts and opinions can all unify behind HRH Queen Elizabeth II. They can be proud of her, what she has done and what she represents. She is a positive representative of the United Kingdom, something to be proud of. So, it makes sense that the citizens of the UK like the royal family. According to the recent polls 69% of the people polled believed that the UK is better off with the royal family. This is the highest approval rating in 15 years. The lowest was the year when Princess Diana died, with 48% of the people polled believing that the UK is better off with the royal family.
It makes me kind of jealous that the United Kingdom has the Queen to unify the citizens. I strongly feel that we are missing something very vital in our American culture because we do not have anything like it. We do not have something that can unify us in such a manner. It seems so important right now during this very volatile time when Conservatives and Liberals are at each others throats and suddenly now a disagreement somehow constitutes hate. Now we get closer and closer to the election and the campaign nastiness is really starting to heat up. The UK is also blessed with really short elections periods. After the government is 'called' there is about 6 weeks until the general election. (isn't that dreamy?)
Is it really that much of a wonder why I want to stay here? Wouldn't you?
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