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JUBILEE PARTY PLANS
By Michael Coveney
Britain is planning its biggest-ever public party in celebration of
the Queen's Golden Jubilee. From the great concerts in Buckingham
Palace to the humblest street party in the smallest town, the nation
will be united in saluting a monarch who has reigned longer in Britain
than any, apart from King George III (60 years) and Queen Victoria
(64 years).
Queen Elizabeth II has a deep sense of duty, and has unsurprisingly never suggested she might abdicate, as some people argue she should, in favor of her eldest son, Prince Charles. She regards her status as the head of state as a responsibility to be taken seriously and, especially over the coming weeks, to be enjoyed to the full.
The Queen and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, started touring the country in the first week of May in a series of Jubilee visits stretching from Falmouth and Taunton in the Southwest right through to the opening of the Commonwealth Games in Manchester and the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, in early August.
But the main concentration of events will be over the Jubilee Weekend, June 1-4, starting with a classical music concert in the gardens of Buckingham Palace; followed two days later by a pop concert, also in the gardens, and fireworks display; and finally, a ceremonial procession and a National Service of Thanksgiving in St. Paul's Cathedral.
Lord Sterling, the Chairman of the Golden Jubilee Weekend Trust, wants the whole weekend to be as "inclusive" as possible. "The palace walls will have come down," he says, to allow as many people all around the world, thanks to television, radio, and the Internet, to take part in the biggest event of its kind ever seen in Britain. The overall cost is about £5 million ($7 million) to ensure everything goes without a hitch, with Britain closing down for four days -- Monday and Tuesday are public holidays.
The classical music concert on Saturday, June 1, will be attended by 12,000 members of the public who have won tickets in a lottery and who will each receive a special Jubilee picnic hamper. The concert is to be given by the Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich and the opera singers Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Sir Thomas Allen, Roberto Alagna, and Angela Gheorghiu, with Sir Andrew Davis conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.
Top banner photos: Her Majesty The Queen
(photo provided by British Information Services), and a panoramic
view of Buckingham Palace. |
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The Queen inspects the royal bodyguards,
the Yeomen of the Guard (photo provided by British Information
Services). |
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Buckingham Palace, the famous home
of the British monarch (photo by Stuart M. Mitchell). |
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This program is available on DVD. |
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