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JUBILEE PARTY PLANS
(continued)
Their public relations have improved so significantly of late that Prince Charles is reinstated in his role of a committed, serious, modern national figure. It seems only a matter of time before he marries his constant companion Mrs. Camilla Parker Bowles; in a significant gesture, the Queen has invited Mrs. Parker Bowles to join her in the royal box at the classical music concert.
In the meantime, the nation has been encouraged to take out its flags. Every town will be decorating the streets with bunting, banners, and messages of good will. Monday, June 3, is the day allocated to fetes and garden parties all over the country. The Jubilee organizers have made a Golden Jubilee party toolkit readily available, with guidelines for communities arranging their own festivities.
The great parade along the Mall on Tuesday will end with a procession of thousands from the Commonwealth countries -- the nations around the world loosely affiliated to Britain and her Queen -- carrying handwritten messages from children across the Commonwealth. Then a vast balcony hanging, made by the Royal School of Needlework, will be unveiled. The official festivities are set to conclude with a flyover by the RAF (Royal Air Force) and the Concorde as the Queen and other members of the royal family watch from the palace balcony, but the partying will likely continue well into the night.
In Britain, of course, the nation will be equally concerned about the progress of the English soccer team in the World Cup competition in Japan and Korea, which begins over the same weekend. The huge screens erected in major cities throughout Britain -- from Glasgow to Plymouth, Manchester to Norwich -- will show the soccer alongside the royal festivities. With the nation's collective fingers crossed for good weather and good soccer results, everyone is looking forward to a few days of unprecedented joy and celebration.
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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