Queen Elizabeth II

I love Queen Elizabeth. I love her pastel-colored outfits. I love her little black handbags. I love the regal look in her eye. I even love it when she has to wear her silly crown and sit on a throne in Westminster Abbey covered in ermine and diamonds. 

This week marks the 60th anniversary of her coronation. Only Queen Victoria ruled longer. England is ablaze with tributes to Elizabeth, and I have flown in especially for the celebration of her Diamond Jubilee. 

Ten years ago I watched the Golden Jubilee on television and sobbed through the whole thing. The beauty and magnificence moved me to tears.

This year I am most excited about finding my spot along the Thames to watch her flotilla pass by. A special riverboat has been constructed for the occasion. But this is one small part of what’s in store. Concerts, parades, flyovers, and countless other festivities will have all of England celebrating for the next seven days.

It’s too bad we don”€™t have such an event in America. If not for that whole representation-and-taxation business, we might. 

I wish I were a queen just so people would step aside when I am on my way somewhere. Walking down London’s busy streets is harrowing for a run-of-the-mill pedestrian. It is likely to be even worse now that everyone is in town to pay reverence to the constitutional monarch of sixteen sovereign states.

Her Majesty’s life in pictures for ye philistines: