Royalty

I readily admit that I have an obsession with the British Royal family.  I remember getting up in the very early hours to watch Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer's wedding and I did it again to watch Prince William wed Kate Middleton. In Barcelona, I even went down to the Cathedral when one of the Spanish princesses was wed.  No one else in my family was willing to brave the crowds.  Mary would have gone with me, I am sure, but she was already away at college.   That day I got a very friendly wave from Prince Edward who, seeing my blond hair among all the dark haired Spaniards, probably thought I was British!

Our family has a bit of 'family tradition' relating to the Royal Family.  My Daddy was in the Navy and was actually in England during the time of the Queen's Coronation in 1953. 

 In fact he missed my birth because of that assignment. 

Family lore holds that he was part of the fleet that was sent to honor Queen Elizabeth.  I did some research and learned a bit about the ship he was on in July 1953 - the USS Antietam.

She was sent to England but her mission there was to conduct joint testing with the British on a new design for aircraft carriers.  The Antietam had been retrofitted with an angled deck.  Before this time, carrier decks were straight like the top design.  The Antietam now had the angled design of the bottom ship.  The result of this testing was that the angled design was most efficient.  The first ship built with this design was a British carrier; although other ships (like the Antietam) had been retrofitted with the angled design. Now it is the norm.   

Yes, in Top Gun-Maverick the deck is angled! 

While he was on board the Antietam in 1953, I was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. Daddy made it home before my mother and I left the hospital. Of course, in those days, postpartum stays were often as long as a week. He must have been on his way home when I was born. The train carrying Daddy arrived late at night but he came directly to the hospital to see me. Moma says that I was wide awake when he arrived.While in England, Daddy bought a set of Wedgwood china in a pattern called Charwood and carried it home in a large box; first on his ship and then on the train from New York to Lonoke. Needless to say, it is a treasure.

Because of all of this, I have always felt a 'connection' with Queen Elizabeth and the royal family. 

So yes, I bought a Platinum Jubilee mug.

And I watched video after video of the celebrations.  

I was thoroughly entertained.  The kids, the pomp and ceremony, the fashion, the crowds so obviously honoring a woman who has served them well for 70 years!  

I confess to shedding a tear or two when the Queen and her 3 heirs stood on the balcony and sang 'God Save the Queen'. 

It reminded me of this quote from the new Downton Abbey movie: 

Individual Crawleys come and go, but the family lives on.