LONG LIVE-D QUEEN
Today, Tuesday Nov. 20, 2007, England’s Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip celebrated their diamond anniversary having been married 60 years ago. During that time, we have been through Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, G. H. Bush, and Clinton, and with any luck she’ll outdistance G. W. Bush as well.
This reminds me of a limerick composed by the great Welsh writer Dylan Thomas, which is said to have made him poet non grata at Buckingham Palace. To appreciate it, you have to understand that the song “Ich Dien” (I serve) is the official song of the Prince of Wales, probably because of Prince Philip’s German connections.
The last time I slept with the Queen,
She said, as she whistled “Ich Dien,”
“Please put the light out:
It’s royalty’s night out—
The Queen may be had—but not seen.”
Seriously, one must appreciate the Grande Dame’s ability to rise through change and through storm. It’s easy to see why 2,000 people came to the Diamond Anniversary fete—and why top American officials were not among them.
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