Platinum Jubilee – last hurrah?

The Queen of England celebrates her Platinum Jubilee – or does she? And is this the last hurrah, not only for this Queen, but for the British crown?

Latest on the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

The Platinum Jubilee is the seventieth anniversary of the Queen’s accession to the throne. As such it goes far beyond any reasonable estimate of a wedding anniversary. Therefore it will never appear on any list of wedding anniversary gifts or themes. The site iNews gives this list of jubilees, including silver (25^th), ruby (40^th), golden (50^th), diamond (60^th), sapphire (65^th), and platinum (70^th). Most remarkably, Elizabeth II is the first and only monarch to make it to a Platinum Jubilee.

By tradition, the seventy-fifth anniversary would be another Diamond Jubilee. But the events of this Platinum Jubilee suggest the Queen might not make that one.

Celebrations began yesterday (June 2). According to CNN, the Queen bravely endured some “discomfort” during the parades, flyover, and a beacon lighting. But she did not attend today’s thanksgiving service in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. So that service literally went on without her.

Rumors, of which CNAV never took cognizance, listed her as dead. Her appearance at the Platinum Jubilee should quash the death rumors; CNAV doubts anyone could impersonate her that well. But her missing the service at St. Paul’s should give everyone pause.

In fact, the Queen is ninety-six years old. She became Queen while still young, because her father (George VI) died before his time. For that reason only could she have made it this far. But to “make Grand Diamond,” she would have to live to be 101. Her missing today’s service puts that very much in doubt.

Future of the monarchy

When the Queen dies, Charles, Prince of Wales, her eldest son, falls next in line to succeed her. After him comes his son William (Duke of Cambridge), and next his three children, in birth order (George, Charlotte, and Louis). Until recently, female children were out of line unless no male children remained alive. In 2015 Parliament changed that.

If the Prince of Wales agrees to take the throne, and if the people will stand for it, he will reign somewhat differently from his mother. Already he has decided not to emphasize his role as head of the Church of England (“Defender of the Faith”).

But already people are calling for changing the United Kingdom into a United Republic. The public breach between the Royal Family (a/k/a “The Firm”) and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (formerly Prince and Princess Henry of Wales) was the immediate catalyst. Add to it the listing of Prince Andrew (Duke of York) on flight manifests of Jeffrey Epstein’s “Lolita Express.” But “republican sentiment” has always simmered below the surface of British politics.

If the Kingdom becomes a Republic, then “The Firm” would lose Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, and Holyroodhouse. But most of the other royal residences would stay in their private hands. William Mountbatten-Windsor, as he would come to be known, would follow the lead of his brother Harry and pursue financial independence.

As long as the Queen lives, that kind of change will wait. But when she dies, who knows?