Summer 2006 Newsletter: Featuring Queen Elizabeth II & The Duchess of Cornwall

[GrandDuchess]

Head of the Commonwealth


1: In Canada together with their Prime Ministers Malcolm Fraser, Bob Hawke, John Howard, John Gorton and Gough Whitham in 2000, 2: In connection to a church service at the St Paul’s Anglican Church in Canberra, Australia 2000, 3: The Commonwealth Day Service in Westminster Abbey in 2000, 4: At the Commonwealth Games, Manchester, England in 2000, 5: At the Commonwealth Games’ closing ceremony, Manchester, England in 2000, 6: The Golden Jubilee Tour in Australia, spring 2002, 7: The Golden Jubilee Tour, Jamaica 2002, 8-9: The Golden Jubilee Tour in Canada 2002, 10: The Golden Jubilee Tour, New Zealand 2002

[GrandDuchess]

Head of the Commonwealth

The Commonwealth today - member countries & facts

Countin in 2006, the Commonwealth has 53 member countries. Membership is voluntary, and any member can withdraw or join at any time. The Republic of Ireland (1949) and Zimbabwe (2003) are examples of countries that have chosen to do so.

Each member country has their own form of government - some are 'realms', meaning that the country has retained the British monarchy as their own, recognising Queen Elizabeth as Sovereign, others are their own monarchy, indicating an indigenous monarchical constitution.

Learn more: The Commonwealth Secretariat

Membership list - country, join date, form of government

Antigua and Barbuda, 1981, Realm
Australia, 1931, Realm
The Bahamas, 1973, Realm
Bangladesh, 1972, Republic
Barbados, 1966, Realm
Belize, 1981, Realm
Botswana, 1966, Republic
Brunei, 1984, Monarchy
Cameroon, 1995, Republic
Canada, 1931, Realm
Cyprus, 1961, Republic
Dominica, 1978, Republic
Fiji Islands, 1997, Republic
The Gambia, 1965, Republic
Ghana, 1957, Republic
Grenada, 1974, Realm
Guyana, 1966, Republic
India, 1947, Republic
Jamaica, 1962, Realm
Kenya, 1963, Republic
Kiribati, 1979, Republic
Lesotho, 1966, Monarchy
Malawi, 1964, Republic
Malaysia, 1957, Monarchy
The Maldives, 1982, Republic
Malta, 1964, Republic
Mauritius, 1968, Republic
Mozambique, 1995, Republic
Namibia, 1990, Republic
Nauru, 1968, Republic
New Zealand, 1931, Realm
Nigeria, 1960, Republic
Pakistan, 1947, Republic
Papua New Guinea, 1975, Realm
St. Christopher and Nevis, 1983, Realm
St. Lucia 1979 Realm
St. Vincent and the Grenadines, 1979, Realm
Samoa, 1970, Republic
Seychelles, 1976, Republic
Sierra Leone, 1961, Republic
Singapore, 1965, Republic
Solomon Islands, 1978, Realm
South Africa, 1931 (withdrew in 1961, rejoined in 1994), Republic
Sri Lanka, 1948, Republic
Swaziland, 1968, Monarchy
Tanzania, 1961, Republic
Tonga, 1970, Monarchy
Trinidad and Tobago, 1962, Republic
Tuvalu, 1978, Realm
United Kingdom, Monarchy
Uganda, 1962, Republic
Vanuatu, 1980, Republic
Zambia, 1964, Republic


1-2: In Nigeria, where she was to open the Commonwealth Head of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in December 2003, 3-7: The Royal Tour of Canada in May 2005, 8: At the opening of the Commonwealth Head of Government Meeting (CHOGM), Malta in October 2005, 9-10: In Australia to open the Commonwealth Games in March 2006, and the Commonwealth Day Service

[GrandDuchess]

Queen Elizabeth II & her Prime Ministers

From Churchill to Home - Part 1

Every year in a great display of pageantry the Queen travels to the Houses of Parliament to give a Speech from the Throne at the State Opening of Parliament. This speech, outlining the governmental programme for the coming year however, is written by the ministers of her Government and approved by the Prime Minister of the day.

The Queen, in theory, chooses her prime minister in accordance with constitutional requirements. Usually no choice is required as the issue of whom to ask to form a government is clear from who controls the House of Commons, except in exceptional circumstances. The Queen also decides the basis on which a person is asked to form a government. That is, whether a government should be formed capable of surviving in the House of Commons—the standard requirement—or capable of commanding majority support in the House of Commons, i.e., a requirement to form a coalition if no one party has a majority. This requirement is normally only made in emergencies or in wartime, and happened only three times in the 20th century.

The Prime Minister who greeted the young Queen when she returned to the United Kingdom from Kenya, where she had received the sad news of the death of her father, King George VI, was Winston Churchill. The famous statesman, who needs no introduction, admired the Queen and always treated her with supreme courtesy. He was her willing tutor in all affairs of state, and it seems that the Queen delighted in talking to the old Prime Minister, and Churchill was appreciative of her earnestness and attention to details. The traditional weekly 'half-hour' meetings of the Sovereign and the Sovereign's Prime Minister ran al least for an hour and a half!) In 1954 the Queen made her Prime Minister Knight of the Garter – Winston was thenceforth Sir Winston, just like the father of the 1st Duke of Marlborough.

Nevertheless, Churchill was already very old and infirm. He suffered a major stroke three weeks after Elizabeth's Coronation, and his physicians feared for his life; his capacity to lead the Government was severely compromised. However, his designated successor, Anthony Eden, was himself on the brink of death in the Boston hospital. The Queen assented to the proposed temporary arrangement which envisaged Lord Salisbury heading the Government until Eden's recovery without assuming the title of Prime Minister; however, Churchill made a remarkable recovery and headed the Government for almost two more years, at last yielding his place to Eden in April 1955. He declined the dukedom which was offered to him by the Queen.

Sir Winston's successor was Sir Anthony Eden. He treated the Queen with utmost respect, even seeking her advice upon a broad spectrum of questions. Eden was extremely thankful to the Queen for not asking his personal opinion on the possible event of marriage of her sister, Princess Margaret, and Colonel Townsend. It would have been hard for him to give his advice, for he had divorced his first wife himself in order to marry Churchill's niece!


1: In a victorious moment, Prime Minister Winston Churchill joined the Royal Family at the Buckingham Palace to celebrate the end of World War II, on what became to be knows as V-E Day (Victory in Europe Day or Veteran's Day) on 8 May 1945, 2: In 1955, Churchill bowed out after many active years in office and a strong position in the history books. The Queen attended his farewell reception at the famous 10 Downing Street. In the picture is also his wife, Clementine

[GrandDuchess]

Queen Elizabeth II & her Prime Ministers

From Churchill to Home - Part 2

The Suez Crisis of 1956 put an end to Eden's premiership. The absence of a formal open mechanism within the Conservative Party for choosing a leader meant that following the sudden resignation of Eden in January 1957 it fell on the Queen to decide whom to commission to form a government. Eden did not proffer binding advice and so the Queen consulted Lords Salisbury and Kilmuir for the opinion of the Cabinet and Churchill, as the only living former Conservative Prime Minister. Rab Butler was passed over, and the Queen sent for Harold Macmillan.

Macmillan certainly was a very complicated person, who merits a separate study. He was an old-fashioned Royalist, who later wrote that the Prime Minister must be first and foremost the Queen's First Minister. The six years of their business relationship were fruitful for both of them, although towards the close of Macmillan's premiership he was very ashamed of numerous scandals, in which were embroiled several members of the Government.

In October 1963 Harold Macmillan resigned and advised the Queen to appoint the 14th Earl of Home Prime Minister, appending the dubious reports of party opinion. Home duly took office. There were suggestions that the Queen and her advisers had been too gullible or maybe too ready to collude in the plot which had passing over Rab Butler for the second time as its main objective. Nevertheless, given the evidence Macmillan adduced, it would have been unthinkable for the Palace to ask for a second opinion, and the advice of outgoing Prime Minister had to be followed.

Alec Douglas-Home, as Lord Home came to be known after disclaiming his peerage, was the Prime Minister for only a year. He lost the general election of 1964, and the Queen got her first Labour Prime Minister.

[GrandDuchess]

Queen Elizabeth II & her Prime Ministers

From Wilson to Blair - Part 1

Harold Wilson had a quite different background than the previous four Tory Prime Minister, hailing from lower middle class. He also was much younger than his predecessors. Nevertheless, the Queen took a great liking to his engaging manner of conversation, his wit and clarity of presentation. Wilson opened to her the whole new world of Labour politics and trade unionism.

In 1970 the Conservatives won the general election, and the Queen invited their leader Edward Heath to form the government. Their relations were correct but cool, gruff manners of Heath being notorious among the politicians of the day. Heath was a tight-lipped and reserved man, and his hobbies of music and sailing were as indifferent to the Queen as her hobbies to him.

In February 1974, an inconclusive general election result meant that Heath, who had won more of the popular vote, could stay in power if he formed a coalition government with the Liberal Party. Rather than immediately resign as prime minister he explored the option and only resigned when the discussions foundered. (Had he chosen to, he could have stayed on until defeated in the debate on the Queen's Speech, as was the earlier custom.) Only when he resigned was the Queen able to ask Harold Wilson to form a government. His minority government lasted for 8 months before a new general election was held.

Harold Wilson started his second term as PM having lost much of his energy, and soon he was thinking about retirement. In 1976 he stepped down, and the Queen waited for the results of the Labour leadership election before commissioning James Callaghan to form the government.

Callaghan was one of the more Royalist Labour politicians of the 1960s and 1970s, and he always spoke favorably of the Queen. Their relations were businesslike, although it must be noted that some sources cite their working relationship as the closest among all Elizabeth's Prime Minister so far. He oversaw the Silver Jubilee celebrations of 1977.

In 1979 the general election brought Tory Margaret Thatcher to power. The Iron Lady needs no introduction. For the first time the Queen had to deal with the Prime Minister who was the person of the same age and gender. Their relationship was full not only of mutual respect and understanding, but also of tension – it is said that the Queen was less than happy with many aspects of Thatcher's policy. Nevertheless, in recognition of the transformation of the country that her first woman prime minister achieved, the Queen made Thatcher the first non-royal Lady of the Garter on her retirement from the Commons in 1992.

[GrandDuchess]

Queen Elizabeth II & her Prime Ministers

From Wilson to Blair - Part 2

When John Major replaced Thatcher in 1990, the Queen had for the first time a prime minister younger than her. More informality came into the relationship, and Elizabeth's experience in matters of state went into play. One rumour had it that when Major was threatening to call a general election in the autumn of 1992, because of indiscipline in his party, he was warned by the Palace that, as he had only won an election seven months earlier, and had a working majority, the Queen would not necessarily agree to a request for a dissolution invoking the so-called Lascelles Principles detailing the reserve power of the monarch not to accede to the dissolution request. Major was also criticized by some for failing to protect the Queen at a time of great turbulence in the life of the Royal Family and public dissatisfaction with the House of Windsor.

Soon after Tony Blair succeeded Major as Prime Minister after the 1997 Labour landslide than the Royal Family was faced with its gravest crisis since the Abdication of 1936: the public response to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Tony Blair's description of her as "the people's Princess" seemed to some monarchists to be nothing less than manipulating the Royal Family at a time of great vulnerability. But soon the normal balance appeared to be reasserting itself. Prime Minister Blair, her tenth First Minister, has a stable working relationship with the Queen.


1: Prime Minister Tony Blair holds a speech in the Queen's honour at the Guildhall luncheon, celebrating her Golden Jubilee in 2002, 2: During the Golden Jubilee year of 2002, a remarkable moment occured when the Queen met with five of England's Prime Minister all at one time, 3: In May 2005, Prime Minister Tony Blair arrived at Buckingham Palace to ask permission to form a historic third government, 4: In October 2005, former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, today the Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven, celebrated her 80th birthday at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in London, graced by the presence of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh

[GrandDuchess]

Queen Elizabeth II & her Prime Ministers

Prime Minister that have served under Elizabeth II's reign

* Winston Churchill, 1951-55
* Sir Anthony Eden, 1955-57
* Harold Macmillan, 1957-63
* Sir Alec Douglas-Home, 1963-64
* Harold Wilson, 1964-70 & 1974-76
* Edward Heath, 1970-74
* James Callaghan, 1976-79
* Margaret Thatcher, 1979-90
* John Major, 1990-97
* Tony Blair, 1997-present

Tony Blair is the first Prime Minister to have been born during the Queen's reign. He was born in early May 1953 - a month before the Coronation.


The Queen's reflections on working with the Prime Ministers, from her speech at the Banqueting House Luncheon in November 1997 (Golden Wedding celebrations)

"As you say Prime Minister, since I came to the throne in 1952, ten Prime Ministers have served the British people and have come to see me each week at Buckingham Palace. The first, Winston Churchill, had charged with the cavalry at Omdurman. You, Prime Minister, were born in the year of my Coronation. You have all had, however, one thing in common. Your advice to me has been invaluable, as has that from your counterparts, past and present, in the other countries of which I am Queen. I have listened carefully to it all. I say, most sincerely, that I could not have done my job without it.

For I know that, despite the huge constitutional difference between a hereditary monarchy and an elected government, in reality the gulf is not so wide. They are complementary institutions, each with its own role to play. And each, in its different way, exists only with the support and consent of the people. That consent, or the lack of it, is expressed for you, Prime Minister, through the ballot box. It is a tough, even brutal, system but at least the message is a clear one for all to read. For us, a Royal Family, however, the message is often harder to read, obscured as it can be by deference, rhetoric or the conflicting currents of public opinion. But read it we must. I have done my best, with Prince Philip's constant love and help, to interpret it correctly through the years of our marriage and of my reign as your Queen. And we shall, as a family, try together to do so in the future.

It often falls to the Prime Minister, and the Government of the day, to be the bearer of the messages sent from people to Sovereign. Prime Minister, I know that you, like your predecessors, will always pass such messages, as you read them, without fear or favour. I shall value that, and am grateful for your assurances of the loyalty and support of your Government in years to come. I wish you wisdom and God's help in your determination that Britain should remain a country to be proud of. And, as one working couple to another, Prince Philip and I hope that on 29th March two thousand and thirty you and your wife will be celebrating your own Golden Wedding.

And talking of the future, I believe that there is an air of confidence in this country of ours just now. I pray that we, people, Government and Royal Family, for we are one, can prove it to be justified and that Britain will enter the next millennium, glad, confident and a truly United Kingdom."


Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher's reflections about the Queen

"I know I speak for the whole House and a grateful nation when I can say to Her Majesty - long may she reign over us."

"Throughout, as part of the Royal Family and as the Queen, she has been a reassuring and unifying presence for her people."

"It is this sense of duty which motivates her, defines her reign and since it communicates itself unobtrusively but none the less obviously to her subjects, brings her I believe the love of the people of this country."

Tony Blair


"This is a great day - a day when we can express our boundless admiration and affection for our Queen. She is truly an inspiration and an example to the whole nation. Long may she rule. Happy Birthday Ma'am."

Margaret Thatcher

[GrandDuchess]

Queen Elizabeth II & the Church of England

Queen Elizabeth II is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, the official organization of worship in England. As with her predecessors, Queen Elizabeth II bears the historical title Fidei Defensor, Latin for “Defender of the Faith.” This title was first held by King Henry VIII, granted to him by Pope Leo X. As a symbol of her religious leadership, her coronation was a religious service filled with theological readings and meanings as well as constitutional ones.

The Queen is a devout Christian, and regularly worships at Windsor Castle’s St. George’s Chapel or St. Mary Magdalene Church in Norfolk. Like other aspects of her life, Queen Elizabeth II rarely makes personal comments about her personal life or her personal beliefs. But in her Christmas Day broadcast in 2000, in honour of the 2000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ, the Queen said:

“To many of us our beliefs are of fundamental importance. For me the teachings of Christ and my own personal accountability before God provide a framework in which I try to lead my life. I, like so many of you, have drawn great comfort in difficult times from Christ’s words and example.”

A notable exception is the Queen’s religious role in Scotland. The Presbyterian-following of the Church of Scotland is the official organization of worship in Scotland. The Queen holds no official role within the Church of Scotland and is considered an ordinary member when she worships at Crathie Kirk and Kirk of the Canongate.


1: Together with King George V and Queen Mary leaving a church service in the Crathie Church in Scotland during their stay at Balmoral. 1st September 1932. 2: Meeting the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Winchester at the Royal School of Music's Festival Service at the Albert Hall in London. 20 June 1951. 3: Christmas Service at St George's Chapel at Windsor, seen here with the Right Reverend Michael Mann, the Dean of Windsor. 25 December 1980. 4: New Year's Service at the All Saints Church in Windsor together with the Queen Mother. 1 January 1987. 5: Christmas Service at Sandringham. 25 December 1994. 6: Laying down a cross of remembrance at the Service of Remembrance at St Margaret's Church in Westminster, London. 7 November 2002. 7: The first meeting with the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan William, after he succeded the office after previously being the Archbishop of Wales, at Windsor Castle. December 2003. 8: Christmas Service at Sandringham. 25 December 2005. 9: New Year's Service in the Church of St Mary Magdalene. 1 January 2006.

[GrandDuchess]

Anniversaries & Milestones

In 1977 The Queen's Silver Jubilee was celebrated in Britain and throughout the Commonwealth. Accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, The Queen travelled some 90,000 kilometres (56,000 miles) to share the anniversary with her people.

Enormous crowds greeted them wherever they went, and millions more shared in the celebrations through radio and television. In 1986 The Queen took part in celebrations in Windsor and London to mark her sixtieth birthday.

Although it was not regarded as a Jubilee, the 40th anniversary of The Queen's Accession in 1992 was marked by a number of events and community projects in the UK. These were organised privately or through the Royal Anniversary Trust.

On Accession Day itself, 6 February, the BBC broadcast Elizabeth R, a television documentary on The Queen's working life. This was subsequently shown in over 25 countries around the world.

On 20 November 1997 The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh celebrated their Golden Wedding. A special Garden Party for couples celebrating their Golden Wedding was held at Buckingham Palace in July.

The anniversary itself was marked by a service at Westminster Abbey, a lunch hosted by the Government at Banqueting House and a family dance held in the newly restored State Rooms at Windsor Castle.

The year 2002 saw The Queen's Golden Jubilee, marking 50 years since The Queen's Accession (rather than the Coronation, which took place in 1953). This special milestone had previously been achieved by only five earlier British monarchs - King Henry III, King Edward III, King James VI and I, King George III and Queen Victoria.

Celebrations in the United Kingdom ran throughout the summer months of 2002, including extensive regional visits.

The Jubilee Weekend saw the focus of national celebrations, including two free public concerts for over 24,000 people in the gardens of Buckingham Palace, a pageant in the Mall, a service of thanksgiving at St. Paul's Cathedral, and an appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace before a crowd of one million people.

During the course of the year The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh also visited Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica and Canada.


1-2: In 1977, the Commonwealth celebrated the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. Two of the activities were a National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, and the Queen and Prince Philip receiving the pearl sword, 3: In 1997, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary, 4-9: Throughout the year of 2002, England and the Commonwealth celebrated their Queen’s Golden Jubilee, 50 years on the throne, with a long row of activities, large and small, 10: In April 2006, the Queen turned 80 years old