The British Royal Family & the 2012 London Olympics

[Lumutqueen]

In relation to both The Queen, William, Catherine and Harry:

London 2012 Olympics: Royal family to welcome Olympic Torch Relay as it passes Buckingham Palace - Telegraph

The Queen will view the Olympic Flame at Windsor Castle on July 10, Buckingham Palace said.
The Olympic Torch Relay will travel through the grounds of four royal residences on its way to the lighting of the cauldron at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, east London, to mark the start of the Games.
The Olympic Flame will pass through the Balmoral Estate on June 11, the Sandringham Estate on July 4 and Windsor Castle on July 10, where the Queen will meet the torchbearers.
William, Kate and Harry will be watching as three torchbearers carry the Olympic flame through the grounds of Buckingham Palace on July 26, the day before the opening ceremony.

 

[EIIR]

Interesting that William, Kate and Harry will see it the day before the opening ceremony. They obviously feel they'll get the international press coverage that London 2012 will want.

 

[Osipi]

Interesting that William, Kate and Harry will see it the day before the opening ceremony. They obviously feel they'll get the international press coverage that London 2012 will want.

As the Queen will be on hand to see the flame pass through Windsor, what better representatives to be on hand at BP then Royal Ambassadors to the 2012 Games? I've always really enjoyed the opening and closing ceremonies of the games and this year for sure I'll be glued to the coverage.

 

[EIIR]

Osipi, say a prayer for us with the opening ceremony! We have to follow China who threw literally tens of billions at it, and we're basically skint. Lots of people here are hoping for the best but wouldn't be surprised if it was a big let down.

 

[Lumutqueen]

Osipi, say a prayer for us with the opening ceremony! We have to follow China who threw literally tens of billions at it, and we're basically skint. Lots of people here are hoping for the best but wouldn't be surprised if it was a big let down.

Maybe if we put in some fake footsteps that look like the Loch Ness monster we could get somewhere

 

[Molly2101]

The articles state that other members of the family will also see the flame pass through other areas. Most likely on their engagements perhaps?

I am getting quite excited about the Olympics now.

 

[ghost_night554]

Kate Middleton, Prince William and Prince Harry's non-stop Olympics agenda revealed - Mirror Online

 

[RoyalistRiley]

Kate Middleton, Prince William and Prince Harry's non-stop Olympics agenda revealed - Mirror Online

This article says they will be meeting Commonwealth athletes too, which is good to see.

I wonder if we will hear the Queen speak French when she officially declares the Games open. It is the 2nd Olympic language and it would be nice if she used it as well as English.

 

[Artemisia]

I strongly doubt it.
The games are in London, and the British might not take it well if their Monarch makes a speech in a language other then their own.
If the games were in Paris, no one would expect the French President to make a speech in English (not unless they wanted a small-scale riot on their hands anyway).

 

[Artemisia]

The articles state that other members of the family will also see the flame pass through other areas. Most likely on their engagements perhaps?

I am getting quite excited about the Olympics now.

I think it's more likely the (relatively) minor royals will witness the flame pass ceremonies on private engagements, like Princess Beatrice did.
And while we are at it, here are a couple of Olympics-related official engagements British royals will undertake:

- The Queen will receive the Olympic Torch at Windsor Castle on July 10.
- Princess Alexandra will attend a Service to mark the Olympic Games at Westminster Abbey on July 12.
- Princess Anne, as President of the British Olympic Association, will attend a Reception with 1948 Olympians at Team GB House on July 17.
- The Duke of Gloucester will open the new Olympic Wing at St John's Church of England School, Essex, on July 17.

 

[ghost_night554]

^The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are also set to receive the torch on July 26th

 

[Iluvbertie]

This article says they will be meeting Commonwealth athletes too, which is good to see.

I wonder if we will hear the Queen speak French when she officially declares the Games open. It is the 2nd Olympic language and it would be nice if she used it as well as English.

The language used is the language of the country although she did use both in Montreal although the Winter Games in Vancouver were only opened in English.

I would be surprised if she broke that protocol and used any language other than English to declare the games open.

Just as I would be surprised to hear any language other than Portuguese in 2016 for the few words that the Head of State actually says: I declare open the Games of [London] celebrating the [30th] Olympiad of the modern era.

 

[EIIR]

I hope she doesn't speak in French. It's never made sense to me that French is the 2nd language of the Olympics. It reminds me of being on a flight last year with a British holiday company from the UK to the Canaries. All the announcements were in English and French which none of us could understand. The captain actually apologised and explained that because the plane was registered in Canada (for some inexplicable reason) legally all the announcements had to be made in both languages.

 

[VictoriaB]

I hope she doesn't speak in French. It's never made sense to me that French is the 2nd language of the Olympics. It reminds me of being on a flight last year with a British holiday company from the UK to the Canaries. All the announcements were in English and French which none of us could understand. The captain actually apologised and explained that because the plane was registered in Canada (for some inexplicable reason) legally all the announcements had to be made in both languages.

Because Baron De Coubertain who began the modern Olympics was a Frenchman. Because at the time the modern Olympics began France had an Empire that, while not as extensive as Britain's, was still large enough that French was spoken widely throughout the world.

It's also a beautiful language. I'm glad that at the time I went to school in the UK it was compulsory to learn it.

 

[Lumutqueen]

It's an aggressive language IMO, not beautiful. If any language should be second to English, it should be Greek.

 

[VictoriaB]

It's an aggressive language IMO, not beautiful. If any language should be second to English, it should be Greek.

It's a question of perception. I don't find anything aggressive about it but I suppose it would depend on the speaker.

Why Greek second to English? Why not the other way around? Other than the fact that English is (possibly) the most widely spoken language, it has no greater connection with the Olympics than French, German, Spanish, Arabic or Mandarin.

 

[MichelleQ2]

English and French are the official languages of the Olympics and will be the two spoken for all announcements. If the host country has a different language (i.e. Beijing) then a third language will be spoken as well.

 

[Osipi]

It's a question of perception. I don't find anything aggressive about it but I suppose it would depend on the speaker.

Why Greek second to English? Why not the other way around? Other than the fact that English is (possibly) the most widely spoken language, it has no greater connection with the Olympics than French, German, Spanish, Arabic or Mandarin.

I think that the reasoning behind the Greek language would be that it is from Greece that the Olympics come from. The Olympic flame is lit originally in Greece and during the parade of nations, Greece is always the first country to enter the stadium with the host country being the last.

 

[VictoriaB]

I think that the reasoning behind the Greek language would be that it is from Greece that the Olympics come from. The Olympic flame is lit originally in Greece and during the parade of nations, Greece is always the first country to enter the stadium with the host country being the last.

I was agreeing with the argument that Greek should be an official language. I was questioning why it should be second to English.

There is a better argument that
Greek should be the official language and then the language of the host nation, whatever that may be, is the second language for that particular games.

 

[Artemisia]

I suppose the reasoning is that English is the one language most people on this planet speak to varying degree of fluency. It's the lingua franca of our times.
In the times of Napoleon, it would have been French. Earlier, it could have been Latin or Ancient Greek. Maybe in a couple of decades' time, it will be Chinese or Japanese or Indian - but right now it's English.

 

[Molly2101]

I imagine it will be in English as it will be in London, an English country. But who knows, perhaps we will be shocked just as we were when the Queen spoke Irish during her trip to Southern Ireland last May.

The Court Circular states only a few members of the family are attending the opening ceremony. I am quite shocked by that as I assumed many, if not all of them, would attend. No doubt various members will attend events and such, but to not have many at the opening ceremony was a shock. It does state Edward and Sophie will attend the opening ceremony of the Paralympic's though, but he is a Patron of it.

The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh

will give a reception for Heads of State and Government attending the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, at Buckingham Palace.

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester

will attend the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony at the Oympic Stadium, London.

The Duke of Kent

will attend the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Park, Stratford, London E20.

Where is everyone else?

 

[Artemisia]

The royals in attendance for the opening ceremony can be divided into two groups - those there in official capacity and as private individuals.
The Court Circular lists only those who will have some sort of an official function during the ceremony, not all those in attendance.

For instance, during the recent Thistle ceremony, the Duchess of Cambridge was in attendance but not listed on Court Circular because she had no official role - Kate was there just as the wife of the Duke of Cambridge, to support her husband.

 

[NGalitzine]

While the IOC has English and French as its official languages, the head of state always opens the games in their nations national language. During the course of the games all announcements will be in both English and French plus the host nations official language if different.

 

[Iluvbertie]

Can I please point out one thing - the CC isn't what lists upcoming engagements - that is the Future Engagements list. There have been occasions this year when things listed in the Future Engagements list don't make it to the CC which is done AFTER the event - it is published the next day in The Times, The Telegraph, The Scotsman, The Monarchy website and their facebook page.

It is perfectly possible that those listed above will be supplemented over the coming weeks. I have looked a future engagements at times and been surprised to see only two or three engagments listed for the entire family for a day only to read the CC for the day to see 20 engagements listed. The future engagements can be added to over time.

I also think that the number of royals who will be attending the Opening Ceremony unofficially will be quite high e.g. how many people saw William, Kate, Beatrice or Prince and Princess Michael at Wimbledon over the last two weeks - most of us right - they weren't there officially according to the CC but what about Charles and Camilla or The Duke of Kent - there officially according to the CC. The same with Ascot - The Queen and Philip attended officially every day but other royals attended each day but not officially.

Not everytime you see a royal doing something are you seeing them doing an official engagement.

 

[GrammaSueSue]

The Wales family are all listed on the POW website "Diary"...usually only the day before or the day of. The are not listed on the the Monarchy website coming events.

 

[EIIR]

I expect most of the family at the Opening Ceremony. The tickets are very, very difficult to get (not to mention bloody expensive) because demand has been so high. If there's one time I would expect the royals to use their status to get a ticket to something, it's this one. Similarly, if England got to the final of the World Cup somewhere close to home, I'd say as many of them would go as possible. I don't blame them, I'd do it too if I could. It's over 60 years since we last had the Olympics, who knows when we'll have them again?

 

[MichelleQ2]

I expect most of the family at the Opening Ceremony. The tickets are very, very difficult to get (not to mention bloody expensive) because demand has been so high. If there's one time I would expect the royals to use their status to get a ticket to something, it's this one. Similarly, if England got to the final of the World Cup somewhere close to home, I'd say as many of them would go as possible. I don't blame them, I'd do it too if I could. It's over 60 years since we last had the Olympics, who knows when we'll have them again?

is there a royal box at the stadium where the opening ceremonies will be held? not living in the UK, Im not familiar with all of the venues.

 

[Lumutqueen]

is there a royal box at the stadium where the opening ceremonies will be held? not living in the UK, Im not familiar with all of the venues.

I expect there might be a VIP area of some kind at the Olympic Stadium, nothing has been announced yet.

 

[Molly2101]

I did expect a lot of the family to attend, but I just did not know whether it would be listed or not. I agree with EIIR, I would imagine they will milk their status for all it is worth for the Olympics, and I would do the same. I would like to see them there and I sincerely hope there is a big turn out for Zara when she is competing. Would be lovely to see all her cousin's supporting her too.

 

[EIIR]

is there a royal box at the stadium where the opening ceremonies will be held? not living in the UK, Im not familiar with all of the venues.

Yes, there is a Royal Box in the Olympic Stadium. I think only Olympics officials, British royals and British government officials will sit in it though. Bear in mind that it's expected anything up to 120 heads of state and/or government are believed to be attending because of how relatively central London is and how easy it is to travel to from just about anywhere. Each of these VIPs will also have bodyguards and their own officials with them, so to be able to seat them all in the Royal Box it would have to be big enough to seat potentially thousands of people. I suspect there will be VIP or some sort of premium seating available outside the Royal Box itself.