Victoria Day Natterings

She was born Alexandrina Victoria on May 24th, 1819, the only child  of George III's fourth son, Edward, and Victoria Maria Louisa of Saxe-Coburg, sister of Leopold, king of the Belgians.  She ruled for more than 63 years and during her reign, she ruled over a quarter of the world's population.  

While she started out like this

It is this picture which is the quintessential Victoria to me, the dour Queen being rolled about in her chair.

Victoria Day in Canada has been celebrated since the 19th century and is always held the last Monday before May 25th.  While originally honouring Queen Victoria's birthday, it is now the official Canadian celebration of the reigning Monarch's birthday and the day is often known colloquially as "the Queen's Birthday".  It is also the official kick-off of Summer in Canada: this is the weekend when gardens are planted, cottages are opened, canoes are put to water and beer is drunk in copious quantities.  Interestingly, Queen Victoria never visited Canada, which may be just as well - she might not have been amused by us.

Being royalty, and being royalty in the line of succession, means a life of duty.

Some, like Victoria, or our current Queen and perhaps even the Duchess of Cambridge  take to the duty effortlessly.

This requires a certain temperament, a personality that can adapt to structure and large stretches of tedium.

Others struggle and chafe under the attention.  

We love the Queen and Kate, but we relate to Harry and Diana, or at least I do.  They are like us, flawed and unable to follow the "rules" easily.  They may or may not be likable to us, but in showing us their warts, they cede the high ground to what is perhaps a higher ground: personality.

Oh, I know.  The British royal family is an anachronism, it is no longer smart to support the monarchy and much of that is laid at the feet of poor old Prince Charles and his tragic ex-wife Diana.  I happen to like Charles all right.  I have met him twice - once in his prime and again in 1997, a few month before Diana was killed.  In person, he is charming and better-looking than he photographs.  Caught in the cross-hairs of what was then (and now) an increasingly out-of-control and immoral tabloid press and cast as the villain in a simplistic soap opera version of his marriage, he will likely never recover his image fully.  But I like him and I do not think that a King Charles will necessarily be a bad thing.  And the longer that Prince William and Kate can avoid being reigning monarchs, the more fortunate they and their child(ren) will be, in my opinion.

This week, I had some flowers that needed a smaller vase, and came across my Charles and Diana royal wedding beer stein, given to me by my monarchist grandmother, who sadly died only a year afterwards.  I rarely use the stein, I am not much of a beer drinker, but I love it because it reminds me of my grandmother, who thought a stein was infinitely more cheeky and apropos for an eighteen year old than a tea cup would have been at the time.  I also love it, because in 1981, I did believe in the fairy tale.  I think Charles and Diana did, too, though neither understood that the world, and the old rules, were changing quickly.  

So on this Victoria Day, I will raise a glass to the Royal Family and their sense of duty (and yes, their sense of entitlement to), but more importantly,  my toast will be simple: Better them than me.

So Happy Victoria Day to one and all and stay safe out there on the dock!