Britain and Queens

“I’m going to England!”

-“Are you going to have tea and crumpets?”

-“Are you going to Buckingham Palace?”

-“Are you going to meet the Queen?”

These are real responses I had from people when I told them I had been accepted into the London Centre study abroad program.  After our discussions in class this week, I’ve started to question, why do people always associate England with tea and royalty? I suppose, for me, that is what Britishness is.  There is something magical and grand about it all.

In class we’ve talked about British identity and nationalism, particularly in the framework of war and monarchy.  Having kings and queens rule a nation is not something that we are used to as Americans, so learning about that has been very interesting for me.  I’ve been able to learn about the importance of a monarchy, and why we think of the Queen, or past queens, when we think of Britain.  As a class when the question was posed, what is Britishness, immediately someone said civility.  I too think of Britain as being civil, proper, classy.  We tend to think of the Queen, of the Monarchy, and the grandeur of it.  We toured Brighton Pavilion this week, a beautiful opulent palace built by Henry IV, which was a perfect example of the extravagance of royalty.  When I visited Kensington Palace this week and had tea at the Orangery, I felt like I was experiencing the height of Britishness, sipping tea from a decorative cup and eating a croissant dripping with butter and jam.  Also at Kensington Palace, I toured the Princess Diana exhibit, and though it was dedicated to her fashion and style, I realized how much the people really loved her and looked up to her.  She decided to let her image have an impact for good through various charities and donations to help the people.  Both the Royal Pavilion and Kensington Palace talked about Queen Victoria and how she was a queen for the people who they loved. She also was a queen who ruled with dignity and poise despite her challenges.   

I’ve never grown up looking up to a queen, at least not one for a whole nation.  One of our program director Delys gave a beautiful devotional about the people who aren’t queens or princesses, who don’t get recognized for their achievements, but are the ones who have the greatest impact on us, and that is our mothers.  Mothers have the most beautiful and sacred role on earth to bring the children of God into this world.  Mothers raise their children with love and care.  Mothers sacrifice their needs for their children, always putting them first.  Mothers love their children unconditionally.  Mothers may not be queens to most of the world, but they are the closest thing to royalty anyone will ever get.