The Queen and Mr. Bond

In case you missed the Queen's arrival at the Olympics last night:

Queens, Queens and More Queens...

Queens were all over the news today:

Disco Queen Donna Summer Dies at Age 63
Tampa Bay Times
May 17, 2012

I danced away many a Friday and Saturday night at Victor's (one of the premiere pick-up joints in its hey-day) to Donna Summer's songs back in my 20s.  Gosh, she was so beautiful.



Queen of Bollywood Aishwarya Ray Called "Fat" After Birth of Child
U.S. Magazine
May 17, 2012

She's not losing the weight she gained during her first pregnancy (daughter born November, 2011) fast enough for some assholes.




From one very out of touch queen (of Spain) to one very in touch queen (of the British Commonwealth) - F(orget) U!
AFP
May 17, 2012
Queen snubs Queen's Jubilee Celebration Invitation
Queen Sofia looks sour; Queen Elizabeth II looks pretty in pink :)
Obviously planned that way, this photo is from the BBC, after all...

Queen of Controversy, Jane Fonda, Glam at 74
May 17, 2012
I didn't look like this when I was a smoking hot 21 year old!  Geez Louise, what does this woman drink -- I want some!

And she's 74?  What?  Seems like yesterday I was watching Barbarella at the movie theatre trying desperately to appear nonchalant as I watched the shennigans on the screen!  LOL!  Tame stuff now but back then - wow, near blew my hair out by its roots!

Hail to the Queen

What would the game of chess be without the Queen?  Pretty damn boring, actually!

Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain celebrates her 60th year on the throne.  Whew!  Few of us can say we've worked that hard or that damn long.  Poor lady.

But it's obvious from this photograph that she loves the kids!  Here she is receiving a bouquet, with a smile of pure love and joy that just cannot be faked.  Goddess bless the Queen!

Photo credit:  AP Photo/PA, Chris Radburn.

As reported at Yahoo News

Queen celebrates 60 years on throne

By CASSANDRA VINOGRAD | Associated Press – 2 hrs 48 mins ago

LONDON (AP) — Queen Elizabeth II marked her Diamond Jubilee on Monday with a message thanking all those who had supported her over her 60-year reign and reaffirming her dedication to serving the British people.

The 85-year-old monarch ascended the throne when her father, George VI, died on Feb. 6, 1952. She is the longest-serving monarch after Queen Victoria, who reigned for more than 63 years. Before a year's worth of festivities to celebrate her milestone, the queen said she and her husband have been "deeply moved" to receive so many kind messages about her Diamond Jubilee.

"I am writing to thank you for the wonderful support and encouragement that you have given to me and Prince Phillip over these years," she wrote in a message to the nation. "In this special year, as I dedicate myself anew to your service, I hope that we will all be reminded of the power of togetherness and the convening strength of family, friendship and good neighborliness, examples of which I have been fortunate to see throughout my reign."

The queen's Diamond Jubilee will be feted with a series of regional, national and international events throughout 2012. Over the course of 2012, members of the royal family — including Prince William and his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge — will fan out across the globe and travel to Commonwealth countries including Canada, Jamaica and Belize in honor of the queen's Diamond Jubilee. The queen and Philip, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, will stay closer to home, touring the U.K. from March to July.

The 2012 Diamond Jubilee weekend will be held from June 2-5, with the main highlight likely to be a huge pageant on the Thames river featuring a 1,000-strong flotilla.

Elizabeth expressed hope that the coming year will be a time to give thanks "for the great advances" since she took the throne and "look forward to the future with a clear head and warm heart."

Later Monday, the queen is slated to tour a nursery school and meet pupils there before watching a play about her 60 years as sovereign.

New Queen's Exhibit at Buckingham Palace

A new exhibition of some of the splendid items in the Royal Collection starts Monday, July 27, 2009, at Buckingham Palace, London. Several of the items are gifts presented to the Queen of England, Elizabeth II, from nations belonging to the British Commonwealth, and then there are spectacular gowns and, of course, jewels to go with. It's a knock-your-socks off exhibition - at least, to me. I love looking at beautiful gowns and jewels and the whole mystique about and the history behind being the Queen of the British Commonwealth. Here is an article (with video) about the exhibition from The Times Online. Here is a link to the official website about The Royal Collection, and a link to the official website about other collections. The Closet Grandmaster posted about a very special chess set that Nelson Mandela presented to Queen Elizabeth II and has a photo of some of the pieces. Check it out - it's absolutely one of a kind.

Obama Goes to Bat for the Queen

All right!

It was evident that a few months ago when President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama travelled to London and met with Queen Elizabeth II, an immediate connection between the parties was made on a deeply personal level. (Photo: Queen Elizabeth II and Michelle Obama during a personal moment, April 2, 2009 - the Queen was not offended). Personally, I was pleased to see this, as I deeply appreciate the long-term historical connection between Great Britain and the United States of America. I think sometimes people tend to forget about the abiding ties between our countries, forged through fire and iron.

I was chagrined to read recent press reports that the French government had neglected to issue an invitation to Queen Elizabeth to participate in D-Day memorial events.

I didn't write about it this year on Memorial Day, but it was in my mind - and the coverage of veterans in our local newspaper, the Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel, hasn't helped my emotions. It has published a series of stories on local veterans of WWII, who are dying at the rate of about 1,000 (?) veterans each month. (Not sure if that means 1,000 U.S. WWII veterans a month or worldwide WWII veterans a month. When my dad died, my recollection is that veterans of his era were dying at the rate of 5,000 a month. (Image: my dad, WWII, personal archive). If the 1,000 a month figure is correct, that means that a lot of deaths have occurred since Dad died, and the death rate has slowed, only because there aren't a whole lot of WWII vets left). My dad, a WWII vet, died in early November, 2002. Since he died, my emotions seem to be closer to the surface of my "skin" than ever before, perhaps because I'm dealing with issues of my own mortality. Perhaps because I realize the most important things in life the older I get.


Anyway, knowing how much Queen Elizabeth's family, and Queen Elizabeth and her sister, Princess Margaret, did for morale in Great Britain and the British Empire during WWII, and knowing how many British men died during and after crossing the English Channel to Dunkirk, my thought is that of course she should be invited as a representative of the British people, in addition to PM Gordon Brown. (Image: then Princess Elizabeth in uniform. Princess Elizabeth served with the Auxiliary Territorial Service during World War II).

Call me sentimental - I freely admit it. Queen Elizabeth is of the same generation as my parents; she got married in 1947. She, and my folks (dad now deceased), have lived through the most incredible historic events and hard times that we, their children, can't even imagine.

Bravo to President Obama for sending this blatant message to the French Government. Story from "The Caucus" at The New York Times:

June 1, 2009, 4:10 pm — Updated: 5:26 pm -->
White House Seeks a Proper Invitation for the Queen
By Helene Cooper

The Obama administration is working with their French counterparts to make sure that Britain’s Queen Elizabeth — reportedly miffed, according to the British Press, at not being invited to the D-Day anniversary festivities in Normandy this weekend — gets a formal invitation.

Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said on Monday that President Obama thinks the queen should be present at the event on Saturday. “We are working with those involved to see if we can make that happen,” Mr. Gibbs said.

Mr. Gibbs’s comments came after Buckingham Palace pointedly noted last week that the queen didn’t get an invite, an omission which has had the British press fuming. Mr. Obama is attending the event (French President Nicolas Sarkozy invited him two months ago) as is British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Mr. Sarkozy has said that the queen is welcome to come to the ceremony, but Obama administration officials say that they would like to see her receive a formal invitation.

Driving home that point, Mr. Gibbs joked at the end of his daily briefing with reporters Monday: “Will you — will you — will you please pass that directly to the queen for me?”

The Queen and Mrs. Obama

Michelle Obama charms queen away from protocol From A.P. By JENNIFER QUINN, Associated Press Writer Jennifer Quinn, Associated Press Writer – Thu Apr 2, 2:15 pm ET

LONDON – Michelle Obama's meeting with Queen Elizabeth II began with a handshake and ended in a hug. The first lady arrived Wednesday with President Barack Obama. After separate meetings on the eve of the G-20 summit, the couple attended an evening reception for world leaders hosted by the queen. Mrs. Obama clearly made an impression with the 82-year-old monarch — so much that the smiling queen strayed slightly from protocol and briefly wrapped her arm around the first lady in a rare public show of affection. It was the first time Mrs. Obama — who is nearly a foot taller — had met the queen. The first lady also wrapped her arm around the monarch's shoulder and back. A Buckingham Palace spokesman who asked not to be identified because of palace policy said he could not remember the last time the queen had displayed such public affection with a first lady or dignitary. "It was a mutual and spontaneous display of affection," he said. "We don't issue instructions on not touching the queen." When the former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating put his arm around the queen in 1992, the tabloids dubbed him the "Lizard of Oz." When his successor, John Howard, was accused of doing the same, a spokesman insisted: "We firmly deny that there was any contact whatsoever." In 2007, President George W. Bush gave the queen a sly wink during a visit she paid to the United States. The Daily Mail said the "two women clearly took to each other." Wednesday's reception was followed by a dinner at Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Downing Street home, where the leaders' spouses were joined by notable British women, including "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling and Olympic gold medal runner Kelly Holmes. "Michelle walks in and she is as she seems," Holmes told reporters Thursday. "So warm, engaging, a beautiful, beautiful lady — and I quickly got my photo in the middle of her and Sarah Brown," the prime minister's wife. Mrs. Obama also seemed to win over the often feral British press. The last time a first lady made such a hit in Britain was last year with French President Nicolas Sarkozy's wife, the former fashion model and songwriter Carla Bruni. But on Thursday, London's Times newspaper had moved on, writing "Carla who?" The BBC described Mrs. Obama as her husband's co-star rather than supporting act — appropriate for a Harvard-educated lawyer. Mrs. Obama visited an all-girls school in north London on Thursday afternoon. She told the 240 girls about growing up on Chicago's south side, and urged them to think of education as "cool." "I never cut class. I liked being smart. I liked getting A's," she said. "You have everything you need. Everything you need to succeed you already have right here." At the end of the visit, Mrs. Obama doled out hugs to the students, and was swarmed by them — to the extent that some Secret Service agents stepped nervously forward. Earlier Thursday, Mrs. Obama attended a performance at the Royal Opera House with the other spouses and guests. The program included music by Handel and a dance performance by Ballet Black, a troupe set up to give performing opportunities to black and Asian classical dancers. Wearing a bright teal blue dress by Jason Wu — who designed her inauguration gown — and a sweater by Junya Watanabe, Mrs. Obama posed for photographs with Sarah Brown, Therese Rein, wife of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso's wife Chikako Aso, and Laureen Harper, who is married to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, on the stage of the opera house. ************************************************************************** I have great admiration for both of these very cool ladies ladies - so different, and yet so alike too. In watching the video (see link above and take a look at the third video down on the left side of the page), it's clear that it was the Queen who, in a spontaneous and unguarded moment, first put her arm around Mrs. Obama's waist! Lovely! And then Mrs. Obama reciprocated and the two ladies shared a look, a word, and a laugh. It was all over in a few seconds, but with today's ever-present video cams, etc., the moment was captured in time forever. The Queen is about my mom's age. I was born the same year Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne (1951). It just awes me how much the world has changed since that time - how much I've seen in my 57 years (soon to be 58 - in August) and how much much more the Queen and my mom have seen in their lifetimes. Sometimes, when I think about how it was when I was a child, it seems like we're now living on a different planet! How much more so must that feeling be for my mom - and the Queen.

Queen Strips Mugabe of Knighthood

Story from The New York Times June 25, 2008 Queen Elizabeth II has stripped Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s strongman president for nearly 30 years, of his honorary knighthood as a “mark of revulsion” at the human rights abuses and “abject disregard” for democracy over which he has presided, the British Foreign Office announced Wednesday. The rebuke showed the extent of international frustration over Mr. Mugabe’s insistence to go ahead with a presidential runoff on Friday, even though his sole opponent, Morgan Tsvangirai, pulled out of race on Sunday because of the persistent violence and intimidation against him, his party and their supporters. Mr. Mugabe’s government has had a long history of human rights abuses, but he was granted an honorary knighthood during an official visit to England in 1994 when, the foreign office contends, “the conditions in Zimbabwe were very different.” But with the widespread attacks against the opposition, the foreign office said the honor could no longer be justified. Stripping a dignitary of an honorary knighthood is exceedingly rare. A foreign office spokesman could think of only one other time it had been done — in 1989 to the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu. Mr. Tsvangirai, the beleaguered opposition leader, called on the United Nations on Wednesday to send a peacekeeping force to bring calm to the country and help pave the way for new elections in which he could participate as a “legitimate candidate.” “Zimbabwe will break if the world does not come to our aid,” he said in an op-ed in The Guardian newspaper in London. After weeks of mounting political violence against the opposition and its supporters, Mr. Tsvangirai withdrew from Friday’s runoff and took refuge Sunday in the Dutch Embassy in Harare. He emerged from the embassy briefly on Wednesday to hold a news conference at his home in which he challenged President Robert Mugabe to cancel the runoff and open negotiations. But, he said, he was not prepared to deal with a government validated by an election in which Mr. Mugabe is by default the only candidate. Mr. Mugabe has insisted Friday’s voting will go ahead. “We have said we are prepared to negotiate on this side of the 27th, not the other side of the 27th,” Mr. Tsvangirai said, according to Reuters. He listed four demands: an end to political violence; the resumption of humanitarian aid; the swearing in of legislators elected in the first round of voting on March 29; and the release of political prisoners. “We have always maintained that the Zimbabwean problem is an African problem that requires an African solution,” he said, referring to continent-wide and regional African bodies including the Southern African Development Community. “To this end, I am asking the African Union and S.A.D.C. to lead an expanded initiative, supported by the United Nations, to manage the transitional process. “The transitional period would allow the country to heal,” he said. “Genuine and honest dialogue amongst Zimbabweans is the only way forward.” He said he wanted the African Union to endorse his proposals at a forthcoming summit meeting in Egypt. Mr. Tsvangirai’s demands coincided with a scramble of regional and international diplomacy with many African and Western institutions saying the vote on Friday will be neither free nor fair. A critical group of southern African countries opened a meeting Wednesday in Swaziland to seek a way out of the crisis. The meeting grouped leaders or ministers from Swaziland, Angola and Tanzania — the so-called troika charged with responsibility for the region’s political, defense and security issues. The group said it had also invited the leaders of Zambia and South Africa to attend, but President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, the regional mediator on the crisis in Zimbabwe, said through a spokesman that he would not attend. The spokesman, Mukoni Ratshitanga, said in a telephone interview that South Africa was not a member of the troika and had not been invited. Amid the international outcry over his government’s handling of the crisis, Mr. Mugabe, 84, was reported Tuesday as hinting that he might be open to talks with the opposition, but only after Friday’s vote confirmed his power. He remained defiant about going ahead with the runoff. “They can shout as loud as they like from Washington or from London or from any other quarter,” Mr. Mugabe said in televised broadcasts. “Our people, our people, only our people will decide and nobody else.” Taken together, his remarks were the most explicit affirmation that he intended to go through with an election widely condemned as illegitimate. Rest of article.

Is There Nothing Sacred Anymore?

One of a lady's most important accessories is her purse (handbag) and no, I'm not talking about one of those ugly things that young people sling about their backs on strings that must wear out after 4 weeks! I'm talking about a true handbag, the kind Coach sells for $400 and more. In her handbag a lady holds not only such essentials as make-up, keys, checkbook, credit cards, address book (or blackberry) and cell phone, she also holds the keys to untold mysteries and anticipated emergencies. In my handbag, I hold safety pins, sanitary hand wipes, a blunt scissors, note paper and pens, tissue, antihistamine pills, hair clips, matches and a miniature plastic bottle of sanitizing liquid, some warped pennies, an afro pik (no, I'm not black and no, I don't have an afro), and various identity and membership cards. There are also some wrapped candies, expired coupons, worn out pieces of paper and receipts that I can no longer make out, and there is always reading material of some kind or other. Geez, no wonder the damn thing weighs a ton. What is in a lady's handbag is private. Its contents are between the lady and the Goddess of Handbags. Can you imagine the embarrassment a man might feel upon digging around in a lady's bag and pulling out a Tampax (hopefully still in wrapper)? And there's nothing worse than used tissues stuffed at the bottom of the bag... So, imagine my shock and horror upon reading tonight that a NEW BOOK will disclose what the Queen of England, Elizabeth II, carries around in her handbag. Oh my! Quel horreurs! Secrets of the Queen's handbag revealed in new book 10 OCTOBER 2007 She's rarely seen without an elegant handbag on her arm, but the question of what the Queen keeps inside it has long remained a mystery. Now a new book claims to shed light on the contents of the royal matriarch's main accessory. It also gives a fascinating insight into the routines and habits of her everyday life, including what she has for breakfast and the care arrangements for her beloved corgis. What's In The Queen's Handbag: And Other Royal Secrets reveals that though the 81-year-old monarch doesn't carry cash, keys or a passport - since she doesn't own one - her bag is far from empty. Inside are a collection of good luck charms given to her by her children, including miniature dogs, horses and saddles, plus family snaps. The most treasured of which is a photo of Prince Andrew on his safe return from the Falklands in 1982. Also inside the tote is a make-up case, given to her by Prince Philip as a wedding gift 60 years ago. It also houses an s-shaped metal meat hook which she places on the edge of the dinner table, from which to suspends her handbag, keeping it off the floor. Other secrets shared in the book include the canny sign language she uses to communicate with her staff. If she places her handbag on the table at a dinner it signifies she wishes the event to finish in the next five minutes, whereas its presence on the floor indicates she feels the conversation leaves a little to be desired and she wants to be rescued by a lady-in-waiting.