With the Royal Family, nothing happens by accident. When the Queen stepped out on to the balcony of Buckingham Palace yesterday it seemed on the face of it just another royal balcony scene, the like of which has been seen many times before.
It was, of course, nothing of the sort. Instead, it was a carefully constructed image, one designed to convey a simple but powerful message: that the Diamond Jubilee celebrations are not just about congratulating the Queen on the splendid job she has done, they are about dynasty, succession, continuity.
The Queen may have been a dutiful sovereign for 60 years, the message goes, but she will not be around for ever, and when she goes one of these people is going to take over. And then another. Compare the group on the balcony with other balcony gatherings of recent years, such as that seen after the royal wedding. All sorts of relations were seen there — in-laws and bridesmaids, and pages, and all the rest.
In 2002, the long line of royals stretched all the way across the balcony and included the Queen’s other three children the Duke of York, the Princess Royal and the Earl of Wessex, along with grandchildren Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and Peter Phillips. Also there were figures from the extended family — the Queen’s cousins the Duke of Kent, the Duke of Gloucester, Princess Alexandra and Prince Michael of Kent and his wife Princess Michael of Kent.
Yesterday, in contrast, there were only six people waving to the crowds: the Queen, her heir Prince Charles (and his wife), his heir Prince William (and his wife), and the spare, Prince Harry. The message was straightforward: there is the Royal Family, and there is the core royal team. The others might do the hospital visits and act as figureheads for a few charities, but when it comes to the job in hand, it is these few who are the ones that matter.
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The tableau was arranged with care. They did not stand there in just any old order: Charles, as her eldest son, was on the Queen’s immediate right, while William, as the next in line to the throne, was on her left. While the balcony six were watching the flypast, the Earl of Wessex was visiting the Duke of Edinburgh in hospital. Perhaps there is nothing much to be read into this; perhaps he just wanted to see his father. But it is also tempting to think that someone thought “Edward is the youngest, he can go.”
As well as a dynastic story, the balcony scene — and, perhaps more importantly, the carriage procession that preceded it — also told a personal story. When the Queen stepped up into the 1902 State Landau after lunch at Westminster Hall, the person who sat next to her was a woman who not so many years ago was regarded with outright suspicion by some in the Royal Family.
The Duchess of Cornwall has come a long way since then. During Sunday’s pageant on the Thames it was clear from their body language that the two women now get on extremely well.
One of the more memorable vignettes from the royal river progression was when the Queen saw the puppet Joey from War Horse rear up on the roof of the National Theatre, and could not wait to turn and share the moment with her daughter-in-law.
Best dressed balcony
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At breakfast time yesterday, the doors to the balcony of Buckingham Palace were thrown open and a group of men appeared. From all the chin stroking and shaking of heads they looked like builders delivering bad news. It transpired they were there to dress the balcony. Two started hanging red and gold drapery over the balustrade with another shouting instructions from street level. “Left a bit, right a bit.” This went on for quite some time.
Next came the royal vacuumer. What horribly elusive fluff was detaining her for half the morning?
Then a net curtain twitched and was drawn back six inches. The face was in shadow but there was something about the slow way the material moved that suggested the peeker was very much at home. Even queens must feel the basic human urge to open the curtains and look out of a morning.
Just before 3.30pm they twitched again and the Queen and her family emerged. It was a restrained appearance. But who among us would be beaming if we had to turn up to our party when our spouse was in a hospital bed?
By the end one wanted to tell the crowd to stop cheering and let Her Majesty go in out of the rain. The drapery was sodden, but should be good for next time.
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- Damian Whitworth