Watching the Royal Flotilla today one of the TV pundits commented that it was really a family day out for the Royals. Now it may be somewhat unusual for 1,000,000 people to be standing around watching you on a family trip (unless of course you’re heading the queue at Alton Towers) but it’s true nonetheless. Despite Her Royal Highness’s always dignified appearance there were even a few moments when the regal facade dropped, she and her husband shared a joke, even showed a glimmer of emotion and the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, just for a moment, became Elizabeth and Philip; a couple who had been together for most of their lives and must have shared more extraordinary moments together than most can ever dare dream.
This weekend may have been about celebrating 60 years on the throne but it’s not the only Diamond anniversary the Queen has celebrated in recent times. She and Price Philip were married in 1947, they’ve been together nearly 65 years. Leading your country for 6 decades is pretty incredible. Sharing all of that time with another human-being is quite extraordinary.
Now I’m not suggesting that the Royals are exactly your typical couple. For starters the Prime Minister is yet to pop round to my house to ask my advice (although despite my limited socio-economic experience even I could have suggested a better financial policy than taxing pasties) but it did get me thinking more about those words “’till death us do part” and what that really means. In those 60-odd years that the Queen and Prince Philip have been together the world has changed immeasurably. When they agreed to spend the rest of their future lives together neither could ever predict what the future would bring, and yet that promise has been upheld. Ok in their case you could speculate that politically there are other reasons to stay together, but there are still clear signs of a genuine affection for one another, and besides, they’re far from the only couple to reach this historic landmark.
Personally I struggle to even promise that I’ll take the bin out in the morning and do the washing-up, so how on earth can I realistically promise to spend the rest of my life – a life that could be turned on its head in a flash by circumstances completely out of my control – how can I categorically swear to spend the rest of my life with another person? In the next 60 years I simply have no idea what will happen. I mean, I can make some educated guesses, for example Tesco will probably have been declared a Republic owning more landmass than the United States, floating skateboards will FINALLY have been released and the Star Wars saga will probably have been re-released in over 16 dimensions but yet Jar Jar Binks will still be unbelievably irritating! Realistically though the world may change beyond recognition during my lifetime; can any promise spanning that length of time really be valid? With so many divorces happening every day is a promise “until death us do part” actually realistic?
I believe it is. In most things I set out to do I give it my best, in very few things can I absolutely give my word. Like Jack Bauer in 24 my word is all I have to offer and I live and die by it. On our wedding day I will give my word to stand by her side for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health and, assuming Dom doesn’t eventually get sick of me not taking the bin out and runs off with the milkman instead, I believe it’ll be us standing there when we’re 86 sharing a joke, although I confess it may be slightly unrealistic to think 1000 boats will be sailing by issuing us with a salute!
So here’s to 60 years! Congratulations to her Majesty the Queen on this very special jubilee, but also to every couple out there that have achieved their own such extraordinary landmark. You may not have millions of people around the world celebrating the event with you, but in the end you need only two. Here’s to the happy couple, 60 years on.
