But this year (2012) our thoughts are
directed towards just one jubilee – that of
the Diamond Jubilee of our own Queen
Elizabeth II. Just think about the
magnitude of her achievement. Sixty years
in one role. Even in the heyday of job
security, which we certainly do not have
today, people worked 40 years for
retirement, a pension, and if they were
fortunate enough, after such a lengthy
period of active work, just a few years to
enjoy a well-earned retirement. But the
Queen has already reached a milestone
50% longer than most of us would ever
have worked, and remember, it is not a
role that she chose; it is one that came her
way by accident of birth, and it is one with
centuries of tradition, expectations and
demands that have been foisted on her.
One does not have to be a Royalist to
acknowledge just what a contribution the
Queen has made, not just to this country,
and to the other countries over which she
reigns, but also to the wider world. She is
almost certainly the most famous female
figure in the world, if not the most famous
person.
Having been born after the Second World
War, I am not old enough to remember
King George VI, so to me,