Queen’s Jubilee: What’s after the party? -panorama

Despite all the new excitement in Westminster, many Britons are finding it hard to get back on the political agenda, or even the realities of their everyday lives, this week. During four bank holidays, the island finds itself under a frenzy of memory like never before.

Military parades, Thanksgiving services and street parties to honor Elizabeth II filled the long weekend. Processions of a secular and ecclesiastical nature took place. Pop’s “Party in the Palace” with unbeatable effects made the Crown of Windsor shine in the sky over London. On the last day, seven decades of the second Elizabethan era were performed in one huge and colorful outdoor scene.

Paddington Bear smiles from the Queen

There were horse races these four days, golden chariot rides, roaring corgis, and plenty of bearskin hats. The princesses tamed the dragons, lighting torches and lights all over the world. Paddington Bear sipped tea with the King and smiled at her (and across the country). Literally innovative choreography provided imaginative entertainment and new deep bows for the Queen.

For the patriotic monarchists, it was not just a dream of the party, but further evidence of the glow of the crown, the continuity of the monarchy and the supremacy of their country. He had heard time and time again that no one around the world had ever had a head of state so world-famous or could call something like this an anniversary.

Skeptics talk about self-deception

The more sober spirits, who had nothing against the partisan mood, but found the degree of exaggeration in patriotic self-aggrandizement and simultaneous submission to “company,” saw things somewhat differently. For them, the grand ceremonies contained the seed of dangerous self-deception.

For example, not all the glamorous performances of representatives of dozens of Commonwealth countries changed the fact that the imperial days of the kingdom are long gone and interest in the crown of the Commonwealth countries is rapidly waning.

Young Queen waving from the carriage window

And the display of military force, aided by perfectly orchestrated displays, said little, in the judgment of the realists, about the real state of British forces, whose effectiveness the government was increasingly reducing – or the limited diplomatic role of Britain at present. Globalism.

The waving of the Scottish and Northern Irish flags, on the other hand, did not provide any indication of the real feelings in the countries involved and how close the UK has recently been to a possible breakup of its union.

In the whole historical picture in which the festivities proliferated, there was no mention of how many of the nation’s problems went unresolved, what casts the shadows of the empire, and how fractured British society appears in many ways today. A shape-shifting memory was required: a hologram of a young queen waving out of a carriage window.

Indulge in nostalgia

Those who had this strange idea simply wanted the inhabitants to immerse themselves in nostalgia, in a past devoid of greatness. No wonder waking up from this dream will be so difficult this week. Prince Charles warned at the end of the festivities that he was concerned about “renewed squabbles” after all the “harmony”.

The celebrations are over. After this unprecedented anniversary celebration, what is left after this extraordinary tribute to the Queen? The Queen, 96, had to admit she was too weak to continue to exist the old fashioned way. She wants to cede the presidency, but she does not want to.

Harry and Megan?

Prince Charles takes on her most important duties. He is clearly positioned on this anniversary, along with Prince William, who already has clear ideas about the future responsibility of the Crown and is apparently trying to find a survival strategy for the kingdom in difficult times.

It’s also becoming clear that Harry and Meghan are finally out of Windsor’s sphere of influence. They play no role in the future of the monarchy. Except for their solo walk at St. Paul’s Cathedral, no concessions were made to them on the anniversary.

Even that turned out to be a side joke. Basically, the four British Isles holidays were all about celebrating the familiar again as we venture into the unknown. The whole thing was a sad farewell to a queen who would eventually become an icon and her era. Such a celebration, as everyone in Britain knows, will never be seen again in the kingdom.