A Chance Encounter with Queen Elizabeth II

While rummaging thru my computer for a photo to illustrate another blog post, I stumbled upon these long forgotten photos of Queen Elizabeth II and her royal procession taken by a family member in my son’s scout troop on their trip to Great Britain in 2004. With the Queen’s recent passing, these photos take on special meaning. They have a fairy-tale like quality for those of us watching the British royalty from across the ocean. All of our attention has been focused on this extraordinary queen, her life and legacy as portrayed by the media. I watch with curiosity and fascination at the proceedings. But I love history and thought that this might be a good time to share these incredible photos.

This adventure began with my son’s scout troop trip to England which took several years to plan. The boys and the parent chaperones stayed in the homes of English scout families at night and did sightseeing during the day. We had outfitted my son with his first digital camera for the trip. Although he took lots of photos, we both think that these were taken by the Chapel family since the quality of the photos is spectacular. Thanks to this family for snapping the photos.  On this particular day, the troop went visit to Buckingham Palace in London.

Noticing flags along the street, the troop inquired as to the event. They were told that Queen Elizabeth II was addressing parliament that day and would be returning to Buckingham Palace along this route. In addition to the flags, members of the Royal Guard lined the streets. The band and their mascot, an Irish Wolfhound, was positioned across the street from where the scouts were standing. The wolfhound even has the same cloak as the soldiers!

According to Wikipedia, “The King’s Guard and King’s Life Guard (called the Queen’s Guard and the Queen’s Life Guard when the reigning monarch is female) are the contingents of infantry and cavalry soldiers charged with guarding the official royal residences in the United Kingdom. The King’s Guard are infantry contingents, while the King’s Life Guards are cavalry troopers. The guards are typically mounted by the regiments of the British Army’s Household Division.”  (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King%27s_Guard)

 

Here comes the royal procession all decked out in the finest costumes.

 

The queen apparently has several carriages. This one has gold-gilded trim. My son, who was 13-year-old at the time, says he doesn’t remember much about this parade, except he does remember the queen’s wave.

 

Several other royal carriages were part of the procession carrying members of the royal family — I am guessing..

And I am not sure what these are — gilded-gold pieces are hanging out the carriage, possibly scepters of some sort. Better be careful!

The procession passed quickly. So close to the queen for these American commoners.

And the procession returned back into the huge Buckingham Palace.

Although my son doesn’t remember much about this event, the photos capture all the pageantry of the procession. Queen Elizabeth II was an extraordinary person. Don Lemon of CNN summed it up the best, “she lived a long and prosperous life of service.”