Little Green Hat

On 24 October 2011 I did something I have always wanted to do. I waved to the Queen of England and heard myself yell "God Save the Queen." The Queen visited Brisbane Australia and I was one of about 45,000 people who lined up to see Her Majesty in the stifling summer heat and humidity. God Save the Queen is the National Anthem which was composed in 1745. It was written after the Scottish invaded England. The invasion was a serious threat to the monarchy and that explains the words of the National Anthem that forms a prayer of petition for the safety and wellbeing of the monarch. The Queen arrived at the Brisbane airport, motored into the city then boarded a boat to travel up the Brisbane River to disembark at Southbank in Brisbane. It had taken me 30 minutes to walk there from where I was working in the city. Everyone at work thought I was crazy. They just couldn't understand wanting to pay homage to such a grand lady. Australians aren't very patriotic. Queen Elizabeth turns 91 in 2017 and she has been the Queen over the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand since 1952 and is the longest reigning British monarch. There have been a total of 12 US presidents since she first began her reign. She loves her dogs, especially corgis and also breeds thoroughbred horses. On a personal level there were two times when she personally was threatened. In 1981 she was riding in a special military parade when a man in the crowd pointed a gun at her. He fired, but fortunately, the gun was loaded with blanks. The next close encounter was the following year when an intruder scaled Buckingham Place and confronted Her Majesty in her very own bedroom. The Queen doesn't require a drivers license or license tag or even a passport. And, she celebrates her birthday twice, once on April 21st and the other in June when the weather is better. She carries cash in her purse but only on Sundays when she donates money to her church. Of course I took photos of my encounter with this royal lady that day but they are of her hat. Yes a beautiful green hat. And one fact I haven't mentioned is that she is only 5'4". I tried everything to get closer. I followed a news crew with no luck. Then a lady a couple of rows in front fainted from the heat. Still no luck. So, I have my fond memory of that little green hat and yelling "God Save the Queen."