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CraigCreek: Your post is so interesting, thank you for posting it. I did not know a lot of what you wrote, only some of it. I'd love to meet the Queen. But seriously doubt that would ever happen.
CraigCreek: Your post is so interesting, thank you for posting it. I did not know a lot of what you wrote, only some of it. I'd love to meet the Queen. But seriously doubt that would ever happen.
Thank you - I've been fortunate to see the Queen briefly at the airport on each of the several occasions when she made private visits to her thoroughbred mares and foals who were boarded on Kentucky bluegrass horse farms.
Security was tighter on her later visits - I think there were four or five - but the first time she came here, she was greeted by a large and enthusiastic crowd. It was drizzling - she emerged from the plane carrying her own open clear umbrella, and smiled and waved, to roars of approval. She was greeted by local officials plus the necessary small girl presenting flowers, then entered a car with a state police escort and left for the farm which was hosting her, a short drive from the airport.
We're told she didn't think much of the "Castle", a local landmark constructed about 35 years ago and now a B and B.
Then the locals left her alone to relax and enjoy her visit with old friends in privacy, without being pursued. There was one newspaper article with photos and local TV was allowed to film her viewing some of her horses on one brief occasion, but there were no interviews and little intrusion.
A few tidbits of info. leaked out, however, including the identity of at least one unexpected item the Queen carried inside her famous handbag: peppermints, for the horses! Apparently they liked them much better than the carrots ordinary tourists often give them.
And the Queen enjoyed locally grown fresh strawberries for dessert at a dinner given for her, and liked a local beer cheese so much that she requested it again - to take back home - on a subsequent visit, something the manufacturer advertised heavily, with the slogan, "The Queen came for the horses - but she left with the beer cheese!".
We also learned that like all thoroughbreds, the Queen's horses have brass nameplates on their bridles - but hers bear not only the horses' names but also small engraved crowns and the name of the Queen.
Shortly after the Queen's first visit to Kentucky, my parents and I and a visiting cousin chance-encountered one of the Queen's mares, Daisy Chain, as she stood by the fence waiting to be petted along a quiet tree-lined Bluegrass lane, and somewhere I have a photo of us with the mare just the other side of the board fence. I expect security would be much tighter these days and the Queen's horses would be kept in pastures well away from public access - but Daisy Chain was happily grazing with her non-royal companions and immediately came curiously over to the fence when we approached. She was a very friendly, sweet-natured and pretty mare.
Prince Philip, Princess Anne and Zara Phillips Tinsdale have also made frequent trips to the Bluegrass, as did Princess Margaret once or twice. They come for the horses and three-day eventing and carriage driving at the Kentucky Horse Park each time (well, actually Margaret and her then-husband were the celebrity house guests of a famous horse farm owning Derby party hostess).
Prince Philip also accompanied the Queen on her last trip to the United States, in 2006, when they also visited the Kentucky Derby and the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, VA, as official occasions, with the later Bluegrass visit a private time to unwind for a few days, see their horses and old (human) friends, and conclude their American tour.
I only ever saw the Prince that last time with the Queen, at a distance through field glasses, as they departed, each bare-headed and wearing a simple woolen cardigan sweater, his camel, hers blue. As I saw their plane head east, I somehow knew this would be their last visit to Kentucky.
The Queen no longer travels outside of the UK, sadly - we miss her, and the door is open and horses and beer cheese are ready, if she ever wants to return.
Last edited by CraigCreek; 07-18-2018 at 09:46 PM..
1. Moderation in all things
2. Low to moderate physical activity
3. Being outdoors as much as possible
4. Having hobbies that involve mental and/or physical activity
5. Taking the stairs
6. A consistent routine
7. Plenty of sleep
8. Keeping mentally active
9. Recognizing limitations
10. Enjoying life. The Queen has a Dubonnet-and-gin every day.
What say you?
11. A supportive spouse
12. Pets. Lots of pets.
13. Great maternal genes.
A man named Michael Fagan, who was 31 at the time, had climbed a wall of Buckingham Palace, crawled through an open window and made his way to the bedroom of Queen Elizabeth II, who was sleeping.
When she awakened to find the guy sitting there staring at her, it is fair to surmise that she was not pleased.
Especially when Fagan asked her if she had a spare cigarette.
I have to confess, despite my anti-royalty inclinations, that the Queen does an admirable job, plus all that royalty, palaces & pageantry probably adds millions of pounds to regular folks pockets through tourism & such. My mother is the same age as the queen & also a tough lady still hanging in there, the last time I was visiting her I turned on The Crown series thinking she would enjoy it.
Well, mom can't really follow a story for too long at this point but danged if I didn't get sucked right into what turned out to be a very interesting & very well done series... who knew! The queen, & Prince Phillip who I think is older & slower, are still ticking, but I don't envy their lives which are mostly symbols open to only isolation & criticism.
13a. Yes! Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon was awesome. While George VI may not have been as spectacular, he came from a long line of long-lived people of good repute, including Queen Victoria.
The Queen doesn't do anything. She puts no stress on her body. If you had servants cleaning the toilets, didn't have to worry about money, etc. you would also live to be 100 and be in good physical condition! I like the Queen because she is a brave lady and still rides her horses without a helmet. COOL!
I have to confess, despite my anti-royalty inclinations, that the Queen does an admirable job, plus all that royalty, palaces & pageantry probably adds millions of pounds to regular folks pockets through tourism & such. My mother is the same age as the queen & also a tough lady still hanging in there, the last time I was visiting her I turned on The Crown series thinking she would enjoy it.
Well, mom can't really follow a story for too long at this point but danged if I didn't get sucked right into what turned out to be a very interesting & very well done series... who knew! The queen, & Prince Phillip who I think is older & slower, are still ticking, but I don't envy their lives which are mostly symbols open to only isolation & criticism.
But remarkable at 92yo.
Prince Philip retired this last year - at age 97. He still attends select family occasions, such as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's recent wedding, but has left public service. I think he's allowed to by now.
Philip had a very illustrious WWII career and saw action in the Royal Navy. Then-Princess Elizabeth, who'd fallen in love at first sight with Philip when she was about twelve, kept a photo of him on her mantelpiece - but he was unrecognizable to anyone not in the know, as he wore a heavy beard during the war, which helped keep gossip down among the cleaning staff. Harry bears a very strong resemblance to his grandfather as a young man.
The British taxpayers pay less than one pound per annum to help support the Royals. I think they get their money's worth.
[quote=biscuitmom;52538192]11. A supportive spouse
12. Pets. Lots of pets.
13. Great maternal genes.
14. Steady production stream of new great grandchildren who love their Gan-Gan and care about her as their great grandmother rather than as their queen: all cute, photogenic, and many on the entertainingly mischievous side (see Mia Phillips and Princess Charlotte).
Like most great grandmothers, the Queen gets to enjoy the children - but can pass them along to others if things start to get out of hand. No need to play disciplinarian, change diapers, hush tears or deal with temper tantrums - she just gets to be a fun Gan-Gan!
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To late for me, should of thought of that 40 years ago
