Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is the second monarch of that name to reign, after her predecessor, Elizabeth Tudor (Elizabeth I), another great monarch who ruled for many years and surveyed over what is now called “The Golden Age” of English history.
Queen Elizabeth is the second longest reigning monarch (after her great great grandmother, Queen Victoria) and ascended the throne in 1952 at the age of 25 due to the untimely death of her father to lung cancer. She had never expected to become queen. Her uncle was first in line to the throne as a child and when her grandfather died, he ascended as Edward VIII. However, her father went from Heir Presumptive to King of England practically overnight when Edward the VIiI abdicated the throne to marry Wallis Simpson. Princess Elizabeth then became Heiress Presumptive and subsequently queen.
Elizabeth II’s official seal “E II R” stands for Elizabeth Regina (Latin for queen) and the Roman numerals for being the second monarch of that name.
Did you know that the British Monarchy has a website and has had some for quite some time? I discovered this by accident while doing research and found that it is a veritable wealth of information for all things British. And Royal.
Some interesting things you’ll learn from the website:
The British State Opening of Parliament, amongst all kinds of pomp and ceremony with centuries of history behind it. This year, it will occur on May 8, 2013 and will likely be televised in many countries (almost certainly if you live in a Commonwealth country). If you get a chance, I suggest you check it out. It’s a fascinating lesson in history, tradition and the continuity of one of the most important monarchies of Great Britain.
Royal Events and Ceremonies, including State Funerals, Coronations, Investitures and the Changing of the Guard.
History of the Monarchy provides a timeline of all the British Monarchs and biographies of each using a wonderful visual graphic to illustrate the passage of time over the milenia.
The Royal Household is explained with a wonderful overview video and also delineates the specific divisions within the household.
Resources Elsewhere:
The BBC did a very in-depth set of documentaries about five years ago entitled “A Year With The Queen.” The DVDs are still available and I highly recommend them. Here’s a trailer of the documentary.
To go along with it, is this visually stunning and detailed hardback book (and part of my personal research library):
Her Majesty has a sense of humor, despite her austere façade. The world had a chance to witness it at the London Olympic Games last year. Because it’s such a fun clip, I’m including it here!
On April 17, 2009 (almost 4 years ago, now!) I woke up a Canadian citizen. As such, I am now a subject of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. Believe me, when you are trying to catch up with a lifetime of culture and history, resources like these are very useful!
“Maybe, at the base of it… what creativity really is [is] just falling in love with the world” –Dewitt Jones
Some useful lessons to be learned about creativity:
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Learn from them but also turn them to your advantage.
There is never just one right answer. Find the one (or several) that works best for you
Break out of your self-imposed ruts and patterns. Learn how to switch it up by straying from your comfort zone.
Take your problems and turn them into opportunities.
Find and hone your technique. “Vision without technique is blind”
Care deeply about what you are working on and put everything into it
Be willing to look beyond the ordinary and see something special.
A while back, I was in a large group professional development class put on by our school district. Like most any profession, corporate training (what we teachers call professional development) is a tedious but necessary part of the job. Teachers are also lifelong learners.
Fortunately, this corporate trainer knew when to pull out the big guns and attract everyone’s attention with a discussion about creativity and looking at problems and situations from a different angle. The training video he showed us was “Celebrate What’s Right With The World,” featuring National Geographic photographer Dewitt Jones.
To say my socks were blown off was an understatement. In the video, Dewitt talks about focusing on the positive in the world and in every situation, using that positivity to work around obstacles and begin to see them as opportunities.
Dewitt shared his amazing photographs taken during his time with National Geographic and afterwords, relaying the stories behind them and truisms about how creativity is summoned from within, even when we think that well has run dry.
The first National Park ever established in the United States, Yellowstone actually sits atop the caldera of a “super volcano” that may or may not erupt. If it ever does, it will take out most of the western states along with it.
It’s an amazing, unique place but I’m just going to write about one small facet of our visit there last summer. We had the good fortune to stay at the hundred and ten year-old Old Faithful Inn, located just yards away from the iconic geyser that everyone lines up to see when they visit this amazing place.
Our room was about fifty yards away from the geyser and we could hear it erupt regularly throughout the night. In fact, on our first evening there, Mr. Aubrey and I tucked the kids into bed and wandered out to the bleacher overlooking the best viewpoint for Old Faithful in the wee small hours of the morning.
It was an impulse but it ended up being a truly magical moment shared with my cherished partner in life. I’ll never forget it. Above us curved a dome of stars in the blackest field, unencumbered by city lights, traffic and other interference. We spent muted moments picking out constellations we both know–finding Polaris, the North Star, or gaping at the jaw-dropping streak of white, the Milky Way painted across the midnight sky.
The air was brisk–all the more excuse for us to draw close to each other and share body warmth. But the magic didn’t end there. As if sensing our deep admiration and appreciation for the natural world around us, the geyser responded at 1 a.m., giving us alone a show that we will never forget. It was an experience for all the senses. I could see the steam rising from the mound in the near distance, I could smell the musty earthiness and feel the damp heat on my skin as the water rose from the bowels of the earth no longer able to contain it.
Nature had decided to pull out all the stops for us that night and give us a moment we’ll always remember. I still get chills thinking about how I felt, so insignificant and yet so closely tied to the natural world around me. I felt the connection immediately and it will not soon release me.
I must go back to this place some day. There was so much to see and so little time to see it. I am so thankful for our amazing National Parks service that seeks to preserve these special places for us and our descendants. If you haven’t visited a national park recently, I urge you to get out there and see one, or many.
Since I did not want to use someone else’s photos on my blog without permission, I will link the following image, probably one of the most stunning I found and what comes the closest to what we saw. Milky Way over Old Faithful
