Wednesday, 11 November 2009

Q is for...


Queen

This is the Golden Carriage, which is used every year on the third Tuesday in September for Princes Day, the day when the new financial plans for the coming year are unveiled. The carriage is used by Queen Beatrix and (when he was alive) Prince Claus or (nowadays) Crown-Prince Willem Alexander.

If you look closely, you can see the Queen on the right hand side of the carriage. You don't? Disappointed? Well, so was I after I got back home and got these photos developed! The only reason I stayed and watched the whole parade of soldiers and airmen etc and got cold all over (it wasn't a nice September day) was because I would get to see the queen! So, imagine my surprise when I got the photos back and saw a bunch of fingers and no queen!

Anyway, we don't have a President, we have a Prime Minister and we have a Queen (does this sound like the commercial for a Canadian beer brand now?). We've had a Queen for over a century now, but it's coming to an end: our next leader will be a man! The Netherlands was one of the first countries where the eldest child would automatically become the reigning royal, be it male or female. We sure were emancipated!

For more Q words from around the world, please check out ABC Wednesday and join in the fun!

17 comments:

  1. So very sorry your picture doesn't show the Queen but you knew she was there and the carriage is magnificient enough for Her Highness.

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  2. we Americans get gypped. no royals! Of course, I suppose that's what that little war was about a couple hundred years ago

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  3. Well, sorry we didn't get to see the Queen, but,yes, it is a magnificent carriage!! Marvelous shot!

    Thanks for sharing the moment!

    Sylvia

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  4. Great capture of an amazing carriage...royalty is so intriguing to me. Very nice post for "Q".

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  5. An interesting post. I can understand your disappointment that the Queen herself was detached from the gloved fingers, but I love the photograph!

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  6. Very interesting. I didn't know any of that. Thank you.

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  7. You do it with style. Our king doesn't even have a carriage for occasions like this.

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  8. Oh dear. LOL!

    I have photo mistakes/catastrophes of my own with fingers or hands in front of the lens. But the coach is very splendid and reminds me of our own Lord Mayor's Coach, which if I remember rightly, I thought so much grander than the one the Queen uses.

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  9. Oh I hate it when that happens with pictures. Well, it is a very lovely photo anyway.

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  10. THAT WAS FUN FOR ME TO READ
    IM SORRY THAT THE QUEEN ISNT IN THE PICTURES
    THANKS FOR SHARING IT WITH US

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  11. Oh so elegant, it looks like it is straight out of a fairy tale. Even without the queen, its an impressive carriage. Great Q

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  12. The carriage is gorgeous, even if the queen isn't visible. We'll just assume she's in there somewhere!
    Re: how to tell mileage in my post on quota quest?
    GPS.

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  13. Glitzy coach, bit like the one our Queen uses, wonder if they bought them at the same time. The Queen's fingers are a bit close,LOL.

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  14. The Lord Mayor did his practise run in a similar coach today. A few coaches around the streets today

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  15. I think Queen Beatrix is a very popular queen. At least that's what the media here makes of her.

    I hope that tinted glass doesn't have to be bullet proof. The carriage is so elegant.

    Thanks for visiting.

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  16. So, you've seen that Canadian beer commercial?!

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  17. What a shame! But it's a beautiful golden coach, and the Queen was definitely there - I suppose!
    Thanks for visiting.

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Any weighty (and not so weighty) comments are welcome!