Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee

On June 4th, I was fortunate to be asked to speak as part of a Community Service of Thanksgiving for her Majesty's Reign. The occasion was to recognize the 70 years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II - her Platinum Jubilee. It was held in The Cathedral Church of St. John the Evangelist in Winnipeg. We learned that this church was one of only two in the world which have a stained glass window featuring the Queen (shown in photo below).

My brief comments on the occasion are below:

We are here today to pay tribute to the longest reigning monarch in British history, and one of the longest reigning monarchs in the world.

It is not just the length of her reign, but the quality of her time as monarch. When measured by both length of time and quality of rule, Elizabeth II stands out and it is for this reason that we are here today on her Platinum Jubilee.

I remember June 2, 1953, the day of her coronation. My brother Chris was born a year earlier on June 2, 1952. At the time, as a five year old, I thought it was good of the Queen to choose my brother’s birthday for her coronation.

Much of the focus in Canada today is on colonialism and reconciliation, and rightly so. But we also need to remember that there is much that is positive in British history. England was where modern parliamentary democracy evolved. It has proved to be a remarkably stable form of government – with a history of 1,000 years of evolving. As James Lovelock notes, “people in England, apart from one civil war, have lived through 1,000 years of internal peace, during which have evolved a common law of decent behaviour and a hierarchy that tries to sort the good from the bad.” It is a story which includes the Magna Carta over 800 years ago. It is a storied history which now includes Elizabeth II and her long and much travelled reign. In Canada, Elizabeth II has been our monarch and she has visited Canada many times, including several memorable occasions – Manitoba.

We join together to thank the Queen for her poise, her many thoughtful comments and her positive influence on a frequently troubled world.

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