As I reflected on the celebrations it was natural to review my direct and indirect interactions with royalty over the years. Growing up in rural Zimbabwe, I had endless fantasies regarding royalty. Two interfaces invoked most of the fantasies. One was the coins in circulation then, they bore Elizabetha Regina. The general circulation of coins in rural areas was not efficient. So a few King George VI coins would crop up every now and then, more than a decade into Queen Elizabeth’s reign. The other interface was stationery at school that was embossed O.H.M.S.
My family’s contact with royalty dates back to the early fifties. We grew up very proud of uncle Pauro
who was in the British South Africa Police(BSAP). In 1953 he had been seconded to the royal guard put together for a royal visit then. That was well before my time but his fame lives on. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother came to Southern Rhodesia in 1953 for a number of engagements including laying the foundation stone of the University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland which was founded as a college of the University of London. Even though uncle Pauro was a relatively new police recruit in the BSAP, he made it into the coveted royal guard , much to the envy of his longer-serving colleagues. The BSAP was a highly respected force, with the respect borne of a mixture of awe and fear. Awe because of their impressive discipline and fear because they were sometimes deployed to enforce racially oppressive legislation. In spite of the latter, they still garnered net admiration.
When I subsequently went to study in the UK, I was a tad taken aback to discover that there were anti-royals among the British populace. It certainly eroded some of the royal mystique. To further compound the exposure, a certain round of public spending cuts hit the royal family too. When the cuts were implemented, the British press ran a cartoon of royal footmen going to a fish and chip shop to buy some dinner for the royal family. I vividly remember the cartoon depicting one of the footmen asking the other whether it was the Duke who wanted a gherkin!
The silver lining was that of the two most powerful women in the UK at the time, the Queen had a lot less enemies than the Iron Lady, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. At least nobody ever pasted the Queen’s portrait to the urinal in the Students Union. Now that I am older and battle worn, I have much respect for Margaret Thatcher too. After recently enduring the ordeal of hyperinflation in Zimbabwe, I now understand very clearly why she was averse to printing money.
The only royal I have met in person so far is His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, who is also the chancellor of the University of Surrey. I have met him twice, first when I graduated and then five years later when he hosted a reception for University of Surrey alumni at St James’s Palace in London.
The Queen’s only visit to Zimbabwe so far was in October 1991 when she came for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. I never got an opportunity to meet her because I was a nobody then. I still am!
The years may have eroded some of the mystique of royalty but they still remain special in my book. So I am proud to have been part of the celebrations to commemorate Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee.
