That time I saw the Queen
Readers, hello! I’ve been on an extended break from this newsletter, two weeks for holidays and one week because I had some laptop issues. But this week I’m back.
We had a fabulous holiday along the North Wales coast, staying between Llandudno and Conwy. The weather was glorious, we swam in the sea, explored Anglesey and a seagull pinched my ice-cream on the pier. Good times.
We’re all back to work and school now, and what a week it’s been. Seeing the TV coverage of the Queen’s death has been like watching a movie; the historic pageantry spilling out onto the streets of London has been incredible.
I thought I’d share with you this week the one time I saw the Queen in real life. It was a vibe.
Back to normal next week, when I’ll tell you all about Llandudno’s Great Orme, a cracking day trip.
That time I saw the Queen
I spent one of the best decades of my life, from 2006 - 2016, as a tabloid reporter working in London, then Manchester. It was brilliant fun, I got to meet some extraordinary people and was granted a backstage pass to some quite incredible events and experiences.
So, let’s go back in time together. The year is 2012, a golden time for the country. London was hosting the Queen’s 60th Diamond Jubilee and the centre piece was a huge river pageant, where a flotilla of boats would steer down the Thames with the Monarch looking on.
Somehow I was lucky enough to be offered two places on the boat hosted by the newspaper I was working for, so I asked my Mum if she’d like to join me. On the day we headed off down to South West London where the boats were assembling.
We were highly excited, and the mood on the boat was one of anticipation and glee. Around 20 of us were on board with plenty of snacks and drinks, and our boat was one of 670 taking part in the flotilla.
It was estimated that one million people lined the banks of the Thames to watch the boats sail by, while more than 10 million watched on TV.
We were near the back of the line so there was a bit of waiting around before we got started, and it began to drizzle.
It drizzled some more, and then it began to rain. It rained some more, and soon it was raining hard. We’d seen the forecast and we’d worn waterproof jackets and brought umbrellas, but it was seriously wet.
As we got going the rain puddled on the deck and pelted down onto the parade. It ran in rivulets down our faces and soaked through our hoods (and my Union Jack headband).
As we sailed down the river under the Albert Bridge and past landmarks like Battersea Power Station we got wetter and wetter, but the excitement was building.
Finally we were opposite the Royal Barge at Tower Bridge, and we peered through the pouring rain for a glimpse of Her Majesty.
There she was, a blur of white through a sheet of rain, still enthusiastically waving as our boat (at least the 600th one in the flotilla) sailed past.
It was thrilling.
Mum and I clutched each other in excitement. Despite being at least 30m away from her and barely able to make her out through the rain, it was astonishing just to realise that it was, y’know, the actual Queen!
On our boat went and we retreated to the (extremely wet) bar for a celebratory glass of fizz.
Ten years on I thought of our Queen moment as I watched on TV as drones made Corgi shapes in the sky above Buckingham Palace for the Platinum Jubilee in June. And again this week as I watched as Charles, William and Harry follow her coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall.
Ten years ago I was soaked but jubilant on a boat on the Thames. A decade later I was unable to tear my eyes off the BBC live feed as news of her death rolled out.
I’m not a massive monarchy fan or much of a Royalist, but these are, for sure, the kind of moments that you remember for a lifetime.
Have you ever met the Queen? Or got within 20m of her on a wet boat?! Please do comment or reply as I’d love to hear your stories.
That’s it for this week. Thank you if you got this far, you’re for sure my favourite all of all the readers.
See you next week,
Jenna