After 60 years the Queen breaks her silence. She answers her first opinion poll (well nearly)

By
Nick Wood

13:40 EST, 3 June 2012

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14:58 EST, 3 June 2012

In 60 years on the throne, the Queen has never given an interview, let alone responded to an opinion poll, sent an email or a text or uttered a tweet.

She has held private weekly audiences with 12 prime ministers yet to this day of her Diamond Jubilee little is known of her private views.

As a constitutional monarch, entitled only to be consulted and to advise and to warn our political leaders, her discretion has been admirable. In the age of the interminable leak and counter-leak, it is a tribute to her sense of duty and personal self-discipline that her 60 years in public life have been so free of political controversy.

Stoic silence: In 60 years on the throne, the Queen has never given an interview

Stoic silence: In 60 years on the throne, the Queen has never given an interview

Yet, with a little imagination and a lot of guesswork, it is possible to venture a stab at where the Queen stands on the issues of the day.

The Queen agrees with the following propositions:

* The countryside is much neglected in Britain’s national life. Cities, towns and suburbs take precedence. The views of country folk are largely ignored.

* The hunting ban was a dreadful mistake, which damaged the economy and social life of rural Britain to no good purpose. Farmers get a raw deal, unlike their feather-bedded counterparts in France.

* The armed forces have been forced to the back of the queue. Much is expected of our soldiers, sailors and airmen. But they are not given the material support they need to do their jobs.

* Wind-farms are a blot on the landscape and should be scrapped forthwith.

* Margaret Thatcher was a remarkable prime minister and restored the nation’s self-respect and its economy. But her aggressively free market approach, leading to the closure of ailing, traditional industries such as coal-mining and ship-building, strained the social fabric to breaking point.

* Tony Blair was a talented and charming young man (unlike his vulgar and chippy wife). But his obsession with modernity and his over-enthusiastic embrace of all things American (including the Iraq war) betrayed a failure to understand the heart of nation he was chosen to serve.

* Like Blair, David Cameron is a well-mannered and well-educated chap. But he seems confused about his objectives and, as with gay marriage, hugging hoodies, and far-fetched plans to save the planet, he can seem pretty eccentric at times. At least he does not talk to plants. He is too keen to be seen to be fashionable, take off his tie and to be liked. May be it’s because he went to the dangerously progressive Eton.

* Winston Churchill was the best prime minister. Unlike his recent successors, he knew a lot about the world and its history.

* The Commonwealth has been hugely overlooked by recent governments. It remains a great force for good in the world and brings together dozens of countries and millions of people from a vast array of backgrounds.

* Horse-racing is the finest of spectacles and sports. Dogs are best.

The Queen disagrees with or disapproves of: fast-buck bankers, handing more and more power to Europe, people who would like to scrap the pound and join the Euro, soft sentences for violent criminals, television loud-mouths, confessional daytime TV shows, celebrities in general, oafish footballers, the granny tax, out of town shopping centres, the demise of the traditional High Street, and high levels of youth unemployment.

It is a tribute to her sense of duty and personal self-discipline that her 60 years in public life have been so free of political controversy

It is a tribute to her sense of duty and personal self-discipline that her 60 years in public life have been so free of political controversy

She does not mind raucous pop music or modern gadgetry such as mobile phones, iPods, iPads or the Blackberry. But she can happily do without all of them.

She would like her royal yacht back and she would like people to show more civility and courtesy to one another. She would like to win the Derby.

Along with peers, lunatics and criminals, the Queen is not entitled to vote.

But she is clearly a traditional, patrician Conservative, wary of the latest fad or fashion and fully seized of the dangers of the world. We are tremendously fortunate to have her with us. Only she knows how many madcap political schemes she has quietly put to sleep.

Of course, all or some of the above may be nonsense. But since Her Majesty reportedly does have a (dormant) email account, she can always break the habit of a lifetime and send a corrective comment.

 

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So what Nick Wood is saying is that The Queen is a Right Wing Tory, like himself. Where does The DM find these people? – Jim New, Lewisham === They dangle a sign saying “cash paid for right-wing opinions” and a small army of otherwise out-of-work hacks magically disgorges right-wing opinions every week. To a deadline. For money.

So what Nick Wood is saying is that The Queen is a Right Wing Tory, like himself. Where does The DM find these people?

Remarkable! For someone who would gladly pack the monarchy off to the vaults of history – after her death, of course, I am amazed that, ‘Rap music’ apart, the Queen and I totally agree. I think we have found the ‘missing link’! History is no longer taught as it used to be. The current generation have little/no idea of our history, morals and what life was really like, only sixty short years ago, let alone more. Their loss, not mine. You’d think that ‘someone’ is trying to eradicate ‘Britishness’. Too dangerous in a compliant world!

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