Hi, where are you from?

My photo
Presents, a Life with a Plan. My name is Karen Anastasia Placek, I am the author of this Google Blog. This is the story of my journey, a quest to understanding more than myself. The title of my first blog delivered more than a million views!! The title is its work as "The Secret of the Universe is Choice!; know decision" will be the next global slogan. Placed on T-shirts, Jackets, Sweatshirts, it really doesn't matter, 'cause a picture with my slogan is worth more than a thousand words, it's worth??.......Know Conversation!!!

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Quote A Quote At The Chance Slur's Sneeze




Oh how Tonga must yearn from lack of recognition,
the statement in start to a compliment by starch,
such grace must inhabit a tongue.

Per chice the balance of hay,
a grass to wheat on the sway of cucumbers,
chive is butter to that flour in the chives of gardens and dawn!!

So presumption gathered here in the U.S.A. or is the ditch of the American Indian again?,
what fallow.



Scene to country of my origin Bohemia,
a real rock of a town that is no longer there.

Where in that is the Arizona,
a battle ship caters to the canoe so ease,
the breadth of challenge?,
nigh the hour of a hammer to that speak.

Chives again as Watercress Creek,
the name to the compliment owe fashion of released,
a fish to that is not a trout or a bass,
for even the guitar from James Blunt missed the beach is.

A sod in tack really must great that trail,
forward to what would be the Australian by way,
of course or is it on verbal News that dismissed that gee numbering,
tuck and a ring yet the Redwood still sings!!

Gentle breeze with ocean spray,
whales talk to the radar of the albatross,
the egg.


Tupou VI

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tupou VI
Ulukalala Lavaka Ata.jpg
King of Tonga
Reign18 March 2012 – present
Coronation4 July 2015[1]
PredecessorGeorge Tupou V
Heir apparentTupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala
Prime Ministers
Prime Minister of Tonga
Term3 January 2000 – 11 February 2006
PredecessorBaron Vaea
SuccessorFeleti Sevele
MonarchTāufaʻāhau Tupou IV
Born12 July 1959 (age 58)
Royal PalaceNuku'alofaTonga
SpouseNanasipauʻu Vaea (m. 1982)
IssuePrincess Lātūfuipeka Tukuʻaho
Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala
Prince Ata
Full name
ʻAhoʻeitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho
HouseTupou
FatherTāufaʻāhau Tupou IV
MotherHalaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe
Tupou VI (ʻAhoʻeitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho; born 12 July 1959) is the King of Tonga. He is the younger brother and successor of the late King George Tupou V. He was officially confirmed by his brother on 27 September 2006 as the heir presumptive to the Throne of Tonga, as his brother (a bachelor) had no legitimate children.[2] He served as Tonga's High Commissioner to Australia, and resided in Canberra[3][4] until the death of King George Tupou V on 18 March 2012, when ʻAhoʻeitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho became King of Tonga, with the regnal name ʻAhoʻeitu Tupou VI.[5]

Life[edit]

He was born in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga, the third son and youngest child of King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV. He was educated at The Leys SchoolCambridge, from 1973–77. He then attended the University of East Anglia, where he read Development Studies, from 1977 to 1980.[6] He started his career in the military, joining the naval arm of the Tonga Defence Services in 1982 and becoming a Lieutenant-Commander in 1987. He graduated from the US Naval War College as part of Class 33 in 1988. From 1990 to 1995 he commanded the Pacific-class patrol boat VOEA Pangai and his time in charge included peacekeeping operations in Bougainville. He graduated with a masters in Defence Studies from the University of New South Wales in 1997 and with a MA in International Relations from Bond University in 1999.
In 1998 he ended his military career to become part of the government, first as the defence minister and the foreign minister at the same time, from October 1998 until August 2004. He took over these posts from his elder brother Tupoutoʻa, at that time still the crown prince, later to become King Siaosi Tupou V (see below). Soon he was appointed as Prime Minister on 3 January 2000, a function he kept until his sudden resignation on 11 February 2006. Its reason has never been made clear, but was probably due to the unrest from a series of pro-democracy protests calling since mid-2005 for a lesser role for the royal family in government. His appointed successor, Feleti Sevele, was Tonga's first prime minister who was not a hereditary estate holder or a member of the 33 noble families that make up the Tongan aristocracy. In 2008 ʻAhoʻeitu was appointed Tonga's first High Commissioner to Australia, a post he held until his succession to the Tongan throne in 2012.[7] In addition, he was also Ambassador to Japan from January 15, 2010 to his coronation in 2012.[8] In 2013 he was appointed as Chancellor of the University of the South Pacific.[9]

Marriage and family[edit]


Tupoutoʻa-Lavaka (centre) in a mourning dress for his recently deceased father, king Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV in 2006. He is flanked by his two sons, the new chiefs ʻUlukālala (left) and Ata (right)
ʻAhoʻeitu is married to a daughter of the high chief VaeaNanasipauʻu Tukuʻaho (his second cousin) and the couple have three children and two grandchildren:
Royal family of Tonga
Royal Arms of Tonga

Name and titles[edit]

Styles of
King Tupou VI of Tonga
Coat of arms of Tonga.svg
Reference styleHis Majesty
ko ʻene ʻafio
Spoken styleYour Majesty
ko hoʻo ʻafio
Alternative styleSir
It is customary in Tongan culture that princes get a traditional chiefly title, by which they then are commonly known. As such for many years, until his confirmation as Heir Presumptive, ʻAhoʻeitu was known by either one or all three of the titles which were bestowed on him over the time: Lavaka from PeaʻAta from Kolovai and ʻAtatā, and ʻUlukālala from Fangatongo. These titles may be used in any order, (the one belonging to the area from which the speaker is coming usually first). Nevertheless, the sequences Lavaka Ata ʻUlukālala and ʻUlukālala Lavaka Ata were most common.
Since his confirmation as heir presumptive, he got the traditional title of Tupoutoʻa, reserved for crown princes, which his older brother (the second) had to give up because he married a commoner, while two of his previous titles went to his sons. As such he was until his accession to the throne known as Tupoutoʻa Lavaka. His elder son, Siaosi, (George) is to be addressed by the prestigious title of ʻUlukālala of Fangatongo, while his second son, Viliami, (William) was bestowed with ʻAta of Hihifo.

Coronation[edit]


King Tupou VI after his coronation ceremony in Nuku'alofa on 4 July 2015
King Tupou VI and Queen Nanasipau’u were crowned in a ceremony conducted at Centenary Church in Nuku'alofa on 4 July 2015 by Reverend D'Arcy Wood, a retired Uniting Church in Australia minister who was born in Tonga. He was assisted by Reverend Dr. ‘Ahio and Reverend Dr. Tevita Havea, the president and the secretary general of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga.[11] The celebrations included many international invited guests, and an estimated 15,000 people, mostly expatriate Tongans, flew in to join the celebrations.
During the ceremony, Tupou VI was anointed with holy oil, adorned with a ring, and presented with a scepter. The crown was then placed on his head by Wood, who performed the anointing and crowning as a matter of circumventing the taboo on native Tongans touching the King's head. The celebrations ran for a total of eleven days, beginning a week before the ceremony.[12]

Honours[edit]


Royal monogram of Tupou VI

National orders[edit]

He is Grand Master of the Royal Orders of Tonga :

Decorations[edit]

  • Tonga : King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV Coronation Silver Jubilee Medal (4 July 1992) [13]
  • Tonga : King George Tupou V Coronation Medal (31 July 2008) [13]
  • Tonga : Tonga Defence Services General Service (Bougainville) Medal (4 July 1995) [13]
  • Tonga : Tonga Defence Services Long Service and Good Conduct Medal [13]




Operation Tonga

Airborne operations during the Normandy landings

 6th Airborne Division battle order
 Flights and transport plan

Global framework of Operation Tonga

In order to secure their left flank during the Normandy landing against a possible German counter-attack, the Allies decided to engage an airborne division on the eastern shore of the Orne to hold the ground pending the amphibious offensive. The British 6th Airborne Division was selected to fulfill this mission which was not merely a shield to protect the flanks of Operation Overlord: once the city of Caen under allied control, this airborne unit will have to relaunch the offensive in the direction of the Seine river.
Image : Opération Tonga - Parachutages britanniques en NormandieQueen Elizabeth visiting paratroopers on May 19, 1944. Photo: Corporal Jones of the 22nd Independent Parachute Co. Photo: IWM
On June 1st, 1944, the 6th Airborne Division was composed of the 3rd and 5th Parachute Brigades (respectively under the command of Brigadier James Hill and Brigadier Nigel Poett), the 6th Airlanding Brigade on gliders under the command of Brigadier, the Honourable Hugh Kindersley, 6th Airborne Armored Reconnaissance Regiment commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Godfrey Stewart and several support units (engineering, communications, medics, equipment and train). The unit was strong of about 5,250 men.
The unit was transported by groups 38 and 46 of the Royal Air Force (R.A.F.), specially detached for Operation Overlord. Since these two forces did not have sufficient numbers of vectors to transport the entire 6th Airborne to its various drop points, the mission was broken down into two waves: the first (named Operation Tonga) dedicated to the main objectives, compulsorily completed before the landing on the beaches, the second (Operation Mallard) dedicated to the secondary objectives. Approximately 20 hours separated the two operations, allowing the pilots of the R.A.F. to make a round trip in good conditions.
Image : Opération Tonga - Parachutages britanniques en NormandieHorsa gliders on 5 June 1944 in England. Photo: IWM
The 6th Airborne Division was transported by Dakota C-47, Albermarle or Stirling aircraft. These aircraft allow airborne operations but also gliderborn operations: the British used Horsa and Hamilcar gliders of operations Tonga and Mallard, Hamilcar gliders being capable of transporting Tetrarch light tanks.
Airborne troops have been preparing since June 1942 and for nearly two years they were learning and perfecting their airborne know-how on training objectives that were similar to what awaited them in Normandy. Some objectives were even reconstructed at the actual scale from aerial photographs. A full-day day exercise took place in the Welford aerodrome area on 2 March 1944 with the commitment of 97 gliders (only three of them missed their landing zone). Another exercise took place on April 23rd 1944, gathering 185 gliders in Brize Norton, Harwell and Southrop. Training was stopped on June 1st, 1944, the personnel being ready for the real action.
Operation Tonga objectives
Given that Operation Tonga was the first of the two assault waves of the 6th Airborne Division, the missions aimed at surprising the opponent and taking control of several key points on the ground.
Image : Opération Tonga - Parachutages britanniques en NormandieExecutives from the 22nd Independent Parachute Company listening to the briefing of their mission. Photo: IWM
Three objectives are defined:
– First, the two bridges on the Orne river (Bénouville) and the Caen canal (Ranville), which represent the entrance and exit gate of the left allied side, have to be under Allied control and remain intact. This mission (operation Deadstick, also known as Coup de Main Party) is under the responsibility of D company (2nd Ox & Bucks) led by Major Howard, as well as the 7th battalion of the 5th Brigade. The capture of the Bénouville bridge is defined “Euston I” mission while that of the Ranville bridge is known as “Euston II” mission.
Image : Opération Tonga - Parachutages britanniques en NormandieBritish paratroopers camouflage their faces and hands before embarking. Photo: IWM
– Secondly, Merville’s battery, a potential threat to the landing beach codenamed Sword, had to be silenced before the beginning of the landing operations. This mission was entrusted to a detachment of the 9th Battalion under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Otway, belonging to the 3rd Brigade.
Image : Opération Tonga - Parachutages britanniques en NormandieAboard a Horsa glider on 5 June 1944 in England before departure. Photo: IWM
– Thirdly, five bridges to the east of the Orne river must be destroyed to disrupt the Germans and prevent a major counter-attack from this area, while holding this particular ground to prepare localized counter-offensives. This mission was to be carried out by the 1st Canadian Paratrooper Battalion and the 8th and 9th British battalions of the 3rd Brigade.
Image : Opération Tonga - Parachutages britanniques en Normandie“The Channel stopped you, but not us” on a Horsa glider on 5 June 1944 in England. Photo IWM
For this purpose, five zones are defined for the gliders – Landing Zone (LZ) – and air parachuting – Drop Zone (DZ): DZ “K” north of Sannerville, LZ “N” located in the Ranville area, DZ “V” west of Varaville, LZ “X” southeast of the Bénouville bridge and LZ “Y” northwest of the Ranville bridge.
Image : Opération Tonga - Parachutages britanniques en NormandieParatroopers are about to embark in a Stirling Mk 4. Photo: IWM
Pathfinders and Major Howard with D Company were scheduled to begin deployment starting at 12:20 pm on D-Day (operations Euston I and Euston II), while the other elements of the division were expected on their drop zone and to land as of 00:50. All missions had to be completed before the sunrise began, that is to say before 05:58 on Tuesday, June 6, 1944.
Image : Opération Tonga - Parachutages britanniques en NormandieA towed Horsa glider takes off for Normandy at the end of the evening on 5 June 1944. Photo: IWM
The course of operation Tonga
On the night of 4 to 5 June 1944, 24 hours before the general assault, nine parachutists were dropped near the LZ “X” and “Y”. They were instructed to contact the local resistance of which one of the members was holding a coffee in Bénouville, Louis Picot.
Image : Opération Tonga - Parachutages britanniques en NormandieGeneral Gale addresses his men before leaving for Normandy. Photo: IWM
On June 5, a few hours before embarking on planes and gliders, General Gale addressed the men of his division and encouraged them one last time before the start of operation Overlord. Within hours, the paratroopers were given new sleeveless jump uniforms and began their preparation: perception of the ammunition, camouflage of the hands and the face, control of the parachutes, last reminders and ultimate instructions for the actions to be carried out. The first aircraft took off at around 22:50 (the last one around 23:30) and headed towards Normandy.
Image : Opération Tonga - Parachutages britanniques en NormandieGeneral Gale addresses his men at RAF Harwell Airfield before embarking.Photo: IWM
The weather conditions were favorable but visibility was poor: clouds temporarily hide the moon and pilots encountered serious difficulties in flying towards targets they had seen at best only by observing aerial reconnaissance photographs. Major Howard and his D company were flying over the Orne River starting at midnight on June 6, 1944. The first of the three Horsa gliders landed at 00:16 within 50 meters of the Bénouville bridge, the Pegasus BridgeThe next two followed respectively at 00:17 and 00:18. Of the three Horsa gliders planned for mission Euston II (Ranville Bridge, also known as Horsa Bridge), only two reached their landing zone: the pilot of the third glider has confused the two bridges on the Orne with those Of Périers-en-Auge and landed ten kilometers to the northeast. But Lieutenant Dennis Fox managed to seize the Horsa Bridge and Major Howard sent his famous coded reporting the success of his mission: “Ham and Jam”. He had then to await the arrival of amphibious troops shortly after noon.
Image : Opération Tonga - Parachutages britanniques en NormandieThe glider n°1 on D-Day near the Pegasus bridge in Bénouville. Photo: IWM
Image : Opération Tonga - Parachutages britanniques en NormandieGlider n°2 in the foreground before glider n°1 on D-Day near the Pegasus bridge in Bénouville. Photo: IWM
The pathfinders then jumped on DZ “K”, “N” and “V” as of 12:20. They installed the Eureka beacons and the Aldis lamps to mark the rest of the unit. If the mission of the Pathfinders went successful on both DZ “K” and “V”, only two teams reached the initial position on DZ “N”. At 00:50, 110 Albermarle and Stirling bombers of the 38th Group and 146 C-47 Dakota of the 46th Group were able to drop the paratroopers and the gliders. 2 Stirling of the 5th Brigade were shot down by the German Flak.
Once on the ground, airborne battalions lost long minutes and sometimes long hours to regroup. The Germans responded by sending patrols along the Orne river and in the area of ​​Ranville where airborne operations were reported. At 02:00 am, Hauptmann (captain) Wagemann (duty officer) put the 21. Panzer-Division on alert level 2 (response capability in less than an hour and a half): five minutes later, the 1. Panzerjaeger Kompanie of the 716. Infanterie-Division left Biéville to patrol along the Caen canal towards the bridges of Bénouville and Ranville, while mortar shells were fired from Ranville to the DZ “N”.
Image : Opération Tonga - Parachutages britanniques en NormandieBritish paratroopers aboard a C-47 Dakota en route to Normandy. Photo: IWM
Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Luard’s 13th Battalion (5th Brigade) seized Ranville, while Major Cramphorn’s 521st Parachute Squadron RE Company began clearing DZ “N”. The Germans had installed “Rommel’s asparagus”, wooden poles particularly dangerous for gliders. The clearing work ended only a few minutes before the arrival of the first gliders at 03:35.
Image : Opération Tonga - Parachutages britanniques en NormandieAerial view of the Merville battery and the consequences of the bombings. Photo: IWM
Elements of the 9th Battalion (3rd Brigade) under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Terence Otway gathered at the rendezvous point after their parachuting which took place around 03:00: of the 700 parachutists, only 150 were present, without the necessary heavy equipment. Others were lost in the marshes, the wind pushing them farther west during the jump. Otway, 90 minutes behind the planned schedule and only one hour before the fire support of HMS Arethusa (scheduled in case of failure of the mission), launched the assault of the battery of Merville at 04:30. Fifteen minutes later, after a particularly violent fight, he fired a yellow flare to signal to Arethusa that the mission was a success. At 05:00, the guns (of 100 mm and not of 150 as initially envisaged) were neutralized. 70 of his men were unable to fight after the assault: Otway broke contact and settled in defensive positions around the castle of Amfreville (which no longer exists), having suffered many losses.
Meanwhile, General Gale, transported by glider, landed on DZ “N” and installed his command post at the Castle de Heaume at the Bas de Ranville.
The 6th Airborne paratroopers in charge of the destruction of the bridges went towards their objectives once a maximum of their elements were gathered. The first bridge to be attacked was that of Robehomme, destroyed at 6:00 am by paratroopers of the 1st Canadian Battalion led by Lieutenant Jack Inman. Then came the turn of the road bridge of Bures-sur-Dives, destroyed by the second section of the 3rd Parachute Squadron RE. The Varaville bridge was destroyed at 08:30 by the men of Sergeant Davies of C company, 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, with the help of the sappers of the 3rd Parachute Squadron RE. The railway bridge of Bures-sur-Dives was reached at 09:15, destroyed By the men of Lieutenant Shave of the third section of the 3rd Parachute Squadron RE.
Image : Opération Tonga - Parachutages britanniques en NormandieThe Pegasus Bridge, one of the most valuable bridges of the Battle of Normandy. Photo: IWM
The fifth bridge, that of Troarn, was destroyed at 15:00 on D-Day by sappers led by Captain Jukes after having been damaged during the night by the bold action of Major Tim Roseveare. The latter, commanding the 3rd Parachute Squadron RE, learned on 6 June around 04:00 that the village of Troarn was held by elements of the 21. Panzerdivision, heavily armed. He then developed a bold raid with the help of a Jeep and his trailer in which he carried 900 kilos of explosives, 45 detonators, a lieutenant and seven sappers. Crossing the main street of Troarn at full speed under heavy fire, which could trigger the detonators at any moment, they reached the bridge and immediately went to work. Five minutes later, they blew up the explosive which have dug a large hole in the middle of the bridge, without destroying it entirely. When falling back and in haste, sapper Peachey felt from the trailer and was made prisoner by the Germans.
At daybreak, the 6th Airborne Division heard the aerial and naval bombardment of the beaches and awaited the arrival of the amphibious troops. All night and during the morning, the Germans tested the British defensive positions around the bridges of Bénouville and Ranville, attacking the resistance points with mortar shells. The men of Major Howard had little heavy equipment and the wounded were more and more numerous. Shortly after 10 am, when several British parachutists who had lost their way in the area rallied to Howard’s position, three German VP Boot gunboats fleeing the landing at Ouistreham to join Caen came face to face with the bridge: almost without hesitation, Major Howard and his men opened fire with all available ammunition: the first gunboat exploded and sank immediately. The second, hit by a P.I.A.T., ran aground on the shore a few hundred meters away (right bank) and his crew was taken prisoner, while the third managed to turn back to Ouistreham.Then the Germans decided to destroy the bridge of Bénouville by an air attack. A Junker 88 managed to drop his bomb with precision on the bridge without exploding: it felt into the river.
Image : Opération Tonga - Parachutages britanniques en NormandieCommando No. 4 crosses the Pegasus Bridge (drawing by M. Chauvet).
The French commandos arrived from Sword Beach in the morning, accompanied by British soldiers of the 1st Special Service Brigade commanded by Lord Lovat – the latter accompanied by the famous bagpiper Bill Millin. The junction was carried out at 13 hours 32 minutes with Howard’s men by having 2 minutes 30 seconds behind the scheduled schedule, which Lovat took the trouble to apologize.
For the other battalions of the 6th Airborne, the situation was critical and the losses were particularly heavy. The rapid advance of amphibious troops of the British 3rd Infantry Division coming from Sword Beach restored morale to airborne paratroopers.

Results of operation Tonga

Generally speaking, the quality of the pilots’ work during the night drops and glider transport allowed the 6th Airborne Division to carry out precise and fast actions while totally surprising the Germans. All of the objectives essential to the success of Operation Tonga are met in time thanks to the preparatory work and courage of the British soldiers engaged in the battle.
The unit suffered many casualties during the night and on the morning of June 6th, which temporarily threatened the continuation of its action on the left flank of the allied invasion. Operation Mallard, which began on D-Day at 21:00, considerably strengthend the British positions east of the Orne river. On the evening of June 6, the situation of the 6th Airborne Division remained particularly precarious in front of the firepower of the 21. Panzerdivision.
Image : Opération Tonga - Parachutages britanniques en NormandieThe arrival of the Hamilcar gliders on LZ “N” as part of Operation Mallard.Photo: IWM
The overall logic of the airborne actions carried out simultaneously over such a large area was beyond the control of the German General Staff, which had to deal with the temporary absence of leading officers on the front. This was one of the unexpected consequences of the dispersal of the Allied units to the east of the Orne river: the Germans did not understand the real intentions of the British paratroopers, wasting time testing the defensive positions of the airborne units. The opponents of the British troops reacted too late (about 10:00 on D-Day) and their actions lacked co-ordination to actually threaten the entire allied action on its left flank.

Enele Maʻafu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photograph of Maʻafu in 1876.

His son Siale'ataongo, called Charles Maʻafu, on the right next to his cousin Adi Tupoutuʻa.
ʻEnele Maʻafuʻotuʻitonga, commonly known as Maʻafu,[1] (circa 1816 — 6 February 1881) was a Pacific islander who held important titles in two countries in the Pacific. He was a traditional Tongan Prince and a self-made Fijian chief. In 1874, Maʻafu went to Fiji in an expedition to Vanua Balavu to investigate the killing of a preacher.

A Brief History[edit]

He was born in Tongatapu, Tonga, in 1816, as the son of Aleamotu'aTu'i Kanokupulu. In 1840 he married ʻElenoa Ngataialupe Lutui, with whom he had one child, Siale 'Ataongo, in Nukuʻalofa. Also a Christian,[2] 'Enele (Henry) Ma'afu introduced Methodist Christianity to eastern Fiji. Ma'afu died 6 February 1881 in LomalomaVanua Balavu, and was buried on the island of Lakeba in the chiefly village of Tubou.

The Beginnings of his Kingdom[edit]

The brother and official representative of King George Tupou I, who wished to keep him away from Tonga as a potential rival for the throne. In 1847, King Taufa'ahau of Tonga included his cousin Ma'afu in an expedition sent to Vanua Balavu to investigate the killing of a preacher. Ma'afu established himself at Lakeba as leader of the Tongan community in the Lau Islands in 1848. Aligning himself with the Tui Nayau, the Paramount Chief of the Lau Islands, he went on to conquer the Moala Islands and placed them under the Tui Nayau's authority. In 1850, Enele Ma'afu gave the Tui Cakau a canoe and in return the Tui Cakau gave the island of Vanua Balavu to Ma'afu. He went on to Vanua Balavu and took up residence in Lomaloma, after suppressing a religious war on the island. Using his alliance with the Tui Cakau and Tui Bua, or Paramount Chief of Bua, Ma'afu defeated Ritova, the Tui Macuata or Paramount Chief of Macuata, Ma'afu extended his influence through the northern island of Vanua Levu.

War and Diplomacy[edit]

When Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau, the Vunivalu, by then the Paramount Chief of Bau, made his first offer to cede Fiji to the United Kingdom in 1858, William Thomas Pritchard, the British Consul, warned Ma'afu - by now the most powerful chief in northern Fiji - that under British rule, further attempts to expand his power base would not be tolerated. Ma'afu shrewdly signed an agreement denying sovereignty over Fijians and claiming to be in the islands only to oversee the Tongan population. Following Britain's decision in 1862 not to annex Fiji, however, Ma'afu resumed his attempts to extend his rule. In 1867, he created the Tovata Confederacy, covering most of northern and eastern Fiji. This arrangement was not a success, however, and Ma'afu retired to the island of Vanuabalavu. He maintained his claim, however, to be the overseer of the Tongan population, and when the Tui Nayau raised the Tongan flag over Lakeba, Ma'afu took control of the Lau archipelago on the pretext that its Paramount Chief had declared it be Tongan territory, rather than Fijian.
Ma'afu was faced with a crisis in June 1868, when the Tongan government disclaimed all sovereignty over Fijian territory, including the Lau Islands. Ma'afu could no longer exercise authority over Lau as a Tongan Prince. Lauan chiefs met in Lakeba and February 1869, and granted Ma'afu the title of Tui Lau, or King of Lau, Levuka, and Ovalau. He was subsequently recognized as such by the chiefs of Cakaudrove and Bua in May 1869. Ma'afu played a leading role in the cession of Fiji to the United Kingdom in 1874. Ma'afu has descendants living today in TubouLakeba, in the Lau Islands known as the Onewai clan in Tubou, Lakeba. The large Onewai Clan live all over Fiji and around the world. He also had descendants in the Kingdom of Tonga, as Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe, the late Queen Mother.

Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe
Queen Mother of Tonga
Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe in her youth.jpg
Halaevalu in her youth
Queen Consort of Tonga
Tenure16 December 1965 – 10 September 2006
Coronation4 July 1967
Born29 May 1926
Tonga
Died19 February 2017 (aged 90)
Mercy Hospital, AucklandNew Zealand
Burial1 March 2017
Malaʻekula
SpouseKing Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV(m. 1946–2006)
IssueGeorge Tupou V of Tonga
Princess Salote, Princess Royal
Prince Fatafehi Ala'i'vahamama'o Tuku'aho
King Aho'eitu Tupou VI of Tonga
Full name
Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe
FatherAhomeʻe (Manu-ʻo-pangai)
MotherHeuʻifanga Veikune
ReligionMethodism
Halaevalu Mata'aho ʻAhomeʻe (29 May 1926 – 19 February 2017)[1] was the Queen Consort of Tonga from 1965 to 2006 and the wife of the late King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV, who died in 2006. She was the Queen mother of George Tupou V and the reigning King Tupou VI.[2]

Biography[edit]

Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe was born on 29 May 1926,[3] the oldest daughter of ‘Ahome’e (Manu-‘o-pangai) and his wife, Heuʻifanga, a great-granddaughter of the last King of the Tuʻi Tonga Empire.[1][4][5] The Queen Mother is a great-great-granddaughter of Maʻafu.[5][6]

Education[edit]

She was educated at St Joseph’s Convent School, Nuku’alofa, Tongatapu, and St Mary’s College, Ponsonby, Auckland, New Zealand.

Marriage[edit]

On 10 June 1946, Halaevalu married her distant relative Crown Prince Tāufaʻāhau of Tonga[5] (eldest son of Queen Sālote Tupou III of Tonga (1900-1965) and Prince Viliami Tungī Mailefihi).
The Queen Mother celebrated her 85th birthday in 2011 with a five-day celebration held in May.[4] The celebrations began with a Garden Party for more than one hundred Tongan women held at the home of the President of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga, Rev. Dr. ‘Ahio.[4] The Queen Mother attended a Catholic mass at St. Mary's Cathedral in Ma'ufanga with King Siaosi Tupou V on May 26, 2011.[4] The Tongan Ministry of Education, Women Affairs and Culture held a student celebration for her birthday on May 27, with of primary school students from Pangai Lahi to Teufaiva Park, including presenting the Queen Mother with birthday gifts.[4]A private party was held in Ha'avakatolo the next day, followed by a church service held at Centennial Church on Sunday, May 29, with a royal luncheon at the Royal Palace in Nukuʻalofa.[4]
The Queen Mother embarked on a two-week trip to the U.S. state of Utah in July and August 2011.[7] Specifically, the Queen Mother came to visit the Tongan United Methodist Church in West Valley City, Utah, whose congregation had raised approximately $500,000 in less than a year to pay off the mortgage on the building.[7] The Mayor of West Valley CityMichael K. Winder, awarded the Queen Mother the key to the city on July 27, 2011.[7] She met with Utah Governor Gary Herbert the next day.[7]

Death[edit]

On 19 February 2017, the Queen Mother died which was confirmed by her granddaughter Princess Lātūfuipeka TukuʻahoHigh Commissioner of Tonga to Australia, a week after she was flown to Auckland, New Zealand for minor medical issues; the cause of death however was not released by the Royal Family.
The Queen Mother was flown back to Tonga by the Royal Beechcraft G.18S Aircraft on the 28th of February flanked by the C-130 Hercules of the Royal New Zealand Air Force

Patronages[edit]

  • President of the Tonga National Council for Women (since 1965 until 2017).
  • President of the Tonga Red Cross Society (TRCS) since 1972 until 2017.

Titles and honours[edit]

Titles[edit]

  • 1926 – 1947 : The Honorable Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe.
  • 1947 – 1965 : Her Royal Highness Princess Halaevalu Mata'aho, The Crown Princess of Tonga.
  • 1965 – 2006 : Her Majesty Queen Halaevalu Mata'aho, The Queen of Tonga.
  • 2006 - 2017 : Her Majesty Queen Halaevalu Mata'aho, The Queen Mother of Tonga.

National honours[edit]

Foreign honours[edit]


Chice | Board Game | BoardGameGeek

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/11620/chice

"Play Chancy Chess with ChiceChice is a chess variant that uses two dice (called chice just one is a "chi"). The dice have faces with various chess pieces.

chice
"Play Chancy Chess with Chice"
Chice is a chess variant that uses two dice (called chice just one is a "chi"). The dice have faces with various chess pieces. After each player makes an opening move, they each roll both chiceon their turn. You must move one of your chess pieces as shown on the chice (your choice of which). No legal move? You lose your turn. Roll doubles, you can move the same piece twice or make one move each with two different men (for example, both rooks). Roll double kings, and move your king like a queen!

Link

Elizabeth II

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth II March 2015.jpg
Elizabeth in 2015
Reign6 February 1952 – present
Coronation2 June 1953
PredecessorGeorge VI
Heir apparentCharles, Prince of Wales
Prime MinistersSee list
Born21 April 1926 (age 91)
17 Bruton Street, Mayfair, London, England, UK
SpousePrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (m. 1947)
Issue
Detail
Full name
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary
HouseWindsor
FatherGeorge VI
MotherElizabeth Bowes-Lyon
SignatureElizabeth II's signature
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; born 21 April 1926)[a] has been Queen of the United KingdomCanadaAustralia, and New Zealand since 6 February 1952. Additionally, she is Head of the Commonwealth and queen of 12 countries that have become independent since her accession: JamaicaBarbadosthe BahamasGrenadaPapua New GuineaSolomon IslandsTuvaluSaint LuciaSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesBelizeAntigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.[b]
Elizabeth was born in London as the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and she was educated privately at home. Her father acceded to the throne on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII in 1936, from which time she was the heir presumptive. She began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In 1947, she married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, a former prince of Greece and Denmark, with whom she has four children: Charles, Prince of WalesAnne, Princess RoyalPrince Andrew, Duke of York; and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.
Elizabeth's many historic visits and meetings include a state visit to the Republic of Ireland and visits to or from five popes. She has seen major constitutional changes, such as devolution in the United Kingdom, Canadian patriation, and the decolonisation of Africa. She has reigned through various wars and conflicts involving many of her realms. Significant events have included her coronation in 1953, and the celebrations of her SilverGolden, and Diamond Jubilees in 1977, 2002, and 2012 respectively. In 2017 she became the first British monarch to reach a Sapphire Jubilee. She is the longest-lived and longest-reigning British monarch as well as the world's longest-reigning queen regnant and female head of state, the oldest and longest-reigning current monarch, and the oldest and longest-serving current head of state.
Elizabeth has occasionally faced republican sentiments and press criticism of the royal family, in particular after the breakdown of her children's marriages and the Windsor Castle fire in 1992 (her annus horribilis) and the death in 1997 of her former daughter-in-law Diana, Princess of Wales; however, support for the monarchy remains high, as does her personal popularity.

Early life

Elizabeth as a thoughtful-looking toddler with curly, fair hair
Princess Elizabeth aged three, April 1929
Elizabeth was born at 02:40 (GMT) on 21 April 1926, during the reign of her paternal grandfather, King George V. Her father, the Duke of York (later King George VI), was the second son of the King. Her mother, the Duchess of York (later Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother), was the youngest daughter of Scottish aristocrat the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. She was delivered by Caesarean section at her maternal grandfather's London house: 17 Bruton Street, Mayfair.[2] She was baptised by the Anglican Archbishop of YorkCosmo Gordon Lang, in the private chapel of Buckingham Palace on 29 May,[3][c] and named Elizabeth after her mother, Alexandra after George V's mother, who had died six months earlier, and Mary after her paternal grandmother.[5] Called "Lilibet" by her close family,[6] based on what she called herself at first,[7]she was cherished by her grandfather George V, and during his serious illness in 1929 her regular visits were credited in the popular press and by later biographers with raising his spirits and aiding his recovery.[8]
Elizabeth's only sibling, Princess Margaret, was born in 1930. The two princesses were educated at home under the supervision of their mother and their governessMarion Crawford.[9] Lessons concentrated on history, language, literature and music.[10] Crawford published a biography of Elizabeth and Margaret's childhood years entitled The Little Princesses in 1950, much to the dismay of the royal family.[11] The book describes Elizabeth's love of horses and dogs, her orderliness, and her attitude of responsibility.[12] Others echoed such observations: Winston Churchilldescribed Elizabeth when she was two as "a character. She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant."[13] Her cousin Margaret Rhodes described her as "a jolly little girl, but fundamentally sensible and well-behaved".[14]

Heir presumptive

Elizabeth as a rosy-cheeked young girl with blue eyes and fair hair
Princess Elizabeth aged seven, painted by Philip de László, 1933
During her grandfather's reign, Elizabeth was third in the line of succession to the throne, behind her uncle Edward, Prince of Wales, and her father, the Duke of York. Although her birth generated public interest, she was not expected to become queen, as the Prince of Wales was still young. Many people believed that he would marry and have children of his own.[15] When her grandfather died in 1936 and her uncle succeeded as Edward VIII, she became second-in-line to the throne, after her father. Later that year, Edward abdicated, after his proposed marriage to divorced socialite Wallis Simpson provoked a constitutional crisis.[16] Consequently, Elizabeth's father became king, and she became heir presumptive. If her parents had had a later son, she would have lost her position as first-in-line, as her brother would have been heir apparentand above her in the line of succession.[17]
Elizabeth received private tuition in constitutional history from Henry MartenVice-Provost of Eton College,[18] and learned French from a succession of native-speaking governesses.[19] A Girl Guides company, the 1st Buckingham Palace Company, was formed specifically so that she could socialise with girls her own age.[20] Later, she was enrolled as a Sea Ranger.[19]
In 1939, Elizabeth's parents toured Canada and the United States. As in 1927, when her parents had toured Australia and New Zealand, Elizabeth remained in Britain, since her father thought her too young to undertake public tours.[21] Elizabeth "looked tearful" as her parents departed.[22] They corresponded regularly,[22] and she and her parents made the first royal transatlantic telephone call on 18 May.[21]

Second World War

Elizabeth in Auxiliary Territorial Service uniform, April 1945
In September 1939, Britain entered the Second World War, which lasted until 1945. During the war, many of London's children were evacuated to avoid the frequent aerial bombing. The suggestion by senior politician Lord Hailsham[23] that the two princesses should be evacuated to Canada was rejected by Elizabeth's mother, who declared, "The children won't go without me. I won't leave without the King. And the King will never leave."[24] Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret stayed at Balmoral Castle, Scotland, until Christmas 1939, when they moved to Sandringham House, Norfolk.[25] From February to May 1940, they lived at Royal Lodge, Windsor, until moving to Windsor Castle, where they lived for most of the next five years.[26] At Windsor, the princesses staged pantomimes at Christmas in aid of the Queen's Wool Fund, which bought yarn to knit into military garments.[27] In 1940, the 14-year-old Elizabeth made her first radio broadcast during the BBC's Children's Hour, addressing other children who had been evacuated from the cities.[28] She stated: "We are trying to do all we can to help our gallant sailors, soldiers and airmen, and we are trying, too, to bear our share of the danger and sadness of war. We know, every one of us, that in the end all will be well."[28]
Elizabeth (far left) on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with her family and Winston Churchill on 8 May 1945
In 1943, Elizabeth undertook her first solo public appearance on a visit to the Grenadier Guards, of which she had been appointed colonel the previous year.[29] As she approached her 18th birthday, parliament changed the law so that she could act as one of five Counsellors of State in the event of her father's incapacity or absence abroad, such as his visit to Italy in July 1944.[30] In February 1945, she was appointed as an honorary second subaltern in the Auxiliary Territorial Service with the service number of 230873.[31] She trained as a driver and mechanic and was given the rank of honorary junior commander five months later.[32][33]
At the end of the war in Europe, on Victory in Europe Day, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret mingled anonymously with the celebratory crowds in the streets of London. Elizabeth later said in a rare interview, "We asked my parents if we could go out and see for ourselves. I remember we were terrified of being recognised ... I remember lines of unknown people linking arms and walking down Whitehall, all of us just swept along on a tide of happiness and relief."[34]
During the war, plans were drawn up to quell Welsh nationalism by affiliating Elizabeth more closely with Wales. Proposals, such as appointing her Constable of Caernarfon Castle or a patron of Urdd Gobaith Cymru (the Welsh League of Youth), were abandoned for various reasons, which included a fear of associating Elizabeth with conscientious objectors in the Urdd, at a time when Britain was at war.[35] Welsh politicians suggested that she be made Princess of Wales on her 18th birthday. Home SecretaryHerbert Morrison supported the idea, but the King rejected it because he felt such a title belonged solely to the wife of a Prince of Wales and the Prince of Wales had always been the heir apparent.[36] In 1946, she was inducted into the Welsh Gorsedd of Bards at the National Eisteddfod of Wales.[37]
Princess Elizabeth went in 1947 on her first overseas tour, accompanying her parents through southern Africa. During the tour, in a broadcast to the British Commonwealth on her 21st birthday, she made the following pledge: "I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong."[38]

Marriage

Elizabeth met her future husband, Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, in 1934 and 1937.[39] They are second cousins once removed through King Christian IX of Denmarkand third cousins through Queen Victoria. After another meeting at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth in July 1939, Elizabeth – though only 13 years old – said she fell in love with Philip and they began to exchange letters.[40] She was 21 when their engagement was officially announced on 9 July 1947.[41]
The engagement was not without controversy; Philip had no financial standing, was foreign-born (though a British subject who had served in the Royal Navy throughout the Second World War), and had sisters who had married German noblemen with Nazi links.[42] Marion Crawford wrote, "Some of the King's advisors did not think him good enough for her. He was a prince without a home or kingdom. Some of the papers played long and loud tunes on the string of Philip's foreign origin."[43] Later biographies reported that Elizabeth's mother initially opposed the union, dubbing Philip "The Hun".[44] In later life, however, the Queen Mother told biographer Tim Heald that Philip was "an English gentleman".[45]
Before the marriage, Philip renounced his Greek and Danish titles, officially converted from Greek Orthodoxy to Anglicanism, and adopted the style Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, taking the surname of his mother's British family.[46] Just before the wedding, he was created Duke of Edinburgh and granted the style His Royal Highness.[47]
Elizabeth and Philip were married on 20 November 1947 at Westminster Abbey. They received 2500 wedding gifts from around the world.[48] Because Britain had not yet completely recovered from the devastation of the war, Elizabeth required ration coupons to buy the material for her gown, which was designed by Norman Hartnell.[49] In post-war Britain, it was not acceptable for the Duke of Edinburgh's German relations, including his three surviving sisters, to be invited to the wedding.[50] The Duke of Windsor, formerly King Edward VIII, was not invited either.[51]
Elizabeth gave birth to her first child, Prince Charles, on 14 November 1948. One month earlier, the King had issued letters patent allowing her children to use the style and title of a royal prince or princess, to which they otherwise would not have been entitled as their father was no longer a royal prince.[52] A second child, Princess Anne, was born in 1950.[53]
Following their wedding, the couple leased Windlesham Moor, near Windsor Castle, until July 1949,[48] when they took up residence at Clarence House in London. At various times between 1949 and 1951, the Duke of Edinburgh was stationed in the British Crown Colony of Malta as a serving Royal Navy officer. He and Elizabeth lived intermittently in Malta for several months at a time in the hamlet of Gwardamanġa, at Villa Guardamangia, the rented home of Philip's uncle, Lord Mountbatten. The children remained in Britain.[54]

Reign

Accession and coronation

Coronation of Elizabeth II, 2 June 1953
During 1951, George VI's health declined and Elizabeth frequently stood in for him at public events. When she toured Canada and visited President Harry S. Truman in Washington, D.C., in October 1951, her private secretary, Martin Charteris, carried a draft accession declaration in case the King died while she was on tour.[55] In early 1952, Elizabeth and Philip set out for a tour of Australia and New Zealand by way of Kenya. On 6 February 1952, they had just returned to their Kenyan home, Sagana Lodge, after a night spent at Treetops Hotel, when word arrived of the death of the King and consequently Elizabeth's immediate accession to the throne. Philip broke the news to the new Queen.[56] Martin Charteris asked her to choose a regnal name; she chose to remain Elizabeth, "of course".[57] She was proclaimed queen throughout her realms and the royal party hastily returned to the United Kingdom.[58] She and the Duke of Edinburgh moved into Buckingham Palace.[59]
With Elizabeth's accession, it seemed probable that the royal house would bear her husband's name, becoming the House of Mountbatten, in line with the custom of a wife taking her husband's surname on marriage. The British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, and Elizabeth's grandmother, Queen Mary, favoured the retention of the House of Windsor, and so on 9 April 1952 Elizabeth issued a declaration that Windsorwould continue to be the name of the royal house. The Duke complained, "I am the only man in the country not allowed to give his name to his own children."[60] In 1960, after the death of Queen Mary in 1953 and the resignation of Churchill in 1955, the surname Mountbatten-Windsorwas adopted for Philip and Elizabeth's male-line descendants who do not carry royal titles.[61]
Coronation portrait of Elizabeth II by Sir Herbert James Gunn
Amid preparations for the coronationPrincess Margaret informed her sister that she wished to marry Peter Townsend, a divorcé‚ 16 years Margaret's senior, with two sons from his previous marriage. The Queen asked them to wait for a year; in the words of Martin Charteris, "the Queen was naturally sympathetic towards the Princess, but I think she thought – she hoped – given time, the affair would peter out."[62] Senior politicians were against the match and the Church of England did not permit remarriage after divorce. If Margaret had contracted a civil marriage, she would have been expected to renounce her right of succession.[63] Eventually, she decided to abandon her plans with Townsend.[64] In 1960, she married Antony Armstrong-Jones, who was created Earl of Snowdon the following year. They divorced in 1978; she did not remarry.[65]
Despite the death of Queen Mary on 24 March, the coronation on 2 June 1953 went ahead as planned, as Mary had asked before she died.[66]The ceremony in Westminster Abbey, with the exception of the anointing and communion, was televised for the first time.[67][d] Elizabeth's coronation gown was embroidered on her instructions with the floral emblems of Commonwealth countries:[71] English Tudor rose; Scots thistle; Welsh leek; Irish shamrock; Australian wattle; Canadian maple leaf; New Zealand silver fern; South African protealotus flowers for India and Ceylon; and Pakistan's wheat, cotton, and jute.[72]

Continuing evolution of the Commonwealth

Elizabeth's realms (pink) and their territories and protectorates (dark red) at the beginning of her reign
From Elizabeth's birth onwards, the British Empire continued its transformation into the Commonwealth of Nations.[73] By the time of her accession in 1952, her role as head of multiple independent states was already established.[74] In 1953, the Queen and her husband embarked on a seven-month round-the-world tour, visiting 13 countries and covering more than 40,000 miles by land, sea and air.[75]She became the first reigning monarch of Australia and New Zealand to visit those nations.[76] During the tour, crowds were immense; three-quarters of the population of Australia were estimated to have seen her.[77] Throughout her reign, the Queen has made hundreds of state visits to other countries and tours of the Commonwealth; she is the most widely travelled head of state.[78]
In 1956, the British and French prime ministers, Sir Anthony Eden and Guy Mollet, discussed the possibility of France joining the Commonwealth. The proposal was never accepted and the following year France signed the Treaty of Rome, which established the European Economic Community, the precursor to the European Union.[79] In November 1956, Britain and France invaded Egypt in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to capture the Suez Canal. Lord Mountbatten claimed the Queen was opposed to the invasion, though Eden denied it. Eden resigned two months later.[80]
A formal group of Elizabeth in tiara and evening dress with eleven politicians in evening dress or national costume.
Elizabeth and Commonwealth leaders at the 1960 Commonwealth Conference
The absence of a formal mechanism within the Conservative Party for choosing a leader meant that, following Eden's resignation, it fell to the Queen to decide whom to commission to form a government. Eden recommended that she consult Lord Salisbury, the Lord President of the Council. Lord Salisbury and Lord Kilmuir, the Lord Chancellor, consulted the British CabinetWinston Churchill, and the Chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, resulting in the Queen appointing their recommended candidate: Harold Macmillan.[81]
The Suez crisis and the choice of Eden's successor led in 1957 to the first major personal criticism of the Queen. In a magazine, which he owned and edited,[82] Lord Altrincham accused her of being "out of touch".[83] Altrincham was denounced by public figures and slapped by a member of the public appalled by his comments.[84] Six years later, in 1963, Macmillan resigned and advised the Queen to appoint the Earl of Home as prime minister, advice that she followed.[85] The Queen again came under criticism for appointing the prime minister on the advice of a small number of ministers or a single minister.[85] In 1965, the Conservatives adopted a formal mechanism for electing a leader, thus relieving her of involvement.[86]
In 1957, she made a state visit to the United States, where she addressed the United Nations General Assembly on behalf of the Commonwealth. On the same tour, she opened the 23rd Canadian Parliament, becoming the first monarch of Canada to open a parliamentary session.[87] Two years later, solely in her capacity as Queen of Canada, she revisited the United States and toured Canada.[87][88] In 1961, she toured Cyprus, India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Iran.[89] On a visit to Ghana the same year, she dismissed fears for her safety, even though her host, President Kwame Nkrumah, who had replaced her as head of state, was a target for assassins.[90] Harold Macmillan wrote, "The Queen has been absolutely determined all through ... She is impatient of the attitude towards her to treat her as ... a film star ... She has indeed 'the heart and stomach of a man' ... She loves her duty and means to be a Queen."[90] Before her tour through parts of Quebec in 1964, the press reported that extremists within the Quebec separatist movement were plotting Elizabeth's assassination.[91][92] No attempt was made, but a riot did break out while she was in Montreal; the Queen's "calmness and courage in the face of the violence" was noted.[93]
Elizabeth's pregnancies with Princes Andrew and Edward, in 1959 and 1963, mark the only times she has not performed the State Opening of the British parliament during her reign.[94] In addition to performing traditional ceremonies, she also instituted new practices. Her first royal walkabout, meeting ordinary members of the public, took place during a tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1970.[95]

Acceleration of decolonisation

The Queen with Edward Heath and American First Lady Pat Nixon, 1970
The 1960s and 1970s saw an acceleration in the decolonisation of Africa and the Caribbean. Over 20 countries gained independence from Britain as part of a planned transition to self-government. In 1965, however, the Rhodesian Prime Minister, Ian Smith, in opposition to moves towards majority rule, declared unilateral independence from Britain while still expressing "loyalty and devotion" to Elizabeth. Although the Queen dismissed him in a formal declaration, and the international community applied sanctions against Rhodesia, his regime survived for over a decade.[96] As Britain's ties to its former empire weakened, the British government sought entry to the European Community, a goal it achieved in 1973.[97]
In February 1974, the British Prime Minister, Edward Heath, advised the Queen to call a general election in the middle of her tour of the Austronesian Pacific Rim, requiring her to fly back to Britain.[98] The election resulted in a hung parliament; Heath's Conservatives were not the largest party, but could stay in office if they formed a coalition with the Liberals. Heath only resigned when discussions on forming a coalition foundered, after which the Queen asked the Leader of the OppositionLabour's Harold Wilson, to form a government.[99]
A year later, at the height of the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis, the Australian Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, was dismissed from his post by Governor-General Sir John Kerr, after the Opposition-controlled Senate rejected Whitlam's budget proposals.[100] As Whitlam had a majority in the House of RepresentativesSpeaker Gordon Scholes appealed to the Queen to reverse Kerr's decision. She declined, stating that she would not interfere in decisions reserved by the Constitution of Australia for the governor-general.[101] The crisis fuelled Australian republicanism.[100]

Silver Jubilee

In 1977, Elizabeth marked the Silver Jubilee of her accession. Parties and events took place throughout the Commonwealth, many coinciding with her associated national and Commonwealth tours. The celebrations re-affirmed the Queen's popularity, despite virtually coincident negative press coverage of Princess Margaret's separation from her husband.[102] In 1978, the Queen endured a state visit to the United Kingdom by Romania's communist leader, Nicolae Ceaușescu, and his wife, Elena,[103] though privately she thought they had "blood on their hands".[104] The following year brought two blows: one was the unmasking of Anthony Blunt, former Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures, as a communist spy; the other was the assassination of her relative and in-law Lord Mountbatten by the Provisional Irish Republican Army.[105]
According to Paul Martin, Sr., by the end of the 1970s the Queen was worried that the Crown "had little meaning for" Pierre Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister.[106] Tony Benn said that the Queen found Trudeau "rather disappointing".[106] Trudeau's supposed republicanism seemed to be confirmed by his antics, such as sliding down banisters at Buckingham Palace and pirouetting behind the Queen's back in 1977, and the removal of various Canadian royal symbols during his term of office.[106] In 1980, Canadian politicians sent to London to discuss the patriation of the Canadian constitution found the Queen "better informed ... than any of the British politicians or bureaucrats".[106] She was particularly interested after the failure of Bill C-60, which would have affected her role as head of state.[106] Patriation removed the role of the British parliament from the Canadian constitution, but the monarchy was retained. Trudeau said in his memoirs that the Queen favoured his attempt to reform the constitution and that he was impressed by "the grace she displayed in public" and "the wisdom she showed in private".[107]

1980s

Elizabeth in red uniform on a black horse
Elizabeth riding Burmese at the 1986 Trooping the Colour ceremony
During the 1981 Trooping the Colour ceremony, six weeks before the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer, six shots were fired at the Queen from close range as she rode down The Mall on her horse, Burmese. Police later discovered that the shots were blanks. The 17-year-old assailant, Marcus Sarjeant, was sentenced to five years in prison and released after three.[108] The Queen's composure and skill in controlling her mount were widely praised.[109]
From April to September 1982, the Queen was anxious[110] but proud[111] of her son, Prince Andrew, who was serving with British forces during the Falklands War. On 9 July, the Queen awoke in her bedroom at Buckingham Palace to find an intruder, Michael Fagan, in the room with her. In a serious lapse of security, assistance only arrived after two calls to the Palace police switchboard.[112] After hosting US President Ronald Reagan at Windsor Castle in 1982 and visiting his California ranch in 1983, the Queen was angered when his administration ordered the invasion of Grenada, one of her Caribbean realms, without informing her.[113]
Intense media interest in the opinions and private lives of the royal family during the 1980s led to a series of sensational stories in the press, not all of which were entirely true.[114] As Kelvin MacKenzie, editor of The Sun, told his staff: "Give me a Sunday for Monday splash on the Royals. Don't worry if it's not true—so long as there's not too much of a fuss about it afterwards."[115] Newspaper editor Donald Trelford wrote in The Observer of 21 September 1986: "The royal soap opera has now reached such a pitch of public interest that the boundary between fact and fiction has been lost sight of ... it is not just that some papers don't check their facts or accept denials: they don't care if the stories are true or not." It was reported, most notably in The Sunday Times of 20 July 1986, that the Queen was worried that Margaret Thatcher's economic policies fostered social divisions and was alarmed by high unemployment, a series of riots, the violence of a miners' strike, and Thatcher's refusal to apply sanctions against the apartheid regime in South Africa. The sources of the rumours included royal aide Michael Shea and Commonwealth Secretary-General Shridath Ramphal, but Shea claimed his remarks were taken out of context and embellished by speculation.[116] Thatcher reputedly said the Queen would vote for the Social Democratic Party – Thatcher's political opponents.[117] Thatcher's biographer John Campbell claimed "the report was a piece of journalistic mischief-making".[118] Belying reports of acrimony between them, Thatcher later conveyed her personal admiration for the Queen,[119] and the Queen gave two honours in her personal gift – membership in the Order of Merit and the Order of the Garter – to Thatcher after her replacement as prime minister by John Major.[120] Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney said Elizabeth was a "behind the scenes force" in ending apartheid.[121][122]
In 1987, in Canada, Elizabeth publicly supported politically divisive constitutional amendments, prompting criticism from opponents of the proposed changes, including Pierre Trudeau.[121] The same year, the elected Fijian government was deposed in a military coup. As monarch of Fiji, Elizabeth supported the attempts of the Governor-General, Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau, to assert executive power and negotiate a settlement. Coup leader Sitiveni Rabuka deposed Ganilau and declared Fiji a republic.[123] By the start of 1991, republican feeling in Britain had risen because of press estimates of the Queen's private wealth – which were contradicted by the Palace – and reports of affairs and strained marriages among her extended family.[124] The involvement of younger members of the royal family in the charity game show It's a Royal Knockout was ridiculed,[125] and the Queen was the target of satire.[126]

1990s

In 1991, in the wake of coalition victory in the Gulf War, the Queen became the first British monarch to address a joint meeting of the United States Congress.[127]
Elizabeth, in formal dress, holds a pair of spectacles to her mouth in a thoughtful pose
Philip and Elizabeth, October 1992
In a speech on 24 November 1992, to mark the 40th anniversary of her accession, Elizabeth called 1992 her annus horribilis, meaning horrible year.[128] In March, her second son, Prince Andrew, and his wife, Sarah, separated; in April, her daughter, Princess Anne, divorced Captain Mark Phillips;[129] during a state visit to Germany in October, angry demonstrators in Dresden threw eggs at her;[130]and, in November, a large fire broke out at Windsor Castle, one of her official residences. The monarchy came under increased criticism and public scrutiny.[131] In an unusually personal speech, the Queen said that any institution must expect criticism, but suggested it be done with "a touch of humour, gentleness and understanding".[132] Two days later, the Prime Minister, John Major, announced reforms to the royal finances planned since the previous year, including the Queen paying income tax from 1993 onwards, and a reduction in the civil list.[133] In December, Prince Charles and his wife, Diana, formally separated.[134] The year ended with a lawsuit as the Queen sued The Sun newspaper for breach of copyright when it published the text of her annual Christmas message two days before it was broadcast. The newspaper was forced to pay her legal fees and donated £200,000 to charity.[135]
In the years to follow, public revelations on the state of Charles and Diana's marriage continued.[136] Even though support for republicanism in Britain seemed higher than at any time in living memory, republicanism was still a minority viewpoint, and the Queen herself had high approval ratings.[137] Criticism was focused on the institution of the monarchy itself and the Queen's wider family rather than her own behaviour and actions.[138] In consultation with her husband and the Prime Minister, John Major, as well as the Archbishop of CanterburyGeorge Carey, and her private secretary, Robert Fellowes, she wrote to Charles and Diana at the end of December 1995, saying that a divorce was desirable.[139]
In August 1997, a year after the divorce, Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris. The Queen was on holiday with her extended family at Balmoral. Diana's two sons by Charles – Princes William and Harry – wanted to attend church and so the Queen and Prince Philip took them that morning.[140] After that single public appearance, for five days the Queen and the Duke shielded their grandsons from the intense press interest by keeping them at Balmoral where they could grieve in private,[141] but the royal family's seclusion and the failure to fly a flag at half-mast over Buckingham Palace caused public dismay.[122][142] Pressured by the hostile reaction, the Queen agreed to return to London and do a live television broadcast on 5 September, the day before Diana's funeral.[143] In the broadcast, she expressed admiration for Diana and her feelings "as a grandmother" for the two princes.[144] As a result, much of the public hostility evaporated.[144]
In November 1997, the Queen and her husband held a reception at Banqueting House to mark their golden wedding anniversary.[145] She made a speech and praised Philip for his role as a consort, referring to him as "my strength and stay".[145]

Golden Jubilee

Elizabeth visiting the United States in 2007
In 2002, Elizabeth marked her Golden Jubilee. Her sister and mother died in February and March respectively, and the media speculated whether the Jubilee would be a success or a failure.[146] She again undertook an extensive tour of her realms, which began in Jamaica in February, where she called the farewell banquet "memorable" after a power cut plunged the King's House, the official residence of the governor-general, into darkness.[147] As in 1977, there were street parties and commemorative events, and monuments were named to honour the occasion. A million people attended each day of the three-day main Jubilee celebration in London,[148] and the enthusiasm shown by the public for the Queen was greater than many journalists had expected.[149]
Though generally healthy throughout her life, in 2003 she had keyhole surgery on both knees. In October 2006, she missed the opening of the new Emirates Stadium because of a strained back muscle that had been troubling her since the summer.[150]
In May 2007, The Daily Telegraph, citing unnamed sources, reported that the Queen was "exasperated and frustrated" by the policies of the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, that she was concerned the British Armed Forces were overstretched in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that she had raised concerns over rural and countryside issues with Blair.[151] She was, however, said to admire Blair's efforts to achieve peace in Northern Ireland.[152] She became the first British monarch to celebrate a diamond wedding anniversary in November 2007.[153] On 20 March 2008, at the Church of Ireland St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh, the Queen attended the first Maundy service held outside England and Wales.[154] At the invitation of the Irish President, Mary McAleese, the Queen made the first state visit to the Republic of Ireland by a British monarch in May 2011.[155]
The Queen addressed the United Nations for a second time in 2010, again in her capacity as Queen of all Commonwealth realms and Head of the Commonwealth.[156] The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, introduced her as "an anchor for our age".[157] During her visit to New York, which followed a tour of Canada, she officially opened a memorial garden for the British victims of the September 11 attacks.[157] The Queen's visit to Australia in October 2011 – her sixteenth visit since 1954 – was called her "farewell tour" in the press because of her age.[158]

Diamond and Sapphire Jubilees and after

Elizabeth visiting Birmingham in July 2012 as part of her Diamond Jubilee tour
Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee in 2012 marked 60 years on the throne, and celebrations were held throughout her realms, the wider Commonwealth, and beyond. In a message released on Accession Day, Elizabeth wrote:
In this special year, as I dedicate myself anew to your service, I hope we will all be reminded of the power of togetherness and the convening strength of family, friendship and good neighbourliness ... I hope also that this Jubilee year will be a time to give thanks for the great advances that have been made since 1952 and to look forward to the future with clear head and warm heart.[159]
She and her husband undertook an extensive tour of the United Kingdom, while her children and grandchildren embarked on royal tours of other Commonwealth states on her behalf.[160][161] On 4 June, Jubilee beacons were lit around the world.[162] In November, the Queen and her husband celebrated their sapphire wedding anniversary.[163] On 18 December, she became the first British sovereign to attend a peacetime Cabinet meeting since George III in 1781.[164]
The Queen visiting the Home Office in 2015
The Queen, who opened the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, also opened the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in London, making her the first head of state to open two Olympic Games in two different countries.[165] For the London Olympics, she played herself in a short film as part of the opening ceremony, alongside Daniel Craig as James Bond.[166] On 4 April 2013, she received an honorary BAFTA for her patronage of the film industry and was called "the most memorable Bond girl yet" at the award ceremony.[167]
On 3 March 2013, Elizabeth was admitted to King Edward VII's Hospital as a precaution after developing symptoms of gastroenteritis. She returned to Buckingham Palace the following day.[168] A week later, she signed the new Commonwealth charter.[169] Because of her age and the need for her to limit travelling, in 2013 she chose not to attend the biennial meeting of Commonwealth heads of government for the first time in 40 years. She was represented at the summit in Sri Lanka by her son, Prince Charles.[170]
The Queen surpassed her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, to become the longest-lived British monarch on 21 December 2007, and the longest-reigning British monarch and longest-reigning queen regnant and female head of state in the world on 9 September 2015.[171][172][173] She is also the "longest-reigning sovereign in Canada's modern era".[174] (King Louis XIV of France reigned over Canada (New France) for longer than Elizabeth.[175]) She became the oldest current monarch after King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia died on 23 January 2015.[176][177] She later became the longest-reigning current monarch and the longest-serving current head of state following the death of King Bhumibol of Thailand on 13 October 2016,[178][179] and the oldest current head of state on the resignation of Robert Mugabe on 21 November 2017.[180][181] On 6 February 2017, she became the first British monarch to commemorate a Sapphire Jubilee,[182] and on 20 November, she was the first British monarch to celebrate a platinum wedding anniversary.[183] Prince Philip had retired from his official duties as the Queen's consort in August.[184]
The Queen does not intend to abdicate,[185] though Prince Charles is expected to take on more of her workload as Elizabeth, who celebrated her 91st birthday in 2017, carries out fewer public engagements.[186] Plans for her death and funeral have been extensively prepared by most British government and media organisations for decades.[187]

Public perception and character

Since Elizabeth rarely gives interviews, little is known of her personal feelings. As a constitutional monarch, she has not expressed her own political opinions in a public forum. She does have a deep sense of religious and civic duty, and takes her coronation oath seriously.[188] Aside from her official religious role as Supreme Governor of the established Church of England, she is personally a member of that church and the national Church of Scotland.[189] She has demonstrated support for inter-faith relations and has met with leaders of other churches and religions, including five popes: Pius XIIJohn XXIIIJohn Paul IIBenedict XVI and Francis.[190] A personal note about her faith often features in her annual Christmas message broadcast to the Commonwealth. In 2000, she spoke about the theological significance of the millennium marking the 2000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus:
To many of us, our beliefs are of fundamental importance. For me the teachings of Christ and my own personal accountability before God provide a framework in which I try to lead my life. I, like so many of you, have drawn great comfort in difficult times from Christ's words and example.[191]
Elizabeth and Ronald Reagan on black horses. He bare-headed; she in a headscarf; both in tweeds, jodhpurs and riding boots.
Elizabeth and Ronald Reaganriding at Windsor, June 1982
She is patron of over 600 organisations and charities.[192] Her main leisure interests include equestrianism and dogs, especially her Pembroke Welsh Corgis.[193] Her lifelong love of corgis began in 1933 with Dookie, the first corgi owned by her family.[194][195] Scenes of a relaxed, informal home life have occasionally been witnessed; she and her family, from time to time, prepare a meal together and do the washing up afterwards.[196]
In the 1950s, as a young woman at the start of her reign, Elizabeth was depicted as a glamorous "fairytale Queen".[197] After the trauma of the Second World War, it was a time of hope, a period of progress and achievement heralding a "new Elizabethan age".[198] Lord Altrincham's accusation in 1957 that her speeches sounded like those of a "priggish schoolgirl" was an extremely rare criticism.[199] In the late 1960s, attempts to portray a more modern image of the monarchy were made in the television documentary Royal Family and by televising Prince Charles's investiture as Prince of Wales.[200] In public, she took to wearing mostly solid-colour overcoats and decorative hats, which allow her to be seen easily in a crowd.[201]
At her Silver Jubilee in 1977, the crowds and celebrations were genuinely enthusiastic,[202] but in the 1980s, public criticism of the royal family increased, as the personal and working lives of Elizabeth's children came under media scrutiny.[203] Elizabeth's popularity sank to a low point in the 1990s. Under pressure from public opinion, she began to pay income tax for the first time, and Buckingham Palace was opened to the public.[204] Discontent with the monarchy reached its peak on the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, though Elizabeth's personal popularity and support for the monarchy rebounded after her live television broadcast to the world five days after Diana's death.[205]
In November 1999, a referendum in Australia on the future of the Australian monarchy favoured its retention in preference to an indirectly elected head of state.[206] Polls in Britain in 2006 and 2007 revealed strong support for Elizabeth,[207] and in 2012, her Diamond Jubilee year, approval ratings hit 90 percent.[208] Referenda in Tuvalu in 2008 and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in 2009 both rejected proposals to become republics.[209]
Elizabeth has been portrayed in a variety of media by many notable artists, including painters Pietro AnnigoniPeter BlakeChinwe Chukwuogo-RoyTerence CuneoLucian FreudRolf HarrisDamien HirstJuliet Pannett, and Tai-Shan Schierenberg.[210][211] Notable photographers of Elizabeth have included Cecil BeatonYousuf KarshAnnie LeibovitzLord LichfieldTerry O'NeillJohn Swannell, and Dorothy Wilding. The first official portrait of Elizabeth was taken by Marcus Adams in 1926.[212]

Finances

View of Sandingham House from the south bank of the Upper Lake
Sandringham House, Elizabeth's private residence in Norfolk
Elizabeth's personal fortune has been the subject of speculation for many years. In 1971 Jock Colville, who was her former private secretary and a director of her bank, Coutts, estimated her wealth at £2 million (equivalent to about £26 million today[213]).[214][215] In 1993, Buckingham Palace called estimates of £100 million "grossly overstated".[216] In 2002, she inherited an estate worth an estimated £70 million from her mother.[217] The Sunday Times Rich List 2017 estimated her personal wealth at £360 million, making her the 329th richest person in the UK.[218]
The Royal Collection, which includes thousands of historic works of art and the Crown Jewels, is not owned by the Queen personally but is held in trust,[219] as are her official residences, such as Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle,[220] and the Duchy of Lancaster, a property portfolio valued at £472 million in 2015.[221] Sandringham House and Balmoral Castle are personally owned by the Queen.[220]The British Crown Estate – with holdings of £12 billion in 2016[218] – is held in trust and cannot be sold or owned by Elizabeth in a personal capacity.[222]

Titles, styles, honours, and arms

Titles and styles

Elizabeth has held many titles and honorary military positions throughout the Commonwealth, is Sovereign of many orders in her own countries, and has received honours and awards from around the world. In each of her realms she has a distinct title that follows a similar formula: Queen of Jamaica and her other realms and territories in Jamaica, Queen of Australia and her other realms and territories in Australia, etc. In the Channel Islands and Isle of Man, which are Crown dependencies rather than separate realms, she is known as Duke of Normandy and Lord of Mann, respectively. Additional styles include Defender of the Faith and Duke of Lancaster. When in conversation with the Queen, the practice is to initially address her as Your Majesty and thereafter as Ma'am.[223]

Arms

From 21 April 1944 until her accession, Elizabeth's arms consisted of a lozenge bearing the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom differenced with a label of three points argent, the centre point bearing a Tudor rose and the first and third a cross of St George.[224] Upon her accession, she inherited the various arms her father held as sovereign. The Queen also possesses royal standards and personal flags for use in the United KingdomCanadaAustraliaNew ZealandJamaicaBarbados, and elsewhere.[225]
Coat of Arms of Elizabeth, Heiress Presumptive (1944-1947).svg
Coat of Arms of Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh (1947-1952).svg
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom.svg
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (Scotland).svg
Coat of arms of Canada (1957-1994).svg
Coat of arms of Princess Elizabeth (1944–1947)
Coat of arms of Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh (1947–1952)
Coat of arms of Elizabeth II in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Coat of arms of Elizabeth II in Scotland
Coat of arms of Elizabeth II in Canada (one of three versions used in her reign)[e]

Issue

NameBirthMarriageTheir childrenTheir grandchildren
DateSpouse
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales14 November 194829 July 1981
Divorced 28 August 1996
Lady Diana SpencerPrince William, Duke of CambridgePrince George of Cambridge
Princess Charlotte of Cambridge
Prince Henry of Wales
9 April 2005Camilla Parker Bowles
Princess Anne, Princess Royal15 August 195014 November 1973
Divorced 28 April 1992
Mark PhillipsPeter PhillipsSavannah Phillips
Isla Phillips
Zara TindallMia Tindall
12 December 1992Timothy Laurence
Prince Andrew, Duke of York19 February 196023 July 1986
Divorced 30 May 1996
Sarah FergusonPrincess Beatrice of York
Princess Eugenie of York
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex10 March 196419 June 1999Sophie Rhys-JonesLady Louise Windsor
James, Viscount Severn

Ancestry

No comments:

Post a Comment

An Independent Mind, Knot Logic

An Independent Mind, Knot Logic

This Is Title Blancmange (/bləˈmɒnʒ/,

  Cantore Arithmetic is able to state King Charles of the House of Windsor equated Lord Young or kin yung!  Basically King Charles’ name e...

Karen A. Placek, aka Karen Placek, K.A.P., KAP

My photo
Presents, a Life with a Plan. My name is Karen Anastasia Placek, I am the author of this Google Blog. This is the story of my journey, a quest to understanding more than myself. The title of my first blog delivered more than a million views!! The title is its work as "The Secret of the Universe is Choice!; know decision" will be the next global slogan. Placed on T-shirts, Jackets, Sweatshirts, it really doesn't matter, 'cause a picture with my slogan is worth more than a thousand words, it's worth??.......Know Conversation!!!

Know Decision of the Public: Popular Posts!!