Praise to the Nation’s Military Men and Women
Queen Elizabeth II paid tribute to her nation’s troops fighting in Afghanistan in her Christmas speech on Friday. The Queen praised their work while expressing her sadness at the casualties.
Elizabeth acknowledged that it had been a difficult year. This has been the bloodiest year for the British military since the war started.
On a lighter note, the Christmas speech also contained a tribute to the network of nations within the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth, an intergovernmental organization of fifty-four independent member states, all but two of which were formerly part of the British Empire, celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. The queen said the ‘family’ of nations “remains a strong and practical force for good.”
Livin’ on the Edge
Far from the comforts of Clarence House, Prince William tucked up for the night in an alley to spotlight the plight of the homeless.
Just before Christmas, the prince spent a chilly night near Blackfriars Bridge with Seyi Obakin, the chief executive of British homeless charity Centrepoint.
Mr. Obakin challenged William to a night on the streets to show him what it was like to be homeless. The prince answered the challenge and, hidden behind large garbage bins, he made his bed out of a sleeping bag on cardboard. He was accompanied by his private secretary, Mr. Obakin, and two bodyguards.
William’s late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, was Centrepoint’s patron. Inspired by Diana’s work, William spent a few days volunteering at Centrepoint in 2005 working with young people.
“Charities like Centrepoint do such an amazing job in helping to combat homelessness and social exclusion and I just wanted to lend my support to their remarkable efforts.”
William has certainly lent his support! To learn more about Centrepoint, visit their website: http://www.centrepoint.org.uk/
Businessman Auctions Treasures
For sale: a seal box, a pencil holder, a pocket watch, and a pocket magnifying glass.
Good condition? You’d better believe it.
The gilt-silver seal box has a guide price of £50,000 pounds; the 18 carat pencil holder is expected to fetch £12,000 pounds; and the 14ct pocket magnifying glass is priced at £8,000 pounds. All of these items, including the onyx Cartier pocket watch, inscribed “Easter 12/4/36″, once belonged to the Duchess of Windsor.
The items made their way into the possession of a businessman from Wiltshire, who is now auctioning the trove through Gardiner Houlgate Auctioneers. To see the items, visit their website at: http://gardinerhoulgate.co.uk/
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Hat tip to the Telegraph
Author Info - Mandy is an assistant teacher and a student of history. She is currently in the process of obtaining her Bachelor's Degree in History with an eye on a Master's Degree soon after. Read more from Mandy at her blog, The Royal Representative. Read more from this author
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Anglotopia was founded by Jonathan and Jackie Thomas for people who love Britain - whether it's British TV, Culture, History or Travel - we cover it all. Anglotopia was started to get us back to the UK for a trip and it did that in 2009. Now, the goal is for Anglotopia to make our dream of living in the UK a reality.