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- Jan 31, 2018
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I'm sure everyone is sad about the passing of the Queen.
She did her bit in WW2, reported to have said, "I could still strip down a truck engine."
But seeing some Royals in their regalia yesterday, seem to me to be a bit ridiculous.
I'm biased, as I have a "thing" about medals, although I never saw military service, as National Service had been abolished by the time I was old enough (a bad decision by the government in my oinion), I think only medals that relate to that service should be worn with a military uniform.
My dad, a quite spoken man served as a regular soldier before the war in the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, so he was in France in 1939, evacuated at Dunkirk, served with the 8th Army throughout the battles in North Africa where at times it involved hand to hand fighting and then throughout the conflict in Italy. Of course he had a lot of medals but they were those awarded for campaign service.
Now I've usually got time for Princess Anne, but she looked ridiculous in that uniform, it reminded me of a character in a Pirates of Penzance pantomine.
Then there were the great number of medals she was wearing. So I looked 'em up.
The Princess Royal was wearing the uniform of a Rear Admiral of the Royal Navy.
(I believe she has done some dinghy sailing).
The blue sash passing from her left shoulder to her right hip, from which is suspended a gold badge called the lesser George is part of the insignia - along with the breast star worn immediately below her row of medals - of the Most Noble Order of the Garter limited to the Sovereign, the Prince of Wales and 24 knights (as well as some extra knights) some of the most famous English figures have worn its insignia over the years including Wellington, Kitchener, Churchill, etc.
The other breast star, worn below the star of the Garter is the the star of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, the Queen appointed the Princess a Lady of the Order in 2000 to mark her 50th anniversary and to recognize her work with charities.
As only one sash may be worn, she is not wearing the sash of the Thistle but only the Garter one as it has precedence in England.
The row of medals the Princess is wearing includes, from left to right, (1) the Queen's Service Order of New Zealand (with the zig zag ribbon), she was appointed an extra Companion in 1990; (2) the Queen's Coronation Medal, given to the Pricess by her mother on her Coronation day, 2 June 1953; (3) the Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal awarded in 1977 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Queen's Accession; (4) the Canadian Forces' Decoration with first clasp, the decoration is given after 12 years of service while clasps are awarded for further periods of 10 years of service in the Canadian Forces, the Princess has therefore accumulated over 22 years of service in the CF as Colonel-in-Chief of several Canadian military units such as the Eighth Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's), the Canadian Forces Communications and Electronics Branch and the Grey and Simcoe Foresters Militia; and (5) the New Zealand Commemorative Medal awarded in 1990 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and the creation of modern New Zealand.
For most of these awards, "a thank you card" instead, should have been sufficient.
She did her bit in WW2, reported to have said, "I could still strip down a truck engine."
But seeing some Royals in their regalia yesterday, seem to me to be a bit ridiculous.
I'm biased, as I have a "thing" about medals, although I never saw military service, as National Service had been abolished by the time I was old enough (a bad decision by the government in my oinion), I think only medals that relate to that service should be worn with a military uniform.
My dad, a quite spoken man served as a regular soldier before the war in the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, so he was in France in 1939, evacuated at Dunkirk, served with the 8th Army throughout the battles in North Africa where at times it involved hand to hand fighting and then throughout the conflict in Italy. Of course he had a lot of medals but they were those awarded for campaign service.
Now I've usually got time for Princess Anne, but she looked ridiculous in that uniform, it reminded me of a character in a Pirates of Penzance pantomine.
Then there were the great number of medals she was wearing. So I looked 'em up.
The Princess Royal was wearing the uniform of a Rear Admiral of the Royal Navy.
(I believe she has done some dinghy sailing).
The blue sash passing from her left shoulder to her right hip, from which is suspended a gold badge called the lesser George is part of the insignia - along with the breast star worn immediately below her row of medals - of the Most Noble Order of the Garter limited to the Sovereign, the Prince of Wales and 24 knights (as well as some extra knights) some of the most famous English figures have worn its insignia over the years including Wellington, Kitchener, Churchill, etc.
The other breast star, worn below the star of the Garter is the the star of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, the Queen appointed the Princess a Lady of the Order in 2000 to mark her 50th anniversary and to recognize her work with charities.
As only one sash may be worn, she is not wearing the sash of the Thistle but only the Garter one as it has precedence in England.
The row of medals the Princess is wearing includes, from left to right, (1) the Queen's Service Order of New Zealand (with the zig zag ribbon), she was appointed an extra Companion in 1990; (2) the Queen's Coronation Medal, given to the Pricess by her mother on her Coronation day, 2 June 1953; (3) the Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal awarded in 1977 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Queen's Accession; (4) the Canadian Forces' Decoration with first clasp, the decoration is given after 12 years of service while clasps are awarded for further periods of 10 years of service in the Canadian Forces, the Princess has therefore accumulated over 22 years of service in the CF as Colonel-in-Chief of several Canadian military units such as the Eighth Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's), the Canadian Forces Communications and Electronics Branch and the Grey and Simcoe Foresters Militia; and (5) the New Zealand Commemorative Medal awarded in 1990 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and the creation of modern New Zealand.
For most of these awards, "a thank you card" instead, should have been sufficient.