Diamond Jubilees

The stars have lined up again!  I requested from the library, Elizabeth the Queen, The Life of a Modern Monarch, several weeks ago.  It became available for pick up just in time for Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee celebration.  Elizabeth has now been Queen for 60 years, being crowned at age 25 in 1952 which is also my birth year.  I guess I will be celebrating my Diamond Jubilee as well this year.

What else was happening 60 years ago?  My parents married early in the year and I was born 9 months later on Prince Charles, Elizabeth's oldest son's, 4th birthday.  No wonder my mother often talked about Elizabeth's wedding and coronation days when I was a child.  They were contemporaries.

I haven't gotten far in the book yet, but I do already know that one of Elizabeth's lifelong friends and a trusted helper with her horses was Henry Porchester who became the 7th Earl of Carnarvon.  That is correct, Elizabeth socialized with the caretaker of Highclere Castle.  How many seasons of Downtown Abbey would it take to include that story?

This picture showed up on Amy Smart's quilting blog yesterday.  I love this Union Jack quilt top she just finished.  Amy is honoring the Queen as well as the coming London Olympics.  I think I must share my mother's love of following the Royals.