The Postcard
A postcard published by Raphael Tuck & Sons Ltd., Fine Art Publishers by appointment to the Late King George VI, the Late Queen Mary and to H.M. Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
The image on the card is a real photograph, and the card was printed in England.
On the back of the card the publishers tell us:
'H.M. the Queen, mounted on
'Winston', with T.R.H. the Duke
of Edinburgh and the Duke of
Gloucester, leaving Buckingham
Palace for the Trooping the
Colour Ceremony'.
The card was posted in Maida Hill on Wednesday the 18th. August 1954 to:
Mrs. Williams,
77, Chalk Grove,
Cambridge.
The pencilled message on the divided back of the card was written in a childish hand:
"I am having a lovely
time with Auntie Betty
and Uncle Frank.
Lots of love,
Margaret xxxxxxx"
Trooping the Colour
Trooping the Colour is a ceremony performed by regiments of the British and Commonwealth armies. It has been a tradition of British infantry regiments since the 17th. century, although its roots go back much earlier.
On the battlefield, a regiment's colours, or flags, were used as rallying points. Consequently, regiments would have their ensigns slowly march with their colours between the ranks to enable soldiers to recognise their regiments' colours.
Since 1748, Trooping the Colour has also marked the official birthday of the British sovereign. It is held in London annually on a Saturday in June at Horse Guards Parade by St James's Park.
Thoughts From Queen Elizabeth II
"Therefore I am sure that this, my
Coronation, is not the symbol of a
power and a splendour that are gone,
but a declaration of our hopes for the
future, and for the years I may, by God's
Grace and Mercy, be given to reign and
serve you as your Queen."
"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."
"I have in sincerity pledged myself to your
service, as so many of you are pledged to
mine. Throughout all my life and with all my
heart I shall strive to be worthy of your trust."
"I have been aware all the time that my
peoples, spread far and wide throughout
every continent and ocean in the world,
were united to support me in the task to
which I have now been dedicated with
such solemnity."
"I cannot lead you into battle. I do not
give you laws or administer justice but
I can do something else - I can give my
heart and my devotion to these old
islands and to all the peoples of our
brotherhood of nations."
"I have behind me not only the splendid
traditions and the annals of more than a
thousand years, but the living strength
and majesty of the Commonwealth and
Empire; of societies old and new; of lands
and races different in history and origins
but all, by God's Will, united in spirit and
in aim."
"The lessons from the peace process
are clear; whatever life throws at us,
our individual responses will be all the
stronger for working together and
sharing the load."
"To what greater inspiration and counsel
can we turn than to the imperishable truth
to be found in this treasure house, the Bible?"
"The upward course of a nation's history
is due in the long run to the soundness
of heart of its average men and women."
"We lost the American colonies because we
lacked the statesmanship to know the right
time and the manner of yielding what is
impossible to keep."
"It is easy enough to define what the
Commonwealth is not. Indeed this is
quite a popular pastime."
"To all those who have suffered as a
consequence of our troubled past I
extend my sincere thoughts and deep
sympathy. With the benefit of historical
hindsight we can all see things which
we would wish had been done differently
or not at all."
"Like all the best families, we have our
share of eccentricities, of impetuous and
wayward youngsters and of family
disagreements."
"Grief is the price we pay for love."
"The events that I have attended to mark
my Diamond Jubilee have been a humbling
experience. It has touched me deeply to
see so many thousands of families, neighbours
and friends celebrating together in such a
happy atmosphere."
"I have to be seen to be believed."
"First, I want to pay tribute to Diana myself.
She was an exceptional and gifted human
being. In good times and bad, she never
lost her capacity to smile and laugh, nor to
inspire others with her warmth and kindness.
I admired and respected her - for her energy
and commitment to others, and especially
for her devotion to her two boys."
"No one who knew Diana will ever forget
her. Millions of others who never met her,
but felt they knew her, will remember her."
"I hope that tomorrow we can all, wherever
we are, join in expressing our grief at Diana's
loss, and gratitude for her all-too-short life. It is
a chance to show to the whole world the
British nation united in grief and respect."
"The British constitution has always
been puzzling and always will be."
"My husband has quite simply been my
strength and stay all these years, and I
owe him a debt greater than he would
ever claim."
"At Christmas, I am always struck by how
the spirit of togetherness lies also at the
heart of the Christmas story. A young
mother and a dutiful father with their baby
were joined by poor shepherds and visitors
from afar. They came with their gifts to
worship the Christ child."
"In remembering the appalling suffering
of war on both sides, we recognise how
precious is the peace we have built in
Europe since 1945."
"Madam President, speaking here in
Dublin Castle it is impossible to ignore
the weight of history, as it was yesterday
when you and I laid wreaths at the
Garden of Remembrance."
"It's all to do with the training: you can
do a lot if you're properly trained."
"At its heart, engineering is about using
science to find creative, practical solutions.
It is a noble profession."
"These wretched babies don't
come until they are ready."
"For many, Christmas is also a time for
coming together. But for others, service
will come first."
"What were once only hopes for the future
have now come to pass; it is almost exactly
13 years since the overwhelming majority
of people in Ireland and Northern Ireland
voted in favour of the agreement signed on
Good Friday 1998, paving the way for
Northern Ireland to become the exciting and
inspirational place that it is today."
"I know of no single formula for success.
But over the years I have observed that
some attributes of leadership are universal,
and are often about finding ways of
encouraging people to combine their efforts,
their talents, their insights, their enthusiasm
and their inspiration to work together."
-- Once, when walking the grounds of Balmoral with her protection officer, Queen Elizabeth ran into some American tourists. It became clear they didn’t recognise her.
“Have you ever met the Queen?” they asked.
“No,” she responded, and then pointed at her protection officer. “But he has.”
-- On the occasion of her 72nd. wedding anniversary, the Queen loudly commented during a public appearance:
“What’s the date?”
-- After Princess Michael of Kent made a comment on television about how she’d like to shoot the Queen’s Corgis, the monarch is said to have retorted:
“They’re better behaved than she is.”
-- At the 2016 Chelsea Flower Show, a gardener told her how lilies of the valley have poisonous traits. The Queen is said to have replied:
“I’ve been given two bunches this
week. Perhaps they want me dead.”
-- In 2007, the Queen made an official visit to the White House. During the welcome ceremony, President George W. Bush mistakenly said the Queen helped Americans celebrate their bicentennial in 1776, not 1996.
He quickly corrected the error, but the Queen didn’t let him off the hook. At a formal dinner two days later, she began her speech by saying:
“I wondered whether I should start
this toast by saying, ‘When I was here
in 1776...’”
-- When visiting New Zealand in 1986, the Queen and her late husband, Prince Philip, were pelted with eggs thrown by protestors. Later, at a state banquet, she remarked:
“New Zealand has long been renowned
for its dairy produce, though I should say
that I myself prefer my New Zealand eggs
for breakfast.”
-- In the summer of 2013, royal baby watch reached a peak as the world waited for the arrival of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s first child. When pressed for clues at an engagement, the Queen simply replied:
“I hope it arrives soon, because
I’m going on holiday.”
-- In the 1960's, she watched the Everly Brothers singing 'Cathy’s Clown' as part of the annual Royal Variety Performance. To say she was unimpressed was an understatement. She muttered to her lady-in-waiting that they sounded like “two cats being strangled”.
-- Once, while driving up to the Royal Windsor Horse Show, a guard failed to recognise her. “Sorry, love, you can’t come in without a sticker,” he’s said to have told her. The queen, unfazed, replied:
“I think if you check, I will
be allowed to come in.”
-- During an interview for the documentary The Coronation, the Queen joked to royal commentator Alastair Bruce about the difficulties of wearing a crown:
“You can’t look down to read
the speech. If you did, your
neck would break.”
-- In an argument with the Queen Mother, the elder royal said to her daughter: “Who do you think you are?” To which the Queen is said to have replied:
“The Queen, Mummy, the Queen.”
Jan Peters
So what else happened on the day that Margaret wrote the card?
Well, on the 18th. August 1954, Johannes ("Jan") Wilhelmus Peters was born in Groesbeek, Gelderland. He is a retired football midfielder from the Netherlands.
Peters obtained 31 caps for the Dutch national team in the 1970's and early 1980's. He is famous for scoring the goals that beat England 2–0 at Wembley in 1977.
