Sunday, 27 October 2013

The Christening of ... George ...


George Alexander Louis, to be known as His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge ...  apparently Alexander is particular favourite of Catherine’s ... or Kate as we know her ...


... born on July 22nd 2013 at 4.24 pm ... weighing 8lb 6 oz ...

... there has only been one Prince of Cambridge before, a military man with a racy love life, born in 1819 and commemorated with an equestrian statue in Whitehall.


The Archbishop of Canterbury conducted the service that had historic overtones being in the presence of our 87 year-old monarch and three future kings, the Princes Charles, William and, of course, little George.

 
The Archbishop to the left, the Bishop of London
to the right
The Bishop of London was also in attendance and it was he who commented that George was holding his hands in a very commanding manner.

Baptism: As the trumpets blared, baby George arrived at the chapel in his father’s arms with his mother by their side ...


The term Chapel Royal refers to a body of priests and singers, part of the Royal Household, to serve the spiritual needs of the Sovereign, as and when required.
 

The two currently used as Chapel Royals are located at St James’s Palace, London – the Chapel Royal and the Queen’s Chapel.

The Chapel Royal is steeped in history ... it was here, in 1588 that Elizabeth I said prayers before the Spanish Armada was attacked ...

... the heart of Mary I of England is buried beneath the choir stalls ... she was ill and died at St James’s Palace in November 1558 and is now known by the soubriquet “Bloody Mary” ...


The Chapel Royal showing its intimacy,
with the Holbein ceiling ... 
... and here that Charles I received Holy Communion before his execution in 1649.



For the Duke and Duchess too the Chapel holds poignant memories.  Catherine was confirmed here, into the Anglican faith, before the royal wedding ...



... and this was where William and Harry said farewell to their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, after her death in 1997.


The Chapel Royal choir, comprising six men and ten boys, bedecked in scarlet and gold-fringed robes ... have been practising for the Christening Service this week ...
The silver-gilt Lily Font


George was christened with water from the River Jordan in a silver baptismal font, known as the Lily Font, made in 1840 for the christening of Queen Victoria’s first child, as it has been used for every royal christening since.


Designers ... Kate wore a cream-coloured Alexander McQueen dress and hat by milliner Jane Taylor; .... the press kept us informed about all the other guests’ outfits!


The Order of the Garter -
 the senior order of the United Kingdom:
showing the Garter "Star" and below
St George the Martyr on horseback
slaying the dragon
England ... George, the dragon slayer, is of course, the patron saint of England, despite having been born far from here ....

Archbishop’s speech will remind George that his role as a future monarch will include acting as a figurehead for Christianity with the title of Supreme Governor of the Church of England.


Future Kings ...  It had been 120 years since a reigning monarch had met a future king three generations ahead ... that last happened in 1894 when Queen Victoria was introduced to the baby who would become Edward VIII.


We three males will all kings be ... 

Three kings are now on hold ... but it looks like the future King George will be the first king of the 22nd century ... some thought – many of us though won’t see him reign ...



George’s name was probably chosen as a tribute to George V, founder of the House of Windsor, who was the Queen’s adored ‘Grand-Pรจre England’ ... George VI was the beloved father in whose image she has shaped so much of her reign (her inscrutability on most things is one of her strengths) ...

... her father who despite those early trials, after his brother’s abdication, went on to become a much admired leader during World War II.


Godparents are a mixture of school, university and family friends, mentor figures, and a royal cousin, Zara, who will be producing a playmate for George in January ... and who has helped Kate overcome her fear of horses.

The fact the godparents are not royal is another indication that this prince is going to be very grounded in normal life.



Anmer village sign
Homes: The new family are likely to spend time in Kensington Palace, at the Middleton’s family home in Bucklebury, Berkshire and Anmer Hall, a 10-bedroom Georgian mansion on the Sandringham estate, Norfolk, where the Queen and her family spends Christmas ...

... but as we now know Prince George’s parents have minds of their own and are determined to do things their way, if possible, giving him and his future siblings as much privacy as possible ...


Intimate Christening Service – few invited ... simple ... Prince William showed his single-mindedness and determination when “their guest list” for the wedding did not include any friends they knew ...


... he apparently startled the Royal Family ... by going straight to the Queen to discuss his concerns.  This continues to this day ... as we’ve seen at times ... he does things on his own terms ...


The intimate ceremony without a lot of fuss and bother suited the main royals ... the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Charles could accomplish all their duties, attend the Christening, have a cup of tea and get on with more duties.

This intimate christening has been the most private royal christening in living memory ...


The Imperial State Crown is one of the Crown Jewels of the UK and symbolises the sovereignty of the monarchy.

The Imperial State Crown


Jubilee Trust: nothing stops the Queen performing her duties ... she did her papers in the morning, received some dignitaries, allocated an hour for the Christening, photos and a quick cup of tea ... and then hosted a Diamond Jubilee Trust reception commencing at 6.00 pm.

Does she ever stop working? ... she sets a fine example of hard work and dedication to her peoples.

 
The Chapel Royal is on the right
St James’s Palace is the most senior royal palace ... and it is for this reason that it gives its name to the Royal Court (the “Court of St James”) – it is the ceremonial gathering place of the “Accession Council” which proclaims a new sovereign.

Foreign Ambassadors are still accredited to the Court of St James’s, even though they are received by the monarch at Buckingham Palace.


Future Kings: Clarence House is next door to St James’s Palace, and is the residence of the Prince of Wales.  While William and Kate, with George, will reside at Kensington Palace on the west side of Hyde Park.


With the Archbishop of Canterbury
Little lad ...  I’ve got no further with my “Ls”!!!


The Royal Mint has created the first ever royal christening coin in the UK to mark Prince George’s baptism.  The limited edition gold “kilo coin” is being sold for £50,000 – but a more affordable “Brilliant Uncirculated” £5 coin costs £13.

The Gold and Silver Uncirculated coins

The £5 coin has been made in both silver – because the crossing of a baby’s palm with silver is said to bring good health and prosperity to newborns – and gold to commemorate the royal celebration.  There are nine items in the range ...


Nicknames: William calls Catherine “Poppet” ... apparently Prince Charles and Camilla have long found it amusing to refer to each other in private as Fred and Gladys ... while Prince Philip apparently calls the Queen Cabbage or Sausage, while she supposedly calls him The Boss ... who knows?!
 
From the Edwardian Promenade
blog ... details of this and
other historical research guides


Names ... Members of the Royal Family who are entitled to the style and dignity of HRH Prince or Princess do not need a surname, but if at any time one is needed, such as upon marriage, then that surname is “Mountbatten-Windsor”.


So some royal names have come to define much more than a mere reign.  Georgian architecture, Victorian values, Edwardian grandeur ...


... Charles the Conservator ...
... William the determined ...
... George the gorgeous!



Order of Service included the hymns:

·        Breathe on Me, Breath of God
·        Be Thou My Vision ... this one was sung at the memorial service to mark the 10th anniversary of the death of Diana

The Lessons were: 

·        St Luke ch. 18, verses 15-17: read by Pippa Middleton, Kate’s sister
·        St John ch. 15, verses 1- 5: read by Prince Harry

The anthems were performed by The Choir of Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal:

·        Blessed Jesu!  Here We Stand (written by Richard Popplewell – for Prince William’s baptism on 4 August 1982)
·        The Lord Bless You and Keep You (by John Rutter)


... phrases William has been heard to  say... “he’s got her looks thankfully” ... Kate protesting .. “No, no I don’t know about that” ... as for George’s downy hair, now turning darker ... “he’s got way more than me, thankfully” ... “he’s got a good pair of lungs on him, that’s for sure” ... was a “big boy, he’s quite heavy” .... “I’ll remind him of his tardiness when he’s a bit older ...”



The Queen, dressed in turquoise, wore a diamond, ruby and sapphire floral brooch to the Christening given to her by her parents, George VI and the Queen Mother, which marked the birth of Prince Charles in 1948.



Christening Robe ... George wore a replica of the fragile 172 year old robe, made of Honiton lace lined with satin, which has been used by royal babies since the christening of Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter in 1841 ...  sixty-two christenings in all ...
 
The beautiful buttermilk
Christening Robe
The replica was commissioned by the Queen in 2008 and once made, was hand-washed in spring water and carefully stored in a cool, dark place to keep it pristine.  I see the Queen is still practising her Girl Guide motto ... ‘Be Prepared’...!

That early robe – an original Spitalfields silk-satin gown, with cap sleeves, a lace overlay and a bow at the neck was created by Janet Sutherland, a coal miner’s daughter, who was a Scottish dressmaker from Falkirk, in 1841.

George’s wardrobe ... he can count himself lucky because his royal counterparts born three centuries ago would have been fitted with baby corsets ....??

George IV born in August 1762 wore a bright red silk corset ... stiffened with a strip of whalebone down the back ...

George V wore lace-up baby boots – he was born in 1865.


Stunning cake ... bet it tasted good too!
Scrumptious tea ... with champagne ... one of the sections, probably the smallest, of his parent’s eight-tiered wedding cake ... this was hosted at Clarence House, where the official photographs were taken, by Charles and his wife, Camilla ...



A subtle transition going on as Charles takes on more duties, but the Queen, now 87, will never abdicate ... per various reports being spawned now ...


So far this new section of the royal family seem to be developing an Utopian existence ... long may it last for them, and for us ...

Visit planned to Australia and New Zealand in the new year with George most definitely going along ...
 
Salisbury - the Poultry Cross
painted by Louise Rayner, c 1870
Victoria ... what would she say – and how much has changed ... electric light, heating, aeroplane travel, cars, tarmac roads, ...


When Prince William was born in 1982 when there was no internet, no mobile-phone network, and so many other changes around the world that have occurred ... what will happen in the next 30, 50, 100 years ... into the 22nd century of George ...

 
Loving Cup from
the Royal Shop ...
this is not tawdry tat!
X is for tat or tacky ... you can bet there will be tons of plastic rubbish sold, a few good items ... but X is for tawdry tat!


Yelling from those royal lungs was briefly on hold ... his father noted that this was the first time George had been quiet all day ..


Let the Zest of life begin that he will be able to enjoy for a while, before the reigns of duty take over ...

Prince George ... has started off life very serenely ... a peaceful, quiet, exceptionally well behaved little lad ... though I suspect in due time he will show the fun side of his character ...

... which is bound to be there as the grandson of Diana, and nephew of Harry ... let alone his parents, who enjoyed themselves at St Andrews University, where they met.  His great grandmother is known to enjoy a laugh ...


Regal calm of the future King ... as his first duty was to his 22 guests at his baptism ...  after gently waving at his great grandmother, he clasped his hands over his tummy, eyes wide open absorbing this new world around him and patiently saw his 94th day pass serenely on ...


Whereas one (unlikely) future subject was recording the events for her blog post in the ABC mode ... when I will be past my sell-by date ... sad, but true!!


Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Thursday, 17 October 2013

Happy Birthday Lenny on Sunday: October 20th ...


A Burlington Arcade cake awaits you in London ... but you’ll need your expando pants ...?!
 
Happy Macaron
Birthday - Lenny!

Please pop on over in the next few days and wish ‘our young lad’ a birthday wish at his Lenny’s World website ... he deserves much joy and happiness on this ‘his fourteenth birthday’ ...


Critters be the love of Lenny’s life ... all critters big and small ... Linda in the Nursing Centre is delighted with her World Wild Life Calendar from the magnificent goodie pile of prezzies Lenny sent over recently ...


... while I was very happy with the Audubon Society calendar ... and thought I’d write about a few ... while learning about some American birds at the same time ...
 
Audubon's Snowy Owl

I also forayed forth in London the other day to the Natural History Museum specifically to see the Blaschka’s radiolarian, which has been cleaned and is on show in the Treasures Gallery ... it is so special ...


... as are the two copies of Audubon’s “Birds of America” held by the Museum ... another copy of which recently sold for £3.7 million - a world record for a book! 


To all you self-publishing authors out there – this story (c/o the NHM) tells a tale of perseverance (what will you do?!)... John James Audubon was rejected by American publishers (he couldn’t draw or so they thought), so in 1826 he set sail for Liverpool ...

 
John James Audubon
... he looked like a classic exotic American frontier woodsman ... untamed, romantic looking, rough, etc ... once again he was rejected this time by the British ...


... decision time: he self-published between 1827 and 1838 ... selling in 5 page batches for two guineas a time (about £100 today) ... subscribers could collect full or partial sets, or buy all four volumes for £182 (about £9,000 today).


Audubon's Cedar Waxwing
It is thought that fewer than 200 complete sets were produced, of which only 120 are known to survive, with the Natural History Museum looking after two ... one of which is on show at the Treasures Gallery ... and can be interactively seen.


Here’s the link to the Birds of America section in the Treasures part of the NHM, where the rest of the treasures are shown and described ...



Rufuous Hummingbird
Back to Lenny’s Audubon calendar ...  we have the Rufous Hummingbird for the 2013 Autumn months ... Sept, Oct, Nov and winter’s December ...  this rufous ... is really rufous.  A major decline means half the populations have been lost in just four decades ... they need encouraging back into gardens.


January – has the Northern Cardinal ... she’s rather handsome with her red beak and smart combed crest ... They thrive by being fed, while the planting of native trees is greatly encouraged.

Northern cardinal

February – has the Northern Flicker ... seems to have escaped from the internet?! ...  Oh I see it has an extra bit in its name ... the Northern (Yellow-Shafted) Flicker ... they are a type of woodpecker, which forages on the ground ...


March – has the Peregrine Falcon ... looking very focussed on his landing perch – they are the fastest creatures on Earth, clocked in hunting dives at well over 200 mph.
 
Magenta Calliope Hummingbird

April – has the Calliope Hummingbird with its magnificent magenta plumage ... gorgeous starburst display.  Their populations are monitored, which then helps landowners manage their land to accommodate these population shifts.


May – has the Black Skimmer with a teeny fluffy tot, with enormous feet!, hanging on to mum’s bill for dear life ... Audubon’s work protecting coastal beaches and barrier islands is crucial to their species’ nesting success.  They are a priority species in the Atlantic, Mississippi and Central Flyway.

Black Skimmer with chicks

June – the Yellow Warbler looks like it’d rather lie low and not be part of the Calendar ... the song of the buttery yellow warbler emanates from willows, wet thickets and roadsides around North America.


Yellow Warbler

July – the Black-necked Stilt ... beautifully photographed with its mirror image in the sky-blue water ... A priority species for Audubon in the Pacific Flyway, Audubon’s work protecting the freshwater marshes where this species breeds helps ensure its nesting success.


Scarlet Tanager
August – gives us the Scarlet Tanager ... amazing name I’d never heard before ...  and apparently they are difficult to spot, being high high up in the canopy.  They migrate in winter, change their coat to yellow-green before returning!  Tanagers benefit from Audubon’s work protecting critical migratory stopover habits.


Cactus Wren


September – prickles our delight with the Cactus Wren ... incredible they can dart in and out of cacti.  Able to survive without access to free-standing water they are truly adapted to desert environments.  Audubon’s work is once again helping to protect the critical Cactus Wren habitat – the urban sprawl in the SouthWest has led to wren population declines.


Snowy Owl


OctoberLenny’s birthday month ... the 20th is on Sunday ... and we have a favourite of his: an owl ... the Snowy Owl ... just brilliant to see.   The spectacular Snowy Owl nests only in the Arctic, hunting in 24 hours daylight during the summer, and 24 hour darkness during the winter.  

Audubon plays a crucial role in trying to ensure conservation for the species in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and Alaska’s vast National Petroleum Reserves (this could, to me, be an oxymoron?!)

Cedar Waxwing

November – we have the Osprey ... known to me as the Fish Eagle, from my South African days ... with their haunting cry ... they have rebounded since the banning of DDT.  So far so good for this species ... but they are monitored by Audubon.


December – we’re into the Waxwings ... need to seal those parcels!  On the hoar-frost branch with his red berry ... perhaps the Cedar Waxwing is waiting for it to thaw before scrunching it down ...

 
Wood Thrush
... and such a wonderful idea ... we have January 2015 – so helpful ... the delightfully coloured wood thrush ... while its unique melodic song signifies the start of Spring ... unfortunately habitat fragmentation on both breeding grounds and Central American wintering grounds has caused a 50% decline in Wood Thrush numbers over the past 50 years.


The Audubon society provided much of this information ... and obviously does a fabulous amount of work throughout the States ... I imagine it works closely with the conservation societies in Canada too ...

NB Photos are not from the calendar .... 

I leave you with two quotes from the WorldWildLife organisation bookmarks that Lenny sent me ...

Macaron wrapping paper

Man’s heart away from nature becomes hard” ... Standing Bear

To the Eyes of the Man of Imagination, Nature is Imagination itself “... William Blake


Happy Happy Birthday Lenny ... I sure hope you have loads of fun with the family ... with big hugs and love from Linda and I ... and all your friends around the internet ...

Lenny's World - his blog

Natural History Museum - the cleaning of the radiolarian


Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories