Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain has reigned over her queendom for 65 years, surpassing her great-granny Victoria’s record reign of 63 years. That’s a long time, to state the blatantly obvious. Best wishes to her.
Her milestone coincides with the U.S. airing, on PBS, of Victoria, a glossy, well-done series that tells the story of the teenage queen whose name defined an era. With the adorable Jenna Coleman as Victoria, the hunky Tom Waites as her cousin-husband, and the dark, brooding Rufus Sewell as her prime minister….if that’s what he was, wink, wink….it’s well worth watching. Love the dresses, love the stiff uniforms on the princes, love the castles, the palaces, and peeking below stairs at the servants. And candles! Never thought about how many candles it would have taken to illuminate an 1840s ballroom! Hope they had fire insurance.
So the darling, sparkling Jenna/Victoria and the hot-hot-hot Tom/Albert have just married and with the other beautiful people, will now live more or less happily ever after, she beautiful, he dashing.
Well, Jenna, of course, doesn’t look much like Victoria, really. We’ve seen the photographs.
And I was reminded of an essay my wonderful son Mike wrote in middle school, starring Queen Victoria.
I always used to say Mike would have been a good Quaker: social barriers do not exist for him. And as for honesty? It was the only policy he knew.
Me: “Do I look okay in this dress?” Mike: “Yeh, except for the black circles under your eyes, but they’re always there.”
So I begin to give his essay my expert mom-editor eye. Here’s the topic sentence:
“Well, to begin with, she was a very ugly looking woman.”
Had to give him that. She was no Jenna Coleman, for sure.
Mike told the truth, right?
Yes, I snickered. And I suggested he should focus the paper more on history and less on the physical limitations of this venerable woman. I don’t remember the outcome, except that it turned out fine.
Happy Jubilee, Elizabeth II. You’re better looking than your great-great granny.
But not as cute as Jenna, sorry.
It is amazing how the “movie” version of the queen is much prettier. It is the same with the prince… “I ain’t never seen no hunka man ride up on a white horse, ever!” 🙂
Your friend in fun and writing… Myra
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Mare, they never put ugly people in movies except as zombies ,etc. Haven’t seen it on PBS, but then again I do not control the remote! Always good to read your “musings”. Mary Ellen G
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Thx, Mare. I’m sure you recognized Michael’s blunt truth, though. Now he might even be worse…..😁
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And try to catch Victoria…..use stealth and cunning to steal the remote and lock him in the bathroom. The brain needs food.
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Excellent!
I haven’t watched the show yet, but it’s on my list.
Long live the Queen!
I hope you and yours are staying safe and healthy during this difficult time.
J Lenni Dorner~ Co-host of the #AtoZchallenge, Debut Author Interviewer, Reference& Speculative Fiction Author
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Thanks for the thumbs up! I must get back to this…..I’ll follow you.
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It’s certainly romanticized, but many works that depict this era are! Maybe we also romanticize it. That’s why we love these shows and there will never be enough (I loved Reign and The Crown most!)
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Yes, but think how much we need escape into romanticism! I watched the new movie Emma the other night. Smiled the whole time, tension melted.
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The day we don’t need that romanticism escape … well, I don’t want to think about it!
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