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Not many people have sent birthday greetings to themselves; back on Guy Fawkes Night in 1990, Mr Bean in The Return Of was one of them with a blank birthday card that he had in his inner-jacket pocket when he was waiting to pretend to enjoy a raw steak tartare meal in a restaurant before being a bit too critical about it, but not quite in a Nigella Lawson or Michael Winner sort-of way, and ironically in the same episode he had a chance to stand in line between Robin Driscoll and Matilda Ziegler (who in later episodes, the latter had played Bean's girlfriend), to meet actress Tina Maskell who was appearing as the Queen Mother (and not as the Queen as I had originally thought back then), who would have reached their centenary nearly a decade later, only for Bean to headbutt the aforementioned person before making himself scarce. I was one of many people back then who use to confuse the Queen with the Queen Mother as they were both called Elizabeth, and I am certain that lots of others, usually youngsters did the same. There have certainly not been many people who have broken the record for sending greetings in the post to those who have reached their 100th birthday either; or someone who has had more than one birthday in a year, and it's a bit double standards that we were not able to send any to her.
Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II who died in September 2022 aged 96, would have had the irony of reaching her 100th birthday on Tuesday 21st April 2026 had she lived. I say irony of course because back in 2000, the irony of sending a telegram to a family member came true when the late Queen Mother came of three-digit age, and it was so close for the late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh as well, only to leave us two months before it should have happened. Both Queen and Duke had reached an accolade which did merit a telegram for ordinary couples; the 70th wedding anniversary which happened in 2017. I enjoyed watching the 100th birthday coverage of the late Queen Mother in August in which she did indeed received a 100th birthday card from her own oldest daughter, and yes, it did indeed look exactly like the ones that 100-year-old members of the public received at the time as well. And also their 105th; 106th; 107th and so on.
My late paternal grandfather who was born in 1891, was 34 in 1926 when the then Prince Elizabeth was born to Albert (later HM King George VI and Elizabeth, later Queen Mother), and no doubt that he would have received a lovely card with Her Majesty in August 1991 had he still been alive, although we sadly lost him in February 1974 just a few days before the first of two General Elections that year (his funeral was on the same day as the February election), and it was four-and-a-half years before my own birth.
Coincidentally, Prince George was born in July 2013 when I was 34 years old myself, and no doubt that if I reach my 100th birthday in August 2078, I will probably get a card with a 65-year-old King George VII on the front cover, although if the incumbent Prince William is still alive then as our monarch, he would have equalled the life of the late Queen and would reach the age of 96, and thus, he would feature on the front cover instead. If we do get a King George VII by 2078, it is sobering to think that he would be younger then than Charles is now by over a decade. It is a truism that the monarch who would send you a telegram if one reaches 100 would have been born roughly when the subject was in their 30s, although this was in the case when it comes to HM King Charles III for the person would have had to have been born in 1913 and Charles was not King in 2013; the same year as Prince George's birth.
As recently as a year or two ago, there was some talk about having a statue of the late monarch being unveiled on what would have been her 100th birthday, presumably in Central London with the same publicity as the unveiling as the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in July 2004; it probably would get a passing mention on the London regional news, and if us Royalists had played our cards right, a mention on the national news as well. Looking at the TV schedules for Tuesday 21st April, there seems to be no special programming, and Homes Under the Hammer seems to be undisturbed, and the only thing which seems to stand out in the TV schedules are the World Snooker coverage and a Party Election Broadcast by Reform UK for the local elections in May (although there aren't any in my neck of the woods; elections that is, not Reform UK people).
We would be marking an anniversary rather than a birthday, and I think that is just as important, but as a Royalist, I would welcome any coverage of such an event if it had existed, as well as get the day's edition of The Times and Daily Mail if they both had a prominent front page each. Regarding the snooker, I do know that there was coverage of the Benson and Hedges Masters from Wembley on BBC Two on the same day of the death of Princess Margaret in February 2002, and before the start of play, the Referee invited the audience to observe a two-minute silence as a tribute to the late Queen's sister, and it was the start of many major Royal events that year. Princess Margaret had no official link with snooker, but this tribute needed to be made; it is ironic then that the day four of the snooker from the Crucible in Sheffield would also take place on Tuesday 21st April.
In the early 21st century, I think that the Jubilee celebrations as well as the annual Christmas messages each year, has allowed most of us to be aware of the continuity of the final couple of decades of the late Queen's reign; for the 2002 Golden Jubilee I certainly enjoyed myself attending an event at a church a couple of miles from where I used to live back then, and one thanks her late Majesty for allowing people like myself to have done that. It was a great recovery when in the mid-1990s interest of the Royal Family seem to wain a bit, probably due to the speculation in the red-top tabloids at the time, but then by 1997 and Tony Blair became Prime Minister, we sadly lost Diana, Princess of Wales in Paris, and had nearly a week's mourning. The funeral was on my late mother's birthday; she was expecting birthday cards to come in the post, but the Royal Mail cancelled all scheduled deliveries that day as a mark of respect, and as the following day was a Sunday, it wasn't until Monday 8th September, two days after the event, that she eventually received her birthday cards in the post.
I will be observing and celebrating it in one way or another even if it is an ordinary day to most other people, the 100th anniversary of the birth of the late Queen Elizabeth II, and it would be lovely if a statue was unveiled. In fact, I wouldn't mind one in Nottingham as well as we had a Queen Victoria statue for many decades (although I am not certain what happened to her, or indeed, it). God save the King and Queen!
Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II who died in September 2022 aged 96, would have had the irony of reaching her 100th birthday on Tuesday 21st April 2026 had she lived. I say irony of course because back in 2000, the irony of sending a telegram to a family member came true when the late Queen Mother came of three-digit age, and it was so close for the late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh as well, only to leave us two months before it should have happened. Both Queen and Duke had reached an accolade which did merit a telegram for ordinary couples; the 70th wedding anniversary which happened in 2017. I enjoyed watching the 100th birthday coverage of the late Queen Mother in August in which she did indeed received a 100th birthday card from her own oldest daughter, and yes, it did indeed look exactly like the ones that 100-year-old members of the public received at the time as well. And also their 105th; 106th; 107th and so on.
My late paternal grandfather who was born in 1891, was 34 in 1926 when the then Prince Elizabeth was born to Albert (later HM King George VI and Elizabeth, later Queen Mother), and no doubt that he would have received a lovely card with Her Majesty in August 1991 had he still been alive, although we sadly lost him in February 1974 just a few days before the first of two General Elections that year (his funeral was on the same day as the February election), and it was four-and-a-half years before my own birth.
Coincidentally, Prince George was born in July 2013 when I was 34 years old myself, and no doubt that if I reach my 100th birthday in August 2078, I will probably get a card with a 65-year-old King George VII on the front cover, although if the incumbent Prince William is still alive then as our monarch, he would have equalled the life of the late Queen and would reach the age of 96, and thus, he would feature on the front cover instead. If we do get a King George VII by 2078, it is sobering to think that he would be younger then than Charles is now by over a decade. It is a truism that the monarch who would send you a telegram if one reaches 100 would have been born roughly when the subject was in their 30s, although this was in the case when it comes to HM King Charles III for the person would have had to have been born in 1913 and Charles was not King in 2013; the same year as Prince George's birth.
As recently as a year or two ago, there was some talk about having a statue of the late monarch being unveiled on what would have been her 100th birthday, presumably in Central London with the same publicity as the unveiling as the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in July 2004; it probably would get a passing mention on the London regional news, and if us Royalists had played our cards right, a mention on the national news as well. Looking at the TV schedules for Tuesday 21st April, there seems to be no special programming, and Homes Under the Hammer seems to be undisturbed, and the only thing which seems to stand out in the TV schedules are the World Snooker coverage and a Party Election Broadcast by Reform UK for the local elections in May (although there aren't any in my neck of the woods; elections that is, not Reform UK people).
We would be marking an anniversary rather than a birthday, and I think that is just as important, but as a Royalist, I would welcome any coverage of such an event if it had existed, as well as get the day's edition of The Times and Daily Mail if they both had a prominent front page each. Regarding the snooker, I do know that there was coverage of the Benson and Hedges Masters from Wembley on BBC Two on the same day of the death of Princess Margaret in February 2002, and before the start of play, the Referee invited the audience to observe a two-minute silence as a tribute to the late Queen's sister, and it was the start of many major Royal events that year. Princess Margaret had no official link with snooker, but this tribute needed to be made; it is ironic then that the day four of the snooker from the Crucible in Sheffield would also take place on Tuesday 21st April.
In the early 21st century, I think that the Jubilee celebrations as well as the annual Christmas messages each year, has allowed most of us to be aware of the continuity of the final couple of decades of the late Queen's reign; for the 2002 Golden Jubilee I certainly enjoyed myself attending an event at a church a couple of miles from where I used to live back then, and one thanks her late Majesty for allowing people like myself to have done that. It was a great recovery when in the mid-1990s interest of the Royal Family seem to wain a bit, probably due to the speculation in the red-top tabloids at the time, but then by 1997 and Tony Blair became Prime Minister, we sadly lost Diana, Princess of Wales in Paris, and had nearly a week's mourning. The funeral was on my late mother's birthday; she was expecting birthday cards to come in the post, but the Royal Mail cancelled all scheduled deliveries that day as a mark of respect, and as the following day was a Sunday, it wasn't until Monday 8th September, two days after the event, that she eventually received her birthday cards in the post.
I will be observing and celebrating it in one way or another even if it is an ordinary day to most other people, the 100th anniversary of the birth of the late Queen Elizabeth II, and it would be lovely if a statue was unveiled. In fact, I wouldn't mind one in Nottingham as well as we had a Queen Victoria statue for many decades (although I am not certain what happened to her, or indeed, it). God save the King and Queen!