Media coverage on this subject is currently at a peak as the current time is exactly sixty years since the Queen’s father, George VI, died and the young Princess became the new monarch.

Such is the Queen’s longevity that only those of a certain age have any memory of these events. I am one of those! I have a vivid memory of my mother collecting me from school on 6 February 1952 in her black Austin Seven car registration no FGF 439!  (How do we remember such inconsequential details?)  I was 6 years old and I spotted a church flag at half-mast and asked why.  Mother told me “The King is dead; long live the Queen”.

In these times where the debate about the value of the monarchy blows in and out of public discourse at regular intervals, it is my firm belief that the calmness and continuity the Queen has provided has been a bulwark against the tiny minority who would rather the United Kingdom did not have a Royal Family.

The Queen is a credit to herself, to her family and to this great nation of ours. I would like to wish her a very happy Diamond Jubilee year from the people of her county of Oxfordshire.

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Views expressed by individuals do not necessarily coincide with those of Oxfordshire County Council.