Apr 7 2023 - What's in a title? Lots

 

There's news that Queen Consort Camilla is now being called Queen Camilla by King Charles.  A queen consort doesn't have any political or sovereign power.  Queen regent  "has an entirely different meaning - regents can exercise royal sovereignty in the king's behalf. This would happen if the king was absent or if a king were too young to rule." Queen Elizabeth was queen regnant.  This is a titled for a woman who inherits the British crown by right of birth.  A queen regnant has full sovereign powers.  The change of title is considered "primarily" symbolic.  "Queen Camila" is the appropriate title to set agains "King Charles" on the invitation to the coronation.  All former Queen Consorts have been known as "queen" plus their first name.  I wonder why their indicated primarily?  What is it secondarily?  No word on that. There's a lot to find out about the Monarchy - one can find out more at monarchy-of-britain.fandom.com.  There we find out there's queen dowager - widow of a king, and queen mother is a queen dowager who is also the mother of a reigning sovereign.  There's a new photo of the King and Queen looking shiny and new with photoshop kindly removing wrinkles and giving them each a glow.   And the invitation to the coronation? It's beautiful.  "The invitation for the Coronation has been designed by Andrew Jamieson, a heraldic artist and manuscript illuminator whose work is inspired by the chivalric themes of Arthurian legend. Mr Jamieson is a Brother of the Art Workers’ Guild, of which The King is an Honorary Member. The original artwork for the invitation was hand-painted in watercolour and gouache, and the design will be reproduced and printed on recycled card, with gold foil detailing. Central to the design is the motif of the Green Man, an ancient figure from British folklore, symbolic of spring and rebirth, to celebrate the new reign. The shape of the Green Man, crowned in natural foliage, is formed of leaves of oak, ivy and hawthorn, and the emblematic flowers of the United Kingdom.  The British wildflower meadow bordering the invitation features lily of the valley, cornflowers, wild strawberries, dog roses, bluebells, and a sprig of rosemary for remembrance, together with wildlife including a bee, a butterfly, a ladybird, a wren and a robin. Flowers appear in groupings of three, signifying The King becoming the third monarch of his name.  And so on. This is our neighbour's wonderful Wisteria, blooming the second year after they trimmed it. The Good Earth restaurant is in the process of trimming theirs this spring as it is attempting to demolish the arbour structure.  So next year we are hoping to see this kind of display on a much larger scale  as it is a huge arbour all along the building.    Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Sep 24 2022 - Royal Trees in Canada

 

Pinterest included in its feed Laura Tarrish's Hunter|Gatherer tree sculpture,  The picture below got my attention.  Made from wire, paper machier, paint, fabric and various things we wouldn't normally associate with trees.   It led to Thomas Heatherwick, UK designer and his tree sculpture - the Tree of Trees outside Buckingham Palace in celebration of the Queen's  Platinum Jubilee.  “The sculpture seeks to put the importance of trees and nature at the heart of this historic milestone to celebrate Her Majesty, who has planted over 1,500 trees all over the world throughout the course of her 70-year reign”  After the celebration the 350 trees go to community groups and organizations.  The big tree project for the Jubilee was the Queen's Green Canopy - a living legacy with over 1 million trees, planted in her name across the nation from 2021 to 2022.   This makes sense when you think of all the trees she planted. And here in Canada? There must be more than a dozen trees planted by the Queen as she visited more than 20 times.  The best known is the oak tree she planted in 1951 in Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver. There's another in Jackson Park in Windsor, planted in 1953.  In 1973, the Toronto Star headline was: Queen Elizabeth wields a silver-plated shovel as she plants a silver maple tree in Ganaraska Conservation area at Cobourg today in commemoration of Conservation week.  In Rideau Hall, Ottawa, amongst the 120 ceremonial trees that have been planted by famous people, primarily heads of state, are 16 trees planted by the Windsors -  that's since 1939, five of them dedicated by Queen Elizabeth. A Daily Mail  article with some then and now pictures of trees the queen had planted over the decades - the article is HERE.  So while there are pictures of the Queen planting trees, there are not many articles.   This is likely a bit mundane for most people.   The highlights of these 22 tours do not generally dwell on trees - they include things like: 1970: Queen Elizabeth wears a pantsuit to protect against clouds of blackflies during a stop in the Northwest Territories. DDT had recently been banned. 1973: In an unusual event to celebrate Ontario Conservation Week, the Queen is tasked with releasing 100 bass into Grenadier Pond in Toronto’s High Park. 1976: On her first day in Halifax, the Queen is serenaded by more than 100 young ukulele players on a visit to the Nova Scotia Olympic Folk Show.

Pansy petal close-up today. Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblog.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Sep 9 2022 - Love Live the King

 

It says that there are 2,000 gowns in Queen Elizabeth's wardrobe at the time of her death.   I would expect many more are in the wardrobe archives, preserved for all time.  Especially her coronation dress. “Every look is meticulously planned,” said Hughes. “Angela Kelly is in charge of spreadsheets logging each item of clothing or accessory. It’s done in such a heavy, detailed way that there are no accidents in what she wears.” On why she wears bright colors on royal appearances:  "If I wore beige, nobody would know who I am." The Queen's wardrobe was startling to me.  There seemed to be no subtlety in her outfits.   It is reported that the Queen sent messages with her wardrobe.  The blue and yellow flowers similar to the flag of the European Union on her hat signalled her disapproval of the Brexit vote.  When she visited with Donald Trump, she wore a brooch that was a gift from the Obamas, Not so subtly she drove the Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia around in her Land Rover - it was the first time he had a female driver in his life. It was reported he was scared. For the next 10 days we will have ample time to see many of the thousands of photos of Queen Elizabeth, whether on social media, televised news, or other places - and her wardrobe will be very much on show. Here's a rainbow collage that demonstrates her bright wardrobe colours.     This rainbow picture was possible at our Toronto house at a particular time of year when the light came in through the kitchen and I could set up two prisms to create this effect.  I've tried here in Grimsby, but it turns out to be a magic moment.

Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblog.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Feb 21 2022 - Jubbly Celebrations

 

eing in a Commonwealth country, we can lament the decline of the Queen's English.  It is a daily occurrence to experiencedrastic spelling and grammar errors.    Here's the once in 70 years drastic spelling error - this time the Queen herself is the subject of the error.  It has resulted in thousands of souvenirs marking the following: The Platinum Jubbly of Queen Elizabeth II     The intended celebration is her Platinum Jubilee.   Over 10,000 mugs, tea sets and decorative plates meant to mark the monarch's 70-year reign featured an illustration of the Queen surrounded by images featured in her coat of arms — as well as the misprint. " They come from a Chinese manufacturer.   This is particularly hilarious for fans of Del Boy, who is known for the catchphrase 'lovely bubbly' in a British 1990s television series.  The resellers website has this humorous promotion: "Apart from the obvious gimmick factor, there is an abundance of fantastic things you could do with these: Become an Only Fools and Horses fan and wow your friends with your Lovely Jubbly set! Have a plate smashing contest Take-up plate spinning as a hobby Have a dangerous game of Frisbee." The actual meaning of Jubbly?  It's a jocular exclamation. It means excellent, brilliant, great. It's the sort of thing you'd say when you got some good news or had a stroke of luck, 'ah, lovely jubbly'.

Happy  butterfly pictures from a visit to the Niagara Falls Butterfly Conservatory on Gerry's birthday last week.   Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblog.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca