A musical tribute to the Queen called ‘Songs for Elizabeth’ took place this week for older community in Richmond.

Age UK Richmond clients were treated to a special performance by Maria and The Connaught Opera at Orleans House Gallery in Twickenham on 5 October.

The event took place in the Baroque Octagon Room, established in 1720.

The palatial room boasts paintings of classic Roman ruins along with portraits of royalty, including George I. 

The setting matched the mood for the concert’s full title: ‘Songs for Elizabeth: A Tribute to our Late Beloved Queen’.

Maria Arakie, one of three performers and chair of the opera company, offered Age UK Richmond 25 free tickets to attend the event.

Marie-Thérèse Keegan, wellbeing services coordinator for Age UK Richmond, said: “These outings provide older people with a day out to look forward to in the company of other older people from the borough.”

Many elderly people suffer from loneliness during the latter part of their lives and Marmalade Trust, the UK’s leading loneliness charity, works to spread awareness of the physical and mental health risks this may pose. 

According to their website, around two million people in the UK over the age of 75 live alone while half a million go at least five days a week without seeing anyone at all. 

The pandemic has only made the situation worse and by 2026, loneliness levels are estimated to reach a record high.

Keegan emphasised the importance of interaction and said: “New friendships are often forged as a new experience is shared. 

“Some older people may have lost their spouse and with it their confidence to socialise.”

This week, the new experience shared was a 50 minute, dazzling performance that included Arakie donning a sparkly dress and a blonde wig as she transformed into Marilyn Monroe to sing her rendition of ‘Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend’. 

In line with the theme of the concert, Maria was also adorned in pearls and wore a grey wig in honour of the late Queen Elizabeth. 

of The Connaught Opera, Maria, Glenn Wilson and pianist Nicholas Bosworth went on to highlight all of the Queen’s favourite songs, plays, hobbies and interests. 

The performance closed with an interactive singalong of some of Her Majesty’s most beloved Vera Lynn army-themed songs in iration of her work as a driver during World War Two. 

Audience loved the magical morning.

An 82 year-old Age UK Richmond client, Brenda, attended the performance with her friend Rosemary.

Brenda said: “We were entertained to a high standard.

“The singing was wonderful with a superb pianist, who entertained us royally to rousing music and songs.

“I think the entertainment they provide cheers everyone up enormously in these times of anxiety and worry.”

For almost two decades, The Connaught Opera have arranged and performed around 200 concerts a year for older people in London. 

A spokesperson for the company said: “The concerts are always popular and are a great morale booster, bringing joy and sometimes tears of remembrance.”

Featured image credit – Scarlett Poppy Clark

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Where to find clues to the complexities of those who live in palaces is a constant question for journalists and biographers, and the schooldays of Queen Elizabeth II has intrigued many over the years.

Predictably, the growing pains of Queen Elizabeth II’s education will be kept as anecdotes among her family, and perhaps those of her tutors.

But in 1949, when Queen Elizabeth II was 23, something shocking happened. Woman’s Own Magazine in the UK and Ladies Journal in the US published a long memoir by Marion Crawford – Princess Elizabeth and Margaret’s trusted tutor and friend.

The fragile nature of being an employee in the heart of a family was reflected in The Queen Mother’s response: “The governess has gone off her head.”

Crawford’s subsequent book, The Little Princesses, could be described as a series of tableaux illustrating a lifestyle, although we can paint in the gaps of what Elizabeth’s inner world might have been.

Crawford writes: “Life in a palace rather resembles camping in a museum. These historic places are so old, so tied up with tradition, that they are mostly dropping to bits.”

The most interesting section of the memoir is Crawford’s description of a surreal transition – that of Elizabeth and Margaret moving from an upper-class townhouse in Piccadilly to Buckingham Palace.

Aside from the governess’ gossipy commentary around the subject of the abdication, what splashes from the page are the Princesses swimming lessons at The Bath Club.

Crawford writes: “The little girls were always anxious to do what other children did. They longed to swim and I suggested this. The Duke and Duchess were very good about allowing these innovations.”

Amy Daley, a celebrity coach, was charged with teaching the Princesses swimming and life-saving – a hobby deemed inappropriate by senior of their family.

What emerges is a picture of Princess Elizabeth as a pragmatic monarch-to-be and one of Margaret as a loveable jester. As Margaret tentatively hovers by the pool, Elizabeth calls: ‘Don’t be a limpet Margaret!’.

Crawford writes that in the girls’ first exercises, Miss Daley: “Laid them over a wooden bench and taught them the motion of swimming by asking them to make the marks of letters…Margaret turned to Lilibet and said ‘You look like an aeroplane about to conk out.”

The watery vignettes depicting the princesses’ penultimate sessions are genuinely affecting as they touch on the notion of achievement where there is privilege.

Crawford’s pointed comment that the lessons “Were a great diversion at that time and took our minds off other matters” underlines the challenge of modern royals – to engage in a common reality, while living a high-stakes version of it.

The question of how to bring formal education into a diplomatic household was grappled with by King George.

Crawford introduces the problem of a ‘schoolroom’: “The king took me up to see one – it was one of the darkest and most gloomy rooms in the palace…the whole atmosphere was regal but oddly dead.”

With a brief ‘This won’t do,’ Elizabeth’s father arranged for a space which by contemporary standards would be appropriate for learning.

This is perhaps the last significant reference to formal education in the Little Princesses, as the politics and ritual of royal life takes over.

Little is publicly known about the other tutors who intermittently shaped Elizabeth’s young mind, but there are records of tutorials taking place.

In a 1943 article for The Atlantic, Wilson Harris addresses the educational credentials of Britain’s new female heir, while comparing her to a former Queen in training – Victoria.

He writes: “Princess Victoria was a skilful horsewoman, a good musician, and a singularly keen dancer. But there is no reason to suppose that she was a swimmer, and much reason to suppose that she was not.”

It’s clear from Harris’ article that Princess Elizabeth was not only being educated as an aristocratic woman but also as a modern leader in training.

Canon Crawley’s bible studies lessons are more of a mystery – on enquiring about records he may have kept, St George’s Chapel, Windsor could not find any.

Marten, on the other hand, has been legendary among Etonians for his eccentricities, including keeping a live raven in his study.

In her biography, Elizabeth, The Queen, Sally Bedell Smith writes: “Elizabeth was thirteen and bashful with the tutor, often looking at her governess as she learned her lessons. Marten, an eccentric scholar, was also uncomfortable, probably at the pressure at serving as tutor to the heir to the throne, and sometimes called her ‘gentlemen.”

As Elizabeth became a young woman who hid her feelings for Prince Phillip of Greece from her governess, formal education took a back seat to a new kind – recognising the istration, rituals and faces of power.

One thing is plain – that in her exposure to the talent that serves power, Queen Elizabeth II contained a unique knowledge of human nature – the kind that wouldn’t be handy to satirists or tabloid newspapers.

Featured image credit: Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0)

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Whilst mourning Queen Elizabeth II, who died on September 8, representatives of various faiths and religions reflected on her inclusive legacy.

In an awe-inspiring address given at Lambeth Palace in 2012, the Queen redefined the Church of England when she said: “The concept of our established church is occasionally misunderstood and, I believe, commonly under-appreciated.

“Its role is not to defend Anglicanism to the exclusion of other religions. The Church has a duty to protect the free practice of all faiths in this country.”

At least 8.7% of the UK practise a religion other than Christianity, according to the 2011 census.

Recognising her role as Sovereign leader, the Queen continually proved her commitment to a country which celebrates a diversity of faith with frequent visits to commonwealth countries and their religious leaders. 

Commenting on the Queen’s impact to the Muslim community, Mahmood Rafiq, the head of external relations for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community at the Baitul Futuh mosque, said: “because of her openness and generosity our community was able to seek refuge in the UK from the persecution we face in Pakistan on grounds of faith.

“She was Defender of the Faith and always made clear that her desire for religious freedom was not just for one religion but for people of all faiths and none.”

Commemorating the Queen, the Baitul Futuh Mosque hosted 1,000 attendees at a special remembrance day on Wednesday 14 September.

Here, the Worldwide Head of the Ahmaddiya Muslim Community, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said: “The death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is a truly great loss for the United Kingdom and Commonwealth.

“Ahmadi Muslims will remain forever grateful for the way Her Majesty served her people with immense dignity, grace and unwavering dedication throughout her long reign.” 

In the Queen and Prince Phillip’s visit to Lambeth Palace, during her diamond jubilee celebrations, they embraced different religions by congregating leaders from Christian, Baha’I, Buddhist, Jain, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Zoroastrian communities.

Dr Ramesh Mehta, a representative from Jain Samaj Europe, an organisation which attended the event, said: “She wanted different cultures to amalgamate and learn from each other. I hope that what she has laid down continues to flourish in coming years.”

He also commented on the fond memories that the Jain community had of her visit to Kenya with Prince Phillip and her warm welcoming of their faith.

In his recent statement regarding the death of the Queen, the Archbishop of Canterbury said: “Her Late Majesty found great joy and fulfilment in the service of her people and her God.”

That is, her people across all different faiths and backgrounds. 

Featured Image Credit: CharlesFred via Flickr under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 licence

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Thousands huddled together on the streets of London yesterday night to secure their places behind the metal barriers, and in the chronicles of history.

Visitors to Westminster came from far and wide, from Bermuda to Bangladesh. 

Kristina Grund Robertson, 39, a florist, travelled from Sweden on Saturday to see the Queen lying in state and the crowd in Parliament Square. 

Visitors camped from six o’clock the morning before, swaddled in blankets, Union Jacks floating over the railing before them. Over the shoulders of winter coats peeped the tips of two-person tents, large umbrellas and folding chairs: others on bean bags or bubble wrap, chatting, exchanging stories.

The crowd cheered ing binmen and servicemen. Snack packets crackled and the scent of bacon crisps wafted through the air. 

“Biscuits? Anyone want biscuits?” called one woman. The crowd responded with glee.

A woman camping nearby, returned from the coffee shop with a crate of hot drinks to share with the crowd.

One young mourner caught everyone’s eye — River, just three months old. Her mother Sarah Meeks, 47, a sign language interpreter and ex-Spurs footballer from Reading, Berkshire, was delighted she could tell River she was aa part of history. 

She said: “It’s sort of like a community, we’re all here getting through this together.”

As the night grew colder, strangers discovered common ground. 37-year-old barrister Amin Afridi Chowdhury and mum of four Hazeera Miah, 42, were amazed to find out they both came from the Sylhet district of Bangladesh. 

Chowdhury queued for 20 hours to see the Queen lying in state and was thrilled to be greeted by King Charles and Prince William. 

He said: “I would like to express my gratitude to King Charles III, it was a very nice moment for me.”

MiahHazeera made the trip to Westminster from Hertfordshire on Sunday and said: “I came for two hours but ended up staying the whole night.” 

It was the first night she had spent away from her youngest son, and she explained she had come to repay the Queen’s kindness to Bangladesh, a country the Sovereign visited in 1983.

. Attending the lying in state allowed each and every person in the queue to mourn the Queen but also to be a part of something bigger than themselves.

Cascade Edwards, 29, a systems analyst from Vauxhall, southeast London, ed the Queen and the powerful effects of her reign. She said: “It felt like the Queen was immortal. She touched people’s lives in a very emotional way.”

As night turned to day, police ordered tents to be dismantled and the atmosphere turned from chatter to expectation.

Even on her final journey, the Queen remained a unifying force, forging connections between strangers brought together in mourning.

Featured image: Reuters

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Christian Furr, the youngest artist to have painted the Queen’s portrait, reveals that underneath all the formality, the Queen was full of liveliness, ‘delicious’ humour, and quick wit. 

Christian, 55, was commissioned to paint Queen Elizabeth II’s portrait in 1995 when he was 28.

He was living with his girlfriend, now wife, Emma in a shop above a restaurant in Surbiton.

Robert Newell, the Director General of the Royal Over Seas League called him and asked: “Are you sitting down?” before telling them that the Queen wanted him to paint her portrait.

In a surreal daze, Christian was then driving to Buckingham Palace in his red VW, where the guards laughed at him at the gate, and he was left to find the yellow drawing room. 

The Queen had seen his portrait of Maneck Dalal, the former chairman of the Royal Over Seas League, and Christian speculated that perhaps it was something about the tranquillity of the image that enticed her, as it portrayed a balance of formality and tradition with personality. 

This balance was the focus of Christian’s approach to the Queen’s portrait. After meeting her, Christian realised that: “She craved ordinariness. I don’t think she liked fuss, but even though she craved ordinary things, she was majestic.”

Rather than positioning the Queen further away, which all the previous portraits of her had been done, Christian said: “I decided to go closer to try to capture the personality I couldn’t see in the other paintings.” 

In his first meeting with the Queen, the Queen asked if she could keep her shawl over the chair.

After that, Christian made sure it was included in the image as it exposed something about the Queen’s personality that others had not noticed.

He explained: “When I do portraits I’m always trying to reveal something about somebody: an aspect of their personality that might not have been picked up on.

“Behind all the formality and tradition, you can focus on the person. I think that is what having your portrait should be like, to have time out, and time to focus on the moment and not rush past life.”

He was also given carte blanche with what the Queen should wear for the portrait. After meeting with the Queen’s dresser to go through options, he decided that the outfit should be based on the star and the Order of the Garter: the colours red, white and blue.

He felt this represented the country: “I had to capture the Queen’s life in one image. I thought it was obvious to put the Queen in an outfit that people would recognise.” 

The painting took a few months of hard work and he is proud of the outcome: “I painted it at the time of Britpop in 1995.

“It was a really exciting time, and the image, while being formal and traditional, has an ebullience about it that reflects the time.”

After spending time with the Queen in sittings, Christian describes the Queen as ‘the icon of female confidence’, full of liveliness, a ‘delicious’ sense of humour, and quick-wittedness.

In their first sitting, she asked him what his favourite artists were, and he replied saying he liked Joshua Reynolds’ work and her response was: “We have some of those downstairs”.

He described another laughable moment when he asked the Queen where he could get the films developed on his camera for the portrait, and she said without blinking: “Oh, there’s a chemist just over the road, that’s where we go.”  

He also recalled another fond memory: “The Queen was being quite lively and bobbing around to the music playing outside when they were changing the guard, clearly enjoying the music and appreciating it, and I was trying to focus on an aspect of her face, so I asked her: ‘Do you mind keeping your head still?’ and then I got what I can best describe as a Paddington Bear stare back, and then I realised who it was that I was painting, and I shrank behind my easel for a moment.”

Christian had always wanted to be an artist, from reading Beano comics as a child to trying out his grandmother’s oil paints where he was enticed by the smell of the turpentine and the elaborate paint names.

At 18, he did a foundation course at Wirral Metropolitan College, and then did Fine Art at De Montfort University.

He went to London in the 90s and got an old studio in Whitechapel.

During his art training, Christian was juggling jobs to make ends meet, working shifts cleaning hospitals, serving sandwiches at BHS and painting tiles in a tile factory, where he would sometimes add his own extra details to the set designs like a shark fin in water to keep things interesting. 

After hearing the news of her ing, Christian said: “I did feel very upset. I’m very thankful that she chose me to paint her portrait.

“It certainly altered the course of my life. A lot of people across the world feel the loss, because she’s been a constant, almost like a star or something you take for granted that is always there.

“Whether or not you’re paying attention to it being there, when it’s gone you feel the loss. This made it quite a jolt for everybody.”

One of his most cherished moments with her was when he made her laugh and the unreleased image he captured in that special moment is being exhibited in a tribute to the Queen at Quantus Gallery on September 28.

Feature image: courtesy of Christian Furr/Bridgeman Images 2022 (copyright)

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Following the sad news of the Queen’s ing on September 8, the UK has made it clear how important the Queen was to everyone.

Even in death, she has brought people together from all over the country, and all over the world. 

Her importance to the UAE has been highlighted following UAE Ambassador Mansoor Abulhoul’s statement in National News, where he said that the Queen was ‘the very best of British identity and character’, meaning that he and many others ‘felt a deep sense of affection towards her’.

He describes her as a friend that he will always be grateful for. 

The Queen’s ‘warm and wise character’, in Mansoor Abulhoul words, meant that even 4,360 miles away from Buckingham Palace in The British School Al Khubairat, she made a timeless impact. 

The British School Al Khubairat, which has been around for longer than the UAE, has explained how the Queen is written into the school’s history.

It is a community school that opened in 1968, under the patronage of the British Ambassador.

The Queen visited the school in 1979 and 2000 people came to the school grounds.

Since her visit, the school has stayed in touch with the Queen – for landmark occasions like the Platinum Jubilee and her 90th birthday, the school wrote letters to the Queen and her responses are mounted around the school.

The school’s Jubilee Building and Queen Elizabeth II building are both acknowledgements to her. 

Heaster Mark Leppard was honoured to be acknowledged in the Queen’s birthday honours list and awarded an MBE, and he describes how he has always felt a connection to The Queen.

He said: “We feel we have a close link to her, as she has always had a presence in the school. Throughout my life she’s been the monarch, she’s always been that staple figure.

“I think she’s been a selfless public servant. It’s going to be strange without her.”

Other of the royal family have also visited the school on numerous occasions including Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, Princess Eugenie, Princess Beatrice and Princess Anne. 

To pay respect for the Queen’s funeral, BSAK is closing early at 12:30pm GST and having a service beforehand.

There will be a two minute silence and then the Head Boy and Head Girl are reading ages about The Queen’s visits and her impact on the school.

The school’s choir and a soloist also performed at a memorial service in St. Andrews Church, the chapel next to the school, on Saturday. 

As the school received a visit from now King Charles III in 2007, the deep connection between The British School Al Khubairat and the Royal Family will live on. 

Feature image: courtesy of The British School Al Khubairat

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The Queen was a constant in our lives for the last 70 years and many musical epochs came and went under her reign. 

She certainly possessed an eclectic taste, choosing to conclude her wonderful speech during the pandemic with ‘’We’ll Meet Again’, a touching throwback to one of her favourite artists Dame Vera Lynn. 

According to the BBC 2 radio documentary Our Queen: 90 Musical Years, the Queen shared a fondness with King Charles III for Fred Astaire and his beautifully written lyrics. 

On the other hand, the new monarch prefers a rather contemplative and mellow tune as opposed to his mother’s upbeat groove. 

His love for Leonard Cohen’s soothing voice and grandiose instrumental compositions paint a beautiful image of a King who knows what is expected of him and is ready to fulfill his duty with grace and composure.  

In a national Thank You Day broadcast for the NHS in 2021, The King revealed that ‘Givin’ Up Givin’ In’ by The Three Degrees had a special place in his heart. 

He said: ‘’It is one of my favourites and, long ago, used to provide me with an irresistible urge to get up and dance!’’ 

The Three Degrees also delivered a spectacular live performance for his 30th birthday. 

In similar fashion, The Queen loved the anthems of Sir Cliff Richard and especially requested his performance at her Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

From upbeat swing to slow dances, the royal family’s top picks are as iconic as them and they are quite the soundtrack during this time of mourning and celebration.

Featured image by Creative Commons, Attribution 2.0 Generic( CC BY 2.0)

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On Monday 19 September, Britain said a formal goodbye to its longest reigning monarch and in this special e-edition, Londoners reporters bring you 16 pages of coverage of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.

It was a day where on the grandest of stages, the nation summoned all the pomp and circumstance that it could muster.

The state funeral itself was simple yet profoundly emotional but the 25-mile journey from Westminster Abbey to Windsor Castle saw crowds cheering and refusing to give in solely to tears.

You can read about the public’s reaction, the music involved and the ceremonial trappings adorning the coffin.

You can see the best of the day’s iconic images, images which will appear in history books for generations to come.

For all of this and more, click the image below:

Featured image credit: Reuters

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After making her final journey from London this afternoon, Queen Elizabeth II was laid to rest at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle. 

The Queen was first lowered into the Royal Vault just after 4pm in a committal service attended by about 800 guests, mainly current and former staff from the Queen’s household. 

She was interred in the King George VI Memorial Chapel, her final resting place, in a private family service later in the evening. 

The Royal Vault was built between 1804 and 1810 on commission by King George III, who was the first British monarch to be interred there after his death in 1820. 

The vault is a stone-lined chamber with enough space to hold 44 bodies which lies around 16 feet below the altar of St George’s Chapel.

During royal funerals, the coffin is lowered into the vault through a hole in the chapel’s floor. 

The vault has become the final burial place for 24 royals, including kings George IV and William IV.

For other royals, however, the vault serves as a temporary resting place.

The Queen’s husband, Prince Philip, was originally interred in the Royal Vault following his death in April 2021, where he remained until his wife’s death. 

The Duke of Edinburgh was ed in the vault by his late wife’s coffin for a brief period after the committal service on Monday, before both coffins were transferred to the King George VI Memorial Chapel. 

The King George VI Memorial Chapel is one of several separate burial places within St George’s Chapel, and was commissioned by Queen Elizabeth II in 1962 to hold of her immediate family. 

The Queen now rests alongside her father, King George VI, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and the ashes of her sister Princess Margaret.

Featured image: Aurelien Guichard @WikimediaCommons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

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On the grandest stage, with all the pomp and circumstance it is possible to muster, a nation said goodbye to its leading lady.

For more than seven decades, in a starring role she wasn’t born to do, Queen Elizabeth II defined an age and redefined the monarchy.

There is no sufficient superlative for the sheer scale of this final act in such a long-running drama, painted in vivid colours across postcard landmarks from London to Windsor.

There will be time for a discussion about whether traditions entrap your future or connect you to your past but surely that debate can wait.

She reigned at the hinge of history, where scientific and technological discoveries changed the world beyond recognition.

But sometimes it’s possible to find solace in the past and this greatest of state occasions, soaring and humbling in equal measure, was the finest tribute.

Hundreds of thousands lined the 21-mile route from the capital to her adored Windsor, where she was laid to rest with her beloved husband, father and mother at St George’s Chapel.

And billions more formed an invisible community as television linked living room to living room in a commonwealth of grief and gratitude.

There really shouldn’t be a sense of shock at the death of a 96-year-old woman but the mournful majesty of this day, so beautifully poetic and symbolic, means the nation might need a little space to regain its equilibrium.

It was a day instantly and indelibly imprinted on the national consciousness. From the massed bands to the lone piper, the relentless tolling of Big Ben to the precision metronomic marching through stilled streets, 75 steps per minute, no more, no less.

The Queen, shy despite living in the brightest glare, was said to hate the hush that invariably descended as she entered a room.

However, the pageantry and solemnity of this final engagement in a lifetime of service meant it could not be avoided.

Despite the broad canvas this story was painted on, with its all-star audience of global royalty and world leaders, this was also a very public family funeral.

The wreath on the Queen’s coffin contained foliage of rosemary and myrtle, cut from a plant grown from her wedding banquet in 1947.

The hymn ‘The Lord’s My Shepherd’ was sung at her wedding while ‘Love Divine, All Loves Excelling’ has long been a royal favourite.

Marriages, births, coronations and deaths, the gilded tapestry of royal life unfolds at Westminster Abbey and this service reflected the Queen’s devotion to the faith she loved.

She spent more than 90 years sitting through endless tree plantings, pop concerts, ribbon cuttings and nearly 40 editions of the Royal Variety Performance.

She had insisted she wanted her funeral not to be ‘long and boring’ and a sharp hour ended with a bugle blast of the Last Post.

Hers was a life lived in words and pictures – no woman was more written about or photographed – but this was a tale of numbers too, with 4.1 billion watching from all corners of her realms and beyond.

Police estimated more than a million people were in the capital as the State Hearse started its journey from Wellington Arch to Windsor, while more than half a million queued for 12 hours or more, walking more than three million miles in total, to pay their respects at Westminster Hall.

Hundreds of thousands have left floral tributes in recent days and on Windsor’s Long Walk – those blooms framed the final yards of the Queen’s final journey, a herbaceous border that stretched as far as you could see.

Against the soundtrack of horse’s hooves, muffled drums, mournful bells, polished boots on hard tarmac and angelic choral voices, there were no half measures to this spectacular rite of nation, bathed throughout in breezeless autumnal sunshine.

The watching world may need to reconsider all they previously thought about British understatement.

There are almost too many enduring images to single out, memories that will from generation to generation and into the history books.

However, you can guarantee that nothing will have moved this nation of dog lovers quite like the sight of the Queen’s two favourite corgis, watching their master slowly in the quadrangle of Windsor Castle.

And that, that is certainly what she would have wanted.

Featured image credit: Reuters/John Sibley

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