Be among royals
There are many, many reasons to visit England and I intend to take the next three editions of this column before Wimbledon to prove it to you.
England, as part of the United Kingdom, is a monarchy. The Queen Elizabeth II, in the uncodified constitution of the United Kingdom, is the Head of State; she ascended the throne after her father died on Feb. 6, 1952 and is a spry 89 years of age.
Not that I mean to read exclusively from the Monarchy of the United Kingdom Wikipedia page, but indulge me yet another minute. The Monarch, or the Queen in this case, “takes little direct part in Government”, says the page, and that’s exactly it. By and large, the Queen’s function is one of prestige and a nod to tradition and history—the Queen basically exists to represent the United Kingdom people abroad. She’s a sort of talisman or amulet, but without lucky powers.
In other words, the Queen at least partly exists to be looked at, so why not visit England to see her?
You won’t see her though, of course. If anyone is familiar with the movie The Queen, then you know that the monarchy was plagued not too long ago by the general public’s impression, the very people the monarchy is supposed to represent, that the Queen was a little too precious and only ever so rarely dared come out of her Buckingham Palace to be among her people.
If you visit England, you probably won’t see her but hey, it happens and maybe you’ll be lucky like the few people in the video above.
Time for yet another video, this one to show you that the changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace is also quite the spectacle. It is quite the spectacle, but I have been personally told that it is not the spectacle that you just decide to attend on a whim. You need to plan for it, because you want to have a good view and not be stranded at the back of the pack where you don’t see much/enough.
You need to plan for the changing of the Guard, which is something that the Internet knows and helps you with. If you know the dates for Wimbledon this year, then planning your journey to England is rather simple.
And if neither watching a group of middle-aged people dressed in red and with a black hat make a big fuss over what is really not that big of a deal, nor gawking over an 89-year-old woman is your cup of tea (England & cup of tea, well played), then maybe you’ll fall in love with the new Royal Baby Charlotte just like Andy Murray.
Who can resist a newborn baby? Don’t rely on people who can resist a newborn baby.
Tennis & Travels is a new column that applauds the readers who do decide to combine business with pleasure. Because life is short, and you should travel and play tennis—maybe even do both at once.
Follow Charles Blouin-Gascon on Twitter @RealCBG
