Madam, – In order to demonstrate our appreciation for the royal visit, I suggest we should all organise neighbourhood street parties.
For starters, we could have Queen Scallops together with King Prawns. For mains, Coronation Chicken. The pudding course could consist of Queen of Puddings and some Prince William Apples. It might be advisable to have some Andrews Salts for those who overindulge. – Yours, etc,
A chara, – It is clear that Newton Emerson’s article “Armoury of facts a perfect defence against anti-queen whingers” (Opinion, March 9th) was an attempt at humour, and while I won’t comment on that count, it being a matter of personal taste, it fell woefully short on the promised facts.
Mr Emerson supposes that “Republican whingers” claim there are 5,000 British troops in Ireland: according to the MOD figures there are 3,200 currently deployed in Ireland. While this is not as much as the unsourced figure of 5,000, it is certainly more that the amount Emerson claims. At any rate, the figure is irrelevant to the argument, as the fact remains that the British army maintains a garrison of several thousand in Ireland.
While I have not personally heard claims that the queen is commander in chief of the Parachute Regiment, the queen is the commander in chief of the British armed forces, as Mr Emerson avers, of which the Parachute Regiment is a part. Furthermore, the number of extrajudicial murders carried out by the armed forces are obviously more than one of its part. As to the role of the Pope and responsibility for the Swiss Guard ( Reductio ad absurdum), one might as well ask is the Pope responsible for the child abuse carried out by priests under his chain of command. (Yes, in case you are wondering.)
It is worthwhile to quote the oath of allegiance taken by British army officers: “I . . . swear by Almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will, as in duty bound, honestly and faithfully defend Her Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors, in Person, Crown and Dignity against all enemies, and will observe and obey all orders of Her Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors, and of the generals and officers set over me.” No mention of parliament, the MOD, or any elected bodies: just the queen and superior officers who took the same oath to her. – Is mise,
Madam, – Further to some of your readers’ comments, I would like to add more reasons as to why Queen Elizabeth II should be as welcome here as the flowers of May.
First, the queen is the head of state of one of the 27 member states of the European Union and therefore we should welcome her to Ireland as such to promote “a closer union among the peoples of Europe”. Second, St Patrick is credited with bringing Christianity to this island more than 1,500 years ago. We should have matured by now as Christians, and in true ecumenical spirit welcome the queen here also as head of the Anglican Church of England.
We must let go of tragedies in our history and look to the future with hope. So let’s welcome the queen. – Yours, etc,