A nice distraction

Lance Neita, Contributor

THE ROYAL wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton will be a spectacular event attracting global attention.

Buckingham Palace appears to have mislaid my invitation, but nevertheless I will have a front pew seat from my armchair theatre. I am no royalist, but confess to an avid interest in the antics of the Royal Family, and am prepared to enjoy the awesome display of British pomp, ceremony and tradition that will dominate the networks on April 29.

Our various leaders have at politically opportune moments sworn off against the constitutional monarchy system of government adopted by Jamaica, which positions the Queen of England as the symbolic head of state.

The controversy arises whenever a new prime minister takes the oath of office. Reference to the Queen has been removed from the oath, but the Constitution embeds the monarch as the titular head of state and the governor general, who personifies the state, represents The Queen. I have strong feelings against a continuation of that state of affairs (is there a sovereignty challenge here?), but I am not going to allow it to affect my enjoyment of the wedding.

We like to quarrel about the relationship with the monarchy, but when The Queen shows up, a jolly good time is had by all. In spite of all the protestations, Jamaicans of all persuasions have been known to fall over one another for a chance to be invited to a King's House reception. And after all, we have grown accustomed to royal visits.

The first one was in 1953. I was invited to one of the functions, if you please, never mind that I shared the invitation list with 20,000 other children who were trucked into Kingston for a school rally in honour of the Queen at Sabina Park. We stood for hours in long lines stretched across the cricket field, waving our tiny red, white and blue Union Jacks (the British flag), and singing Rule Britannia, Linstead Market, and Dis long time gal me never see you.

The Gleaner waxed effusive and eloquent: "Let the people cheer. Let their voices ring out on the plains and from the mountain tops in giving out shouts and acclamation of their adherence to the great British monarchy in whose history has been written our own charter of potential promise."

Yessir. It was 1953, and Mrs Queen was here. It was clear that Jamaica's status as a 'British possession' was to be clearly understood and maintained during this tour, even as the dancing and the merrymaking took centre stage. The upper crust in the society, bastions of the British colonial establishment, would have their coming-out party, while the ordinary people would stand and cheer.

And cheer we did. More than 5,000 turned out to welcome Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip as their BOAC Stratocruiser landed at the Montego Bay airport on November 25. Hundreds of thousands more lined the 120-mile route to Kingston, as the royal motorcade stopped or slowed down at Falmouth, Discovery Bay (where she officially opened the Queen's Highway), St Ann's Bay, Ocho Rios, Moneague, Linstead, Bog Walk and Spanish Town.

The city was lit up with 7,000 decorative lights installed in Cross Roads, Half-Way Tree, Spanish Town Road, and downtown. Bonfires blazed on the hills, and parades, receptions, speeches, concerts, and dinners tested the mettle of the young queen and found her well prepared for her long reign.

The programme went smoothly, but not without moments of humour and incident. Radio Jamaica's Roy Lawrence shocked listeners with his famous glitch when he announced during a live broadcast that Sir Hugh Foot, the governor, had lifted his foot to The Queen. There was that other moment when a Kingston personality, overcome by historic memories of Sir Walter Raleigh laying out his coat for Queen Elizabeth 1 to walk on, tried to do a similar gesture at King's House and was promptly arrested.

Years later, Louise Bennett had us laughing at recollections of the nose veils, long gloves, scissors-tail, bustle frock and fedda hats "jus a show off on royalty".

There will be plenty of fedda hats and long gloves in London to laugh at come April 29. Don't know about you, but I will be there.

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