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| Britain |
| Queen Elizabeth PO'd for being left out of D-Day commemorations next week. |
| 2009-05-28 |
| Needless to say, she is ripped over this. Someone screwed up big time. Left Out of D-Day Events, Queen Elizabeth Is Fuming LONDON — Queen Elizabeth is not amused. Indeed, she is decidedly displeased, angry even, that she was not invited to join President Obama and France’s president, Nicolas Sarkozy, next week at commemorations of the 65th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, according to reports published in Britain’s mass-circulation tabloid newspapers on Wednesday. Pointedly, Buckingham Palace did not deny the reports. The queen, who is 83, is the only living head of state who served in uniform during World War II. As Elizabeth Windsor, service number 230873, she volunteered as a subaltern in the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service, training as a driver and a mechanic. Eventually, she drove military trucks in support roles in England. While serving, she met the supreme Allied commander for the D-Day landings, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, and developed a fondness for him, according to several biographies. This prompted Queen Elizabeth, who was crowned in June 1953, to say in later years that he was the American president with whom she felt most at ease. But on June 6, when Mr. Obama and Mr. Sarkozy attend commemorations at the iconic locations associated with the American D-Day assault — Utah Beach, the town of Ste.-Mère-Église, where the first United States paratroopers landed, and the American war cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer — the highest-ranking British representative will be Prime Minister Gordon Brown. His main role will be at ceremonies at the town of Arromanches, near the beaches where British troops landed. How the queen came to be excluded has become entangled in a thicket of diplomatic missteps, or misunderstandings, depending on whether the account is given in London or Paris. The French have said officially that they regard the commemorations in the American sector of the landings as “primarily a Franco-American ceremony,” and that it was up to the British to decide who should represent Britain — in other words, that Mr. Brown was at fault for not seeking an invitation for the queen. The French have also said the Brown government was slow to accept that the ceremonies merited more than a modest British involvement, since British policy had been to give full-scale government backing only to commemorations at decade-long intervals. The last of those was the 60th anniversary in 2004, when the queen joined President George W. Bush in the Normandy observances. British veterans’ groups demanded more backing for this year’s ceremonies on the grounds that only a handful of soldiers who fought in Normandy were likely to be alive at the 70th anniversary in 2014. In Britain, commentators have suggested that Mr. Sarkozy did not want to share the telegenic moment when he hosts Mr. Obama. This was all the more so, the British commentators have said, because the queen’s presence might risk turning the occasion into a celebration of the Anglo-American alliance, whose troops carried out the landings, losing about 37,000 men in the battle for Normandy. When accounts of the dispute made the headlines of the British tabloids on Wednesday, the diplomatic gloves came off, at least a bit. “Palace fury at D-Day snub to the queen,” roared The Daily Mail, the first time in days that its front-page splash has been on something besides the furor over parliamentarians’ expenses. A Buckingham Palace spokesman declined to comment beyond a terse statement that “no invitation has been issued as yet to any member of the royal family.” The tabloids quoted anonymous palace officials as saying the Brown government dropped the ball, possibly because of reported strains between Mr. Brown and the queen. Among other issues, the queen is said to have cooled on Mr. Brown because of his habit of appearing late for their weekly audiences. The Daily Mail quoted one “senior palace official” as saying that the palace had made clear to the government that the queen would have liked to have gone to Normandy. “We have gone through all the normal channels and had conversation after conversation, but received no feedback,” the official said. “It is very frustrating.” |
| Posted by:Delphi |
| #14 I miss the Queen Mum. She was a class act. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul in Coffman Cove, AK 2009-05-28 23:45 |
| #13 Bright Pebbles: I found a report in Le Monde. It mainly repeated the facts as noted in this article, although at the end there is a section from the Times' correspondent to Paris who says that Sarkozy is so obsessed with himself and his image to the world (hob-nobbing with Obama) that he is making enemies and needs to realize that D-Day is as sacred to the Brits and Canadians as it is to the Americans, if not more so. I am not sure whether to be surprised at the fact that Le Monde actually included that part, or to be be unsurprised that they had it at the very end... http://www.lemonde.fr/europe/article/2009/05/28/debarquement-la-france-aurait-elle-oublie-d-inviter-la-reine-d-angleterre_1199044_3214.html#ens_id=1199327 |
| Posted by: sjb 2009-05-28 21:26 |
| #12 ya beat me to it Frank :) Didn't bambi include Band of Brothers in that DVD collection he gave Brown? the Queen could just borrow that could she not? sarc/off |
| Posted by: Broadhead6 2009-05-28 21:01 |
| #11 The Oblahblah WH could send a courtesy $15 Itunes card and helpful links to the songlist that will play for her Majesty's download. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-05-28 18:06 |
| #10 |
| Posted by: john frum 2009-05-28 16:39 |
| #9 I wonder how this is playing in France? |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2009-05-28 15:01 |
| #8 The Queen actually put on a uniform and did something to protect her country. I would rather see her than the empty suits. Is O ever going to meet dignataries and not embarrass us? |
| Posted by: whatadeal 2009-05-28 13:55 |
| #7 Will the Canadians be represented? They certainly were 65 years ago. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2009-05-28 13:23 |
| #6 Britain's Queen Elizabeth has been told she is "welcome" at France's D-day celebrations. The royal family was furious when French officials insisted they had had no plans to invite them to the official memorial services to mark the 65th anniversary of allied troops landing at Normandy. But Sarkozy changed his tune yesterday (27.05.09), issuing a statement saying the queen is "naturally welcome in her capacity as head of the British state." However, as it is not an official invitation, Buckingham Palace sources insist protocol prevents them sending an official royal delegation. They also claim France has not given them enough time to plan a royal visit, as D-Day celebrations are due to take place in just nine days time, while the average regal tour takes more than six months to organise. On Tuesday (26.05.09) representatives for President Sarkozy said they had never planned to invite the British royals and were concentrating on the "main event" of US president Barack Obama's attendance. Elysee Palace spokesperson Luc Chatel said: "It is first and foremost a Franco-American ceremony given the recent election of President Obama." British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been officially invited to the event and is expected to attend. So whaddya think, Barry? "Typical white person", or what... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2009-05-28 12:45 |
| #5 Darned good thing that we have Bambi in charge to save us from all the diplomatic bungling of the Bush administration ... |
| Posted by: Steve White 2009-05-28 12:31 |
| #4 She could preempt them with a 'private' visit on the 5th to commemorate the audacious British nighttime airborne assault securing Pegasus Bridge that preceded the landing. Drag along a few of the lads that may be still alive from the operation for a little show of the 'common' while the actors have their show the next day. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-05-28 11:52 |
| #3 She has a point, but at least she does not have to mix with President Obama |
| Posted by: Kelly 2009-05-28 11:11 |
| #2 The Queen should just "turn up" in the audience. She's a veteran and so's her husband. Don't forget the two fingered "salute" to the publicity seekers. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2009-05-28 11:10 |
| #1 "Back to your drug dealing, Liz!" |
| Posted by: mojo 2009-05-28 10:58 |