Brits and their Royal Traditions

Hi all! Welcome back to school. Or, if you're in Zurich, I hope you're having a nice holiday. I've been a little stumped on what to write about recently. Probably because everything here is going quite smoothly at the moment. We are finalising plans for next year's BGI project and are already planning exciting new things for the school.

So, given that the King's Coronation is nearly upon us, I was feeling a little excluded (I won't get a long weekend like my friends in England), so I thought I would tell you our royal traditions.

In 2022, Queen Elizabeth, God rest her soul, celebrated her Platinum Jubilee. This was a celebration to mark her 70 years of reign. There was a 4 day weekend in which there are many special (official and non-official) events planned. The Queen's parade took place on the Thursday evening, members of the Royal Family travelled in carriages accompanied by 1,400 soliders, 200 horses and 400 musicians. There are many televised events throughout the weekend so that the public can join in with the celebrations.

Unofficially, pretty much every town has a street party where all of the neighbours come together and dress a long table with decorations and food. The roads are closed and the table is set in the middle of the street. Sometimes, the tables are long enough to fill a full road! I love this tradition because it's the one thing that brings our country together to unite and celebrate that includes everybody. Well, except football, of course.

The coronation of His Majesty the King will take place on Saturday 6th May. British public will crowd the gates of Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey to show their support. There will be street parties, celebrations and plenty of drinking to celebrate the event.

I, however, will be here in Luzern at a party of my own... perhaps I can persuade my friends to sing the national anthem with me....