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Tea With The Queen
Queen Elizabeth II 21st April 1926 – 8th September 2022
On 8th September 2022 the Palace announced the news, that we had all known must one day come but that none of us could quite countenance would actually happen.
"The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon."
On her 21st birthday, the then Princess Elizabeth, made a promise ‘I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.’ and for the 70 long years of her reign, she held fast to that promise, serving our nation faithfully.
On the 20th November 1947, at Westminster Abbey, she married Prince Phillip, who she described as her ‘strength and stay’, their marriage lasting 73 years until his death aged 99 in 2021.
On 6 February 1952, she received the news of her father's death and her own accession to the throne while on an official visit to Kenya. In an instant, she ceased to be Princess Elizabeth and became Queen Elizabeth II. The Coronation took place in Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953, conducted by Dr Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury.
The Queen was known not only for her public dutiful service to her country and the Commonwealth but also privately for her wicked sense of humour, which we got occasional glimpses of. Such as when she was escorted by James Bond to the 2012 London Olympics, culminating in Her Majesty ‘jumping out of a helicopter’ or her tea with Padding Bear sketch for her Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
On Monday 19th September we said our final goodbyes to our Queen at her state funeral at Westminster Abbey, an occasion attended by heads of states and Royalty from across the globe, the like of which will probably never be seen again.
The Queen is said to have been a huge fan of afternoon tea and her favourite tea is rumoured to have been Earl Grey with a splash of milk. Today I would like to pay my own small tribute to our beloved Monarch by sharing with you my own personal collection of Royal commemorative teacups, collected over many years and displayed proudly in my home.
1) Paragon teacup produced to mark the visit of the then Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip to Canada in 1951.
2) Paragon teacups in blue, pink, yellow and green produced to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. The blue colour is fairly common but the other colours are much rarer.
3) Paragon teacup in white to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
4) Paragon teacup to mark the 1st anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
5) Paragon teacup to mark the 2nd anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
6) Paragon teacup to mark the 3rd anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
7) Paragon teacup to mark the 4th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
8) Paragon teacup to mark the 6th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
9) Paragon teacup to mark the 7th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
10) Reunited with her sister. A pair of Aynsley teacups, the yellow teacup to mark the visit to Canada in 1958 of Princess Margaret and the pink to mark the visit a year later in 1959 of Queen Elizabeth.
11) Aynsley teacup to mark the opening of the St Lawrence Seaway, Canada by Queen Elizabeth II in 1959.
12) Pair of Paragon teacups in pink and blue to mark the visit by Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip to Canada in 1959.
And now I will bid a heartfelt goodbye to our longest reigning Monarch and in the fine words of Padding Bear, say ‘Thank you Ma’am, for everything’.
