The Queen's Golden Jubilee in London, June 2002
Waiting with new friends along the parade route
Crowds along the parade route
One of the many processions along the parade route
A giant butterfly parading as part of the festivities
The Queen (in bright orange/red) and Prince Philip passing in their custom-built, open-top SUV
A London Metropolitan police officer guarding the parade route
Prince Andrew and Princess Eugenie
Princess Beatrice admiring my bejeweled American flag pin.
Preparing the Jubilee beacon in front of the Victoria Memorial
The Jubilee beacon alight
For a long weekend in June 2002, Britain celebrated the 50th anniversary of the reign of Queen Elizabeth
II.
To my knowledge, this was only the third Golden Jubilee in the long history of the British monarchy -
the other two being that of George III (well-known, of course, to all Americans) and Queen Victoria.
Early in the weekend, I met two lovely Brits who, although unrelated, were sharing the experience of camping out
overnight along the barricade where the Golden Jubilee procession would pass. These wonderful people sort of adopted me
and let me join them, and thanks to that friendship, for two days, I was able to enjoy both the comforts of my warm hotel room at night,
as well as a reserved space along the parade route during the day.
The Mets were very friendly, even taking pictures of those of us watching the proceedings.
An interesting fact: only 3 people were arrested during the entire Jubilee weekend,
although attendance was estimated at around a million people.
A big portion of my experience took place during the second day of the celebrations when I,
strategically placed along the barricade on The Mall, shook hands with half of the Royal Family, who were on walkabout.
Although I met royalty that weekend, the most interesting people I met throughout the whole experience were the everyday people
enjoying the celebrations, especially Jim and Therese, pictured here in a photo taken for me by one of the Mets
