by The Laird o’Thistle
February 20 2010
As I watched the impressive opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Olympics on 12 February the camera focused briefly on various of the attending royals. Princess Anne’s face flashed on the screen, and it suddenly struck me that she is not only a former Olympian herself, but she is also the great-granddaughter of the first royal host of the modern Olympics. The revival of the Olympics in 1896 occurred in Athens, with King George I of Greece and his family attended the opening ceremonies. Those games were officially opened by the king after a speech by the head of the organizing committee, Crown Prince Constantine. George I was Prince Philip’s grandfather, and presumably, Philip’s father, Prince Andrew, was also in attendance.
George I of Greece had started life as a Danish prince (a son of King Christian IX, a brother to Queen Alexandra, etc.), and hence he was an ancestral uncle to other royals in attendance at Vancouver such as Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark and Crown Prince Haakon of Norway. Haakon’s grandfather, King Olav V, and father, Harald V, were also participating Olympians, competing in sailing. Haakon himself participated in the opening ceremonies of the winter games at Lillehammer in 1994, having had the honor of lighting the Olympic flame.
London has twice hosted the Olympics, in 1908 when the games were opened by King Edward VII, and in 1948 when the games were opened by the Queen’s father, King George VI. The current length of the Olympic marathon is actually the result of the finish line having been moved a few yards in 1908 so that it would be directly in front of the royal box. 1908 was also the year in which the American team established the custom of NOT dipping their flag in respect to the host Head of State during the entry parade. The comment attributed (in later years) to the leader of the American delegation was that the U.S. flag dips to no living earthly ruler.
The Olympics have been held at various times in both Canada and Australia during the current reign, but with one exception they have been opened by the then current Governor-General in those countries. The Rt. Hon. Michelle Jean performed the duty on 12 February. Her Majesty personally opened the summer games in Montreal in 1976, acting in her capacity as Queen of Canada. 1976 was the year in which Princess Anne participated in the Olympics as a member of the British equestrian team. It will be interesting to see if her daughter, Zara, makes the 2012 team.
In 2012 the London Olympics will, God willing, be opened by Queen Elizabeth II in the midst of her Diamond Jubilee year. I do hope that they are planning to give her a really grand entry in one of the royal carriages, with a proper Household Cavalry escort. The world will not begrudge her the honor.
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This last Friday was the 50th birthday of Prince Andrew, with Princess Anne’s 60th birthday coming up later in the year. It is unfortunate that the latest set of questions concerning the sale of Andrew’s former home at Sunninghill Park emerged this week. The questions are entirely appropriate, just rather bad timing for the Duke of York.
It almost seems that there is some sort of royal jinx on Sunninghill Park. The old mansion on the site was being prepared to be the country home of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip when it burned down a couple of months prior to their wedding in 1947. The current house was built for the Duke and Duchess of York at the time of their marriage, and they continued to live in separate parts of the house after their divorce. The current owner, a Kazakh tycoon, has allowed it (and several high-end London properties) to fall into virtual dereliction.
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When the Pope visits Britain later this year the Queen will interrupt her Balmoral break to receive him at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh. This means, of course, that the Queen will technically be receiving him as a Presbyterian, a member of the Church of Scotland (which she officially is while in Scotland), rather than as the head of the Church of England.
When John Paul II visited Edinburgh in 1982 he was greeted by the Moderator of the Kirk of Scotland just outside of the hall where the General Assembly meets each year. What many photos do not show is the statue of the Scots Reformer, John Knox, looking down in apparent prophetic horror on the scene. Knox was a rather scary fellow. Although a Christian, the impression given across the span of years is not unlike that of the late Ayatollah Khomeini and clerics of his ilk in contemporary Iran. Somewhat ironically, his first wife was a Bowes, an ancestral aunt of the late Queen Mother.
Holyrood Palace is most closely associated with Mary Queen of Scots, the ill-fated 16th-century Catholic monarch against whom John Knox breathed numerous fiery tirades, though only the tower which housed her private apartments survives from her time. The rest of the palace had to be rebuilt after the Restoration of the Stuarts in 1660. Bonnie Prince Charlie also occupied the palace, briefly, in 1745. His bones – as I noted last month — now rest in the Vatican.
Yours aye,
Ken Cuthbertson