Have You Been Where the Queen’s Been? : Celebrating Diamond Jubilee

The Queen of England could be nominated as one of the most well traveled person in the world. BBC News UK asked this question recently: Have you been where the Queen's been? She has been to 116 countries not including the United Kingdom. From A to Z literally, from Australia, Fiji, Panama, United Arab Emirates to Zimbabwe and on.

Here is a video to show:

I do admire the Queen for all her accomplishments as a woman. When the Queen was celebrating her 40^th year on the throne, I was walking on 5^th Avenue, New York City going to work, thinking of London. 20 years has come and gone and the Queen is still sitting on the throne, now celebrating her Diamond Jubilee.

Here is a special prayer issued by St. Paul's Cathedral to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee on Tuesday, June 5^th 2012:

God of time and eternity,

Whose son reigns as servant, not master;

We give you thanks and praise

That you have blessed this Nation, the Realms and Territories

With ELIZABETH,

Our beloved and glorious Queen.

In this year of Jubilee,

Grant her your gifts of love and joy and peace

As she continues in faithful obedience to you, her Lord and God

And in devoted service to her lands and peoples,

And those of all Commonwealth,

Now and all the days of her life,

Through Jesus Christ our Lord

Amen.

Reading this prayer prompted me to write this post. 

You see, my ancestors were the few who embraced Christianity, abandoning their ancestral worship because of an encounter with a British missionary. They dared to be different.

Once when food was scarce in the village, we saw food ‘falling from the sky’ and heard the sound of helicopters. The British army was dropping cans of meat, fish, cheese to the village folks who had never seen such good quality foods. It was the much-needed ‘rain from heaven’.

Through colonization, many countries in the Third World were set free from bondage and given windows of opportunity to the “outside world”. With tools to learn English, many who persevered found freedom through learning and books that they read. I am one of them.

English is one language that has brought the world progressively together over the last 200 years. In fact, it could be the second most spoken language in the world after Mandarin (depending where you get your source of information. Some quote Spanish).

At a young age, the Queen had already carried an influence. Here is an audio of Queen Elizabeth’s speech to the children of the world during World War II: 

 

Long Live the Queen.

I have a challenge, that is to travel to all the 116 countries that the Queen has been with a purpose. How about you? What are your thoughts? Please leave your comment below.

Photo, videos and logo from The Official Website of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.