Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II crosses another significant milestone in her life that has been marked by highs and lows…On Thursday she is set “to become Britain’s oldest monarch, overtaking her great-great grandmother Queen Victoria amid signs the royal family is preparing for life after 81-year-old ‘Lillibet’, reports AFP (the photograph above is also courtesy AFP).
It is reported that the monarch, who was born on 21 April 1926, will spend the day on her normal duties and has no public engagements or audiences.
“She is the world’s second-longest living monarch, after Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej; has outlasted 11 prime ministers — the first was Sir Winston Churchill — and is the first to have a premier, Tony Blair, born in her reign.”
“The queen is head of the Commonwealth, made up of 53 mostly former British colonies, but the right of her successor to take over from her is not automatic — instead, the organisation’s leaders must decide.
“Despite her age, the queen shows little sign of slowing down — last month, she and Prince Philip visited Uganda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting and she carried out 425 official engagements last year….”
During her reign, the Queen’s achievements have already included being the first British monarch to send an e-mail, to have a message put on the moon and to hold a public concert in her back garden, reports the BBC.
In November this year the Queen and Prince Philip (the Duke of Edinburgh) celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. When and where did the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh first meet? What was the (then) Princess Elizabeth’s wedding ring made from? Where did Prince Philip have his stag night? How many grandchildren do the Royal Couple have? Find out the answers by clicking here…
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.