To a foreigner, the whole royal thing can at times seem a tad bit… erm… uhm.. outdated. Why would anyone, especially in times of the Arab Spring, egalitarism and equality (at least in front of the law), expect to be born into power over other people? And why would anyone accept a state leader that hasn’t been elected into power by the exact same people they are ruling upon? Personally, I find the concept of a constitutional monarchy as characteristically British as the stoic politeness with which it finds acceptance. You just don’t question the existence of the monarchy, as much as you don’t question cheese rolling, separate hot and cold water taps and Marmite.

During the past years (almost a decade, *gulp*), I have grown into finding the Queen and her family somewhat cute. I can’t quite understand the obsession with the Royal Family, but having said this, I also can’t quite understand why people cheer and scream when they see Kim Kardashian – I guess that both camps share a thing for celebrating celebrities. Coming to think of it, a fly-on-the-wall documentary about the Queen and her man would be awesome, wouldn’t it? Prince Philip is hilariously un-pc and quite dapper, too.

Nevertheless, I am very grateful for the coming long weekend and the childfree break that we are going to enjoy thanks to it. And to be honest, I just love all the British-ised, Union Jack’ed paraphernalia this holiday has created. Aren’t those quintessentially British art prints by Bridget Davies ultra cool?

God save the Queen!