The Press in London | Royal bites

A few crumbs of our stay in London, on the sidelines of the national mourning that is shaking the United Kingdom…

Jean-Christophe Laurence
The Press

His image is everywhere

Saturday afternoon at the Lavender Green Flower Shop on King’s Road. Two workers finish sticking a large white silhouette of Elizabeth II in the window. Employees and customers seem delighted. The result is very chic.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it? This is our own tribute. The little thing we could do, ”explains India Burrow, store manager, a smile that stretches to her glasses.

This Chelsea neighborhood florist isn’t alone in paying tribute to the Queen. Since the announcement of his death, his face has appeared all over the streets of London, in train stations, underground stations, shop windows and even on the home screen of ATMs. Spontaneous fervor or opportunism? The question is launched. We took some pictures.

Retirement, out of respect…

The Queen’s death affects millions of Britons. But some are affected more than others.

Talk to Mary Reynolds, 89, lookalike of Elizabeth II.

For more than 30 years, this kind old lady from Epping, Essex (north London), made her living impersonating the sovereign.

He was hired for business events, for advertising campaigns, for launches or the opening of businesses. She’s starred in car ads, dog flea ads and even an episode of the English TV series Doctor Who.

But today, all that is over. Mary Reynolds is retiring. For her, there is no question of continuing to play the queen if the queen is no longer in this world.

“When Diana died, the impersonators stopped. Well, I do the same,” she told The Pressin an interview by Zoom.

Ex-bank employee, M^me Reynolds has worked as a lookalike since the late 1980s. “It helped me make ends meet after my husband died. She says she is very lucky to have had this job, which allowed her to travel all over the world.

Her contracts even brought her to Quebec, for a Pan Am convention. “I hadn’t slept at the Château Frontenac! “, she says, laughing.

His only regret: not having met the queen. “I hoped that one day it would happen, but the more his health declined, the more I realized that it would never happen. »

Buckingham Palace never waved to him either. She understands. This support would have been perceived as an injustice by his colleagues. You should know that she is not the only one to personify the queen. “We are two or three,” she said.

One of her competitors is said to have expressed her desire to continue working, which she openly rejects. “I don’t think it’s in good taste. »

What will Mary Reynolds do now? Just enjoying life, which she was thinking of doing anyway. She just moved. For her, it is the beginning of a new era.

“I’m going to take a vacation, unpack my boxes and just be me!” »

Why a “queen consort”?

A few readers wrote to us following our article on Camilla, published last week, with the following question: why did Philip, husband of Elizabeth, bear the title of “Prince Consort”, when we gave the wife of Charles III that of “queen consort”?

The question was posed to Elli Woodacre, an expert on the British monarchy at Winchester University, England. Here is his answer.

It all starts with George of Denmark, husband of Queen Anne (1653-1708). Before him, the husbands of British queens were considered sovereigns in their own right. Philip II of Spain (husband of Mary Tudor) was “king consort”, as was William III of the Netherlands (husband of Mary II).

But with George, things changed. “He was young and shy,” explains Elli Woodacre. He and Queen Anne have agreed that he will be named “prince consort” instead. In addition, the title of “king consort” was the subject of litigation in the British Parliament,” adds Mrs.^me Woodacre.

A century and a half later, Queen Victoria apparently demanded that her husband Albert be made “king consort”. But a precedent had been set with George, and she was never able to overturn that decision. The rule simply continued with Philip, Liz’s husband.

Poor Royal Reviewer!

This young British YouTuber has been hosting a video channel devoted to the monarchy for several years. He comments on all the actions of the royal family and answers questions from his subscribers with touching enthusiasm. Obviously, he eats it and he dreams about it. But guess what? The poor guy is currently on a cruise in the Caribbean when the queen dies! His latest videos show him stuck in his little cabin, hyper emotional and desperate not to be able to be in the country during this historic and crucial period.

“It’s been 17 years since I took a vacation and this is what happened to me. »

Some people are unlucky…