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Another Perspective
Saving the Queen
As we saw on Sunday, Britannia rules the waves only along the Thames.
My feelings have seldom been as mixed as when I watched Queen Elizabeth’s great Diamond Jubilee pageant on the Thames — about 1,000 small boats, including a number of Dunkirk veterans, dragon-boats, steam-tugs and as a centerpiece the Queen’s great gold and crimson-embellished barge, Spirit of Chartwell, made a stirring spectacle.
The fact that more than a million people turned out in freezing rain to watch from the riverbank, as well as countless others who attended street parties all over Britain, said something about how much the monarchy is loved.
The Queen, aged 86, and the Duke of Edinburgh, aged 91 (in five days), stood in that same rain in a rocking boat as it proceeded up the Thames for those four hours to wave to the crowd as well. That was inspiring. No wonder a noisy handful of Republicans were shouted down and apparently driven away.
But there was one glaring absence — the Royal Navy. Though several of the members of the Royal Family wore naval uniforms, the only naval vessels to be seen were a couple of relics from World War II, a single small escort and a few small boats, including one from the now hulked former Royal Yacht Britannia. There was also, oddly, a Chinese junk from Hong Kong, which Britain handed back to communist China with a cascade of somewhat nauseating Unfreedom Celebrations in 1999.
Previous great Royal occasions such as coronations and jubilees have been marked by Naval Reviews, with a good part of the fleet drawn up at anchor off Spithead. Although this is only the second Diamond Jubilee ever, there is no naval review because there is virtually no navy.
The Daily Telegraph quoted one Naval Officer to the effect that the Ministry of Defence made it clear that no comment was to be made in public on the subject. “It would have been just too embarrassing,” he said.
Lord West, a former First Sea Lord, the professional head of the Navy, said an attempt to stage a review would result only in national humiliation. “Because the number of ships has reduced so dramatically the event would be too small to make a meaningful and sensible fleet review.”
The Telegraph published a photograph of the Queen’s Coronation Review in 1953, when Britain’s Gross National Product was a quarter of what it is now. The lines of aircraft carriers, cruisers, and destroyers stretched to the horizon — 300 ships and 100 aircraft took part. Others were away at the Korean War and at bases all over the world.
This time there was none, for the navy has, under Prime Ministers Blair, Brown, and Cameron, been cut to a mere 19 frigates and destroyers and two small helicopter carriers. Some of these are supporting operations in Afghanistan and the Falklands have to be watched.
Amid the rejoicing it gave a dreadfully hollow sound to the singing of “Land of Hope and Glory” (“Wider still and wider/shall thy bounds be set/ God who made the mighty/ make thee mightier yet”) and “Britannia Rules the Waves.” One could see something Ruritanian in the glittering, bemedalled uniforms of the admirals with no ships. Because of the weather, there was no fly-past by jet fighters — the Royal Navy no longer has any, in any event.
“A fleet review is an opportunity for the Queen to see her ships and sailors and for the men of the Royal Navy to pay their respects to the monarch,” said Steve Bush, editor of the naval directory British Warships & Auxiliaries (now a very short book indeed). “It is an event of great tradition and spectacle. The Trafalgar review of 2005 saw more than 100 ships mustered but almost half were from overseas navies, the biggest being the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.”
The official line is that the ships that compose the surviving remnant of the navy are in fact much more capable than their predecessors. This is true, but other navies have become more capable too. India, China, and Russia, for example, are expanding and modernizing their navies for all they are worth. China’s new navy includes aircraft carriers and sophisticated long-range missiles. India, not even a maritime nation, last year put on a Presidential Review for which it assembled considerably more ships than are in the whole Royal Navy. The Telegraph article concluded: “Britain, a maritime nation dependent on the sea lanes, has allowed its blue-water navy to melt away. The reckoning awaits.”
Men become Prime Ministers because they seek a place in history. Will Blair, Brown, and Cameron be remembered by history as dastards who betrayed their country?
One can only hope that those crowds who stood for hours in the cold rain are a hint that the spirit that made Britain great is not entirely dead.
About the Author
Hal G.P. Colebatch’s “Immram,” Counterstrike, is being published by Australian publisher Imaginites.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (15) | Leave a comment
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Bill84728| 6.5.12 @ 9:59AM
Europe abandoned its armies and navies when imperialism ended and the United States took over being the Cop of the World role after World War II.
Why would they bemoan the lack of a navy and air force at this time? They've got the United States to do the heavy lifting.
Now they can stand off and criticize U.S. policies and blame us for their current economic problems; and in fact we do bear some of the blame. After all, when the European countries were able to shed their militarism, they could spend the money on building welfare states that anyone could have seen would eventually drive them into bankruptcy.
C. Vernon Crisler | 6.5.12 @ 4:09PM
It was England's control of the seas that did a great deal to halt Hitler in his tracks. England needs to regain that power.
Occam's Tool| 6.5.12 @ 11:09AM
My Dear Hal:
When the British have more than 2.1 children per woman, without any of those children being named after my favorite of the three stooges, then I will believe Britain is back. Until then, dear sir, I am afraid the answer is no. It is America and Israel alone in this one.
Dave Williams| 6.5.12 @ 12:50PM
Don't forget the Aussies, who've been true friends for decades....still, the odds against the good guys are not good.
Occam's Tool| 6.5.12 @ 3:41PM
True, Dave. But not the Kiwis.
Ronsch| 6.5.12 @ 1:07PM
truly sad..The US should have sent the USS Constitution (Old Ironsides)...Oops, that might have been in poor taste.
One would have hoped that the HMS Victory could have been trotted out for the event. After all, it was Lord Nelson's flagship...And Nelson is still a hero to the English people.
Meister| 6.5.12 @ 2:52PM
A flawed argument. The RN is still one of the most capable navies in the world. It actually consists of a great deal more than "a mere 19 destroyers and frigates and two small helicopter carriers". What about the world class SSN and amphibious forces, for example, which are not even mentioned?
Maybe if the UK had used its resources more wisely and concentrated on maintaining critical mass rather than trying to regenerate carrier strike (unecessary for most operations), surface ship numbers would be more healthy. Since the grandstanding Labour puppet Lord West played such a large part in the ill-conceived carrier project, perhaps he would be prepared to comment on this? Thought not.
Furthermore, what other comparable nation has anything better? Almost all other Western navies (including the USN, incidently) are facing significant cuts, and there is little chance of this trend being reversed. Please try to relate to the world of 2012 rather than 1952.
nathan| 6.5.12 @ 3:23PM
The EU has a combine GNP/GDP equal or roughly the same as our own. They collectively have the means if not the will to provide for their own defense. NATO, whatever value it may have served in the past, has clearly outlived its usefulness now. The idea that America should go to war in defense of Poland or the Baltic states or really any European country at this point is borderline insane. It's time to disolve the alliance and bring the troops home and tell the Europeans that they are going to have to be solely responsible for their own defense.
And I'm sorry Meister, "conservatives" can complain endlessly about our defense budget being "cut" but a close look at the numbers doesn't really support the idea that a significant rollback in defense spending is being made especially when you look at what isn't "on the books" for defense and budgeted elsewhere. Since we outspend the next 10/12 countries combined it's hard to get too worried about some cuts in the budget.
But if you want some suggestions, the 1.5 trillion dollar F-35 is a good place to start. And we can als0 get rid of the LCS that started at 250 a copy and went to 625 of copy and won't survive 10 minutes close in especially since the navy sort of "neglected" mine warfare capability while buying all those big budget items. And again do we absolutely need over 700 military bases around the world to be secure, more than a few of them in countries whose human rights records are far worse than Saddam's was?
Meister| 6.5.12 @ 5:36PM
But when Obama gets re-elected the position re. "cuts" will change. They will be real and they will have an impact over time. I do agree though that NATO is past its sell by date. Europe should indeed be responsible for European defence.
Appleby| 6.5.12 @ 3:55PM
I watched the whole Flotilla Review on Sunday night. And I confess to you that not for a single instance did I think "Gee, where are all the Naval Ships?"
When I sing "Land of Hope and Glory", I don't think of the 19th Century. I think of futbol (soccer). Likewise, "Jerusalem" and "Brittania Rules The Waves." That's where they sing those sings nowadays.
Occam's Tool| 6.5.12 @ 4:25PM
Yes, my dear lady, but if you had, they would not be there. In NYC right now, it is Fleet Week. Glorious.
Skippy| 6.5.12 @ 6:29PM
The Queen is a treasure.
Her nation is history.
Brittania rues the day....
marque lunettes de soleil | 6.5.12 @ 9:19PM
Men become Prime Ministers because they seek a place in history. Will Blair, Brown, and Cameron be remembered by history as dastards who betrayed their country?
maillot de bain pas cher | 6.5.12 @ 9:24PM
The Queen, aged 86, and the Duke of Edinburgh, aged 91 (in five days), stood in that same rain in a rocking boat as it proceeded up the Thames for those four hours to wave to the crowd as well. That was inspiring. No wonder a noisy handful of Republicans were shouted down and apparently driven away.
mclife | 6.6.12 @ 4:52AM
Well, This english party was really nice. Pitty it was raining. But don't forget the dutch. If it's about soccer the whole country colours orange. Now just hope they get in the finals of the european championship