My guess is that the Queen has little time for nostalgia. Of course she will hope the sun shines on the street parties and the heavens don’t rain on the parades. As a Christian who venerates her coronation vows, she will also cherish the thanksgiving service at St Paul’s Cathedral. But if she were entirely free, she would assuredly prefer to be quietly at home in Windsor or Sandringham with her dogs, her horses and, perhaps, her private reflections on her 70 years on the throne.
In 1952, bosses wore bowlers, and workers tugged forelocks. Women knew their place, divorce was rare, abortion was illegal, and being homosexual was criminal. Boarding houses posted signs saying “No Irish” or “No Blacks” and almost everyone professed to be Christian. The rich took foreign holidays while the rest shivered on British beaches. Pennies were put in phone boxes, schoolboys delivered the daily paper, and there was only one television channel. It was a very different world.
