God Save The Queen

Well, today has to be one of the most exciting things I've ever experienced!  Queen Elizabeth, William, and Kate came to Nottingham and I was NOT going to miss that!  I went down to Market Square about 7:45 this morning to wait for her arrival at 10:10.  There was already quite a crowd there (some people got there at 2:30 this morning).  There were barricades around the barricades.  I asked a police officer what the plan was and found a spot to wait.  Of course, after waiting for an hour, it changed and they let people in from a different spot.  I did wind up with only one row in front of me at the barricade, so I was in pretty good shape.  People were streaming in the whole time we waited.  There were reportedly 20,000 people in that little square. There were people at the windows of their offices and I saw a few on top of buildings.  I have never really thought one way or the other about the royal family.  Of course, I was all into Will and Kate getting married (even though I didn't get to watch it because our power was still out after the tornado had come through Alabama), but who doesn't think that they are just a lovely couple?  I have really begun to appreciate being over here at such a historic time for England.  I watched some of the Jubliee celebrations in London and really couldn't wait for the Queen to make her way to Nottingham.  Then I found out William and Kate were coming too.  WOW!  So, as I stood for hours in that pressed together crowd, I started to get so excited at the thought of actually seeing these people in person.  It was sentiment felt among all the people around me.  One of the police officers came over and let people in the crowd try on his "bobby" hat.  It was a welcome few minutes of entertainment during the long wait.  The Lord Mayor also came around and talked to the people in the crowd.  He was not decked out in his full regala, but did have on the chain with his suit.  There was a mom with her 4 children to my left and they brought flowers.  When the clock struck 10:00, you could see the excitement building.  People were waving their flags and craning their necks looking for the approaching car.  The Lord Mayor (now fully decked out) and his wife made their way to the spot where the car would come.  I was very close to that area, but couldn't see the car.  But there was NO DOUBT when they emerged from the car because the crowd roared.  Then.....there she was.  Queen Elizabeth II was only a few feet from me.  She looked absolutely stunning in her teal suit and hat.  She has on her signature white gloves and was all smiles.  She looked like she was as happy to be there as we were to have her there.  The kids beside me held out their flowers and she walked over and got them herself.  What a moment that those children and their mom will never forget!!  The lady behind me and I were so engrossed in watching the queen that we didn't even see Will and Kate till they were almost in front of us!  They were on the other side of the walk way and they spoke to the crowd on that side.  During the time they were all in front of us, the crowd surged forward with everyone trying to lean in and get pictures.  I am not normally clostraphobic, but that was a difficult several minutes.  It wasn't too bad when they were right there because I was taking pictures and not really paying attention to how tightly packed we were.  But once the queen had moved on and William and Kate were a little down the line on the other side, I expected to get a little breathing room back.  It took a little longer for that to happen than I liked, but once they all went inside the Council House everyone kind of spread back out.  In a couple of minutes, the Royal family came out on the balcony and waved to the crowd.  They stayed there for a several minutes and the band played the National Anthem as the crowd sang along.  Then they went back in the Council House for "official" meeting with the Nottingham officials.  After about 15-20 minutes, they came out, got in their cars, and went on to their next stop.  During the time they were inside, I looked up at the gray skies of England and thanked God for allowing me to be there, to witness history.  I have found that no matter where we go, what amazing place we are visiting, person we are seeing, tour we are taking, there is a moment of quiet for me to take a breath and say thank you.  I can't believe this girl from Albertville, Alabama stood in the presence of the Queen of England and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.  I will never forget this day!

Cheers Y'all!