LONDON -- Queen Elizabeth has just celebrated her Golden Jubilee (50 years) in splendid style. Her popularity has never been as high as it is today and people are now said to be planning for her Diamond Jubilee (60 years).
In this jubilee year, the queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have been touring the lengths and breadths of the British Isles. Wherever she has gone she has been warmly received in her walkabouts, which have received full coverage in the press, but the highlight for the British people was the long jubilee weekend from last Saturday through Tuesday. Monday and Tuesday were declared special holidays, and the British determined to enjoy themselves. In doing so, they gainsaid the doomsters and pessimists who predicted that the people would be totally preoccupied by the World Cup and were bored with royal pageantry.
The World Cup has, of course, attracted huge attention here and especially the games in which the British team has been taking part. English captain David Beckham's foot was the top story for many days, and his house, called by some "Beckingham Palace" in contrast to Buckingham Palace, was besieged by photographers. But when the jubilee celebrations began even soccer was pushed off the front pages.