It's party time in Britain as queen turns 90

Queen Elizabeth II, who 30 years ago became the first British monarch to visit China, turned 90 on April 21, with the country holding a series of public celebrations.

She met with Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping during a visit to Beijing in October 1986, two years after China and Britain agreed on the future of Hong Kong and during a time of increasing British-Chinese trade.

Over the next 30 years, she has welcomed three Chinese presidents, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping, and invited each to stay at Buckingham Palace, the highest honor in the world of royal protocol.

"I've seen for myself how highly her majesty values UK-China relations and the role she can play in furthering the friendship," says Christopher Hum, a former British ambassador to China.

During her six-day visit to China in 1986 with her husband, Prince Philip, the queen spent three days sightseeing in the capital, taking in the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. She also visited Shanghai, Xi'an and Kunming before sailing from Guangzhou to Hong Kong aboard the royal yacht, Britannia.

"It was China's desire to shape a new future that captivated us the most," the queen said in a speech at a Buckingham Palace banquet to welcome President Xi last year. "We were struck by the energy and enthusiasm with which China's leaders were forging ahead with a new and ambitious future for the Chinese people."

Xi, who heralded a golden era between China and UK after his visit, sent birthday greetings to the queen in April when he met with her son, Prince Andrew, in Beijing.

"I understand that ... Britain will soon celebrate the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth and also the 95th ... of the Duke of Edinburgh (Prince Philip). I'd like to wish them good health and longevity," the president said.

The queen is Britain's longest-serving monarch, having ruled for six decades.

"The interesting thing about the British royal family, and in particular about the queen, is primarily longevity, a prime Chinese value," says Martin Palmer, Prince Philip's religious adviser on the environment, who has met with the queen every two or three years since 1995. "That sense of longevity, stability is enormously important."

Palmer says the queen has a tremendous sense of filial duty - a great Confucian virtue. "She adored her father. He was her hero. And when he died so suddenly, so young, she made a promise to the British and to the world that she would be the servant of the people."

The queen and her husband have both shown enormous interest in Chinese religion, especially Taoism, according to Palmer, who has worked with the Taoists of China for 20 years.

"I remember taking a group of Chinese for a meeting with the queen, and she was intrigued with how different traditions - Taoism, less so Buddhism, and Confucianism - how did they work side by side?"

Queen Elizabeth has two birthdays: her actual birthday, on April 21, and her official birthday, which is in June.

As part of celebrations for the 90th birthday, from May 12 to 15, 900 horses and more than 1,500 riders will perform special 90-minute extravaganzas at Windsor Castle.

The official birthday is marked with the traditional Trooping of the Colour, in which the royal guards march behind the monarch's flag accompanied by a mounted division and other armed services. The royal family then appear on the palace balcony to watch a fly-past by the Royal Air Force.

The whole celebration will be wrapped up with a huge street party on June 12, where 10,000 guests will enjoy a picnic and street performances.

(China Daily European Weekly 04/22/2016 page3)