Q is for Queen and Countrymen

I’m extremely proud of our Royal family in Great Britain and I’m thrilled about the celebrations for the Royal Wedding coming up over the next week or so. In particular though, I’m excited about how well it’s being publicly recognised and heralded; not only because of the national bank holiday, but I’ve been surprised to see (for the overwhelming majority) such a positive media response.

These days it can be quite hard to remember what true patriotism feels like. Apart from at sporting events (from the Cricket World Cup, to the Ryder Cup in golf, the Rugby Six Nations or the football World Cup), there’s not much opportunity to get excited about where you come from. 

That can be a good thing in many ways: The world is definitely getting smaller and there are huge advantages for global organisations, worldwide human rights interventions and the ability to feel connected to our extended network of colleagues, friends and families around the world. Take this blogging challenge for example; how wonderful it’s been to feel so close to and united with fellow writers and bloggers even though we’re spread across many miles and many oceans. 

Yet the lack of obvious patriotism can be challenging for building a strong national identity. We learn so much from multicultural societies, we revel in the exciting synergy that so much variety brings, but do we really understand our own history, where we’ve come from and where our ‘home’ is?

Now, in addition to all of this I do hear and empathise with those who are less enamoured with the Royal Wedding celebrations, who are concerned about the vast amounts of money being spent when so many government cuts are affecting people’s lives negatively.  But the event will bring a wave of revenue to the country through tourism and media, so there are real positives to consider too.

From my humble perspective, I believe that this event is a great opportunity to take stock, reflect and think about our national identity today. It’s changed so much over the last decade and I for one want to be part of it all so that I can:

• Feel proud of who we are as a nation
• Understand where we’ve come from
• And paint the ideal picture for where we’re heading

How exciting.

Good luck to William and Catherine for their Wedding Day.

We'll be watching, celebrating and being thoroughly British at a very wonderful friend's garden party. Perfect.