21 HM The Queen’s birthday
The media have been remarking on this being the first birthday the Queen has had since being widowed earlier in the month. As with so many people we know who have been in a similar position, saying ‘Happy Birthday’ (or when the time comes, ‘Happy Christmas’) is not being sensitive to how they feel. Yet birthdays are occasions that are special and unique to each of us, part of who we are. Over the last year, many ‘special birthdays’ have not be celebrated in the way that people would have wished, and they feel a sense of regret. Some people have no one who marks their birthday, no one with whom to celebrate their birthday. Maybe one thing we can do to support people on their own, or separated from family and friends, is to mark their birthday and let them feel ‘special’
Lord, birthdays can bring out all sorts of different feelings in people, but they are part of who we are, and our birthday is special to us. Help us to be sensitive both marking other people’s birthdays, and how we mark them
PS Two scanned photos from 1947 when the royal family were in South Africa, ahead of the Queen’s 21st