Faithful attraction

WHEN the Queen and Prince Philip visited York last July, they received a rapturous welcome. Young and old took to the streets wearing red, white and blue, waving the Union Flag and cheering themselves hoarse. For any republican watching it was a disheartening sight.

It has always been the same. Through good times and bad for the monarchy, the Queen, who celebrates her 75th birthday tomorrow, has retained the respect and affection of the nation.

Joyce Kilmartin, from Springfield Close, York, was among the crowds with husband Terry that day. She shook hands with the Queen and has timeless memories of the moment.

"It was her smile," she said. "I thought she was so radiant and lovely. I wanted to speak to her and put her at her ease."

She is a fervent, unapologetic monarchist and has particular admiration for the Queen.

"I have always admired the Royal Family, and have followed the Queen since she was a little girl. And I thought she was a sweet little girl.

"She's never put a foot wrong in her life. She's remarkable.

"There must have been many a time when she wanted to take off her shoes and put her feet up but had to go out to some function."

The younger royals, she admits, have had their ups and downs. But the Queen has reacted to the headlines with great dignity.

"She's had a lot to put up with. She's faced it all. They can't fight back like other people. I think she's a marvellous woman.

"I think she's got a good sense of humour, that's what's helped her. And Philip has as well I think.

"People say she's hard. I think she's a very giving person."

The only time in her long reign that the Queen herself came in for sustained public criticism was in the immediate aftermath of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Her decision not to return immediately to London from Balmoral was taken to be a snub to her daughter-in-law's memory.

Retired nurse Mrs Kilmartin, 67, saw it differently. "She got an awful lot of stick, but remember that she was the grandmother. She was doing the right thing and comforting the children.

"All the people were bothered about was her being in Buckingham Palace and the flag being at half mast.

"It's very difficult in this day and age. They want them to be like us, and when they are like us, everybody says they should be better."

That the Queen has reigned for so long so successfully is all the more remarkable given that she was not born to the role.

She was ten when her father Albert, Duke of York, became king after Edward VIII abdicated in 1936. It was a moment that shook the world, and changed the young Elizabeth's future irreversibly.

From that moment she had to be prepared for her destiny.

And when she became Queen, on the death of her father in February 1952, she expected to carry out the role "every day of her life", according to Lord Crathorne.

That is why he expects her reign to continue for years to come. "In her presence you really do have this strong sense of her being above it all. Of being the sovereign, the one and only sovereign.

"As head of state, she hasn't really put a foot wrong."

Lord Crathorne is Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, the Queen's representative in the county. He also accompanies her on her visits.

"I was with her on that trip to York, where she got out of the train with a big smile on her face. The smile remained throughout the entire day and as she got on the aeroplane at Linton, I said 'thank-you very much'. She said 'I have really enjoyed it'.

"She was smiling then. It was really very special."

He also attended the private lunch with the Queen held at the Treasurer's House. "I was struck, being with her at lunch that day, how one of the achievements is to spend your entire life not actually being able to give opinions.

"Most of us like giving opinions about things. She's never had the chance.

"I think it's quite remarkable that she's gone all these years and managed to live by that code."

The Queen has given the monarchy and Britain "great stability and a sense of continuity.

"She has this weekly meeting with the Prime Minister of the day and they really all pick her brains. Because she's seen more papers than any sovereign has ever seen in this country. That's tremendously wise.

"I think Prime Ministers value their weekly contact with her enormously.

"There's the famous case of Harold Wilson thinking that this was just a pretty informal chat over a cup of tea.

"At his first meeting with her, he didn't brief himself at all. She asked him all sorts of questions about various matters. He was a) surprised and b) was very impressed.

"It's a really serious discussion."

The Queen has been a regular visitor to York. One of her most memorable visits came during the city's 1,900th birthday celebrations in 1971.

Pouring rain did not prevent huge crowds from taking to the streets to meet the royal party.

In her Silver Jubilee year, 1977, royal fever swept the city once more as the Queen and Prince Philip paid a whistle-stop tour. It returned in 1988 when the Queen saw the Minster restored to its former glory after the fire that nearly destroyed it.

Her visit last year confirmed her enduring popularity far more vividly than any opinion poll.

Lord Crathorne said: "There's still great approval for the monarchy. Having someone above politics as a figurehead seems to be what people really want."

Updated: 10:40 Friday, April 20, 2001