A perfect image of U.K. royalty

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, DEC. 26. If it were all about the image, the Queen couldn't have asked for more. The boys at the palace delivered a perfect image of the royalty on Sunday as the Queen appeared on television to deliver her Christmas Day message. Whoever thought that the royalty was crusty and out of touch with the times was clearly outwitted by Her Majesty's image builders.

She appeared informal, spoke impromptu except for a passage she read out from a prayer book, and showed that she was very much aware of the demands of a multicultural society as she referred to the Quran and the sacred texts of the Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs. She also took note of individual preferences acknowledging that there were people who did not believe in

God - as indeed she acknowledged that ``of course religion can be divisive.''

It was a catch-all address delivered with a touch of spontaneity, not betraying even once the hours that must have gone into getting the thing right before the cameras started rolling. The telecast opened with the Queen switching off the TV in her study, and then turning to the cameras which would beam her face and words to the millions of homes around Britain. After the first few sentences, she walks to the sofa and slowly sits down while continuing to speak. It was a performance which may have put some of the more green TV anchors to shame.

Or had Her Majesty missed her vocation?

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Section  : International
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