Very fair point, BBD. I’m sorry – the lateness of the hour (and a tinge of Glenfiddich) added an unnecessary grumpiness to my post.
Don’t get me wrong. If I had my way, the Queen would waft around the world in either HMY Britannia or in the stately Filton product of the same name – both immaculately polished by teams of stout craftsmen and commanded by square-jawed demigods of the sea and of the air.
Equally, I suppose, if HM must realistically opt for something small and nippy from Wichita then I have no complaint.
My beef is this: the general public may well see such a purchase – especially in these financially anxious times – as an insensitive indulgence. Us loyal chaps might then berate The Sun that “it’s her train set,” that we’re lucky to have a Queen at all and furthermore she and her fine upstanding relations deserve all the jets they want. But not everybody will agree.
That’s largely because The Sun – and much of the rest of the media – have been trading royal exclusives with royal spin doctors for the best part of twenty years. That’s not least, with all due respect to Sir C Mouse, because some royal employers have thought it ok to borrow political-style methods of news management to suppress or spin stories which might otherwise reflect badly on them.
A sad business indeed. This is no longer the happy era of Queen’s Flight Andovers and a deferential press that goes easy on the royal family because “they can’t answer back.” The modern reality is that today’s royal media managers now get their answering back in first, and the public knows it.
So I suggest we learn to reserve our loyalty (and our royal jets) for the office of the Head of State – not the temporary occupant of that office, however personally ireproachable he or she may be. Our American friends don’t always get everything right but they do at least understand that Air Force One is not Dubya’s personal property but legitimate and necessary official transport for the President...and needs to be funded as such.
The alternative, I fear, is an endless, damaging and demeaning squabble about who pays for royal transport…and security…and leaking palace roofs…and 60th birthday parties….and how guilty/outraged/bored we should all feel about it….now where’s that Glenfiddich?