The BBC is being condemned amid news that it will not broadcast a massive parade of soldiers and
civilians to mark the Queen Mother's 100th birthday.
The decision not to show live pictures of the tribute involving more than 7,000 people and 320 charities
is branded "monstrous" by MPs.
A senior member of the team running the tribute says: "I think it is a disgrace if nobody broadcasts this
live."
But the corporation denies it made any commitment to organisers to show the event on July 19, two weeks before her birthday
on August 4.
The BBC is instead spending £1 million on a comprehensive schedule of tributes for the Queen Mother's centenary.
A spokeswoman says: "We are providing exclusive coverage of two major events in the run-up to her birthday: the service of
thanksgiving in St Paul's Cathedral and a special edition of Songs of Praise on July 20.
"We wanted to capture the mood of the nation on the day itself so there will also be a major two-hour live outside broadcast by
David Dimbleby on August 4."
The tribute itself lasts one hour will also feature Dame Vera Lynn leading 700 children and a fly-past by World War Two
aircraft.
Gerald Howarth, Conservative MP for Aldershot, says: "It is a monstrous decision when one considers the tremendous
affection in which the Queen Mother is held by the people of this country.
"It is also an insult to all the organisations taking part. If the BBC will not cover this, why should they be allowed to cover other
state events?"
~*~
Prince appoints Royal harpist(BBC News)
The Prince of Wales has revived an ancient
Royal tradition by appointing a harpist to his
household.
Catrin Finch, from Llanon near Aberystwyth,
said it was the greatest honour of her life.
The 20-year-old student is the first to receive
the post since it was last granted in 1871 by
Queen Victoria to John Thomas.
The earliest known Royal harpist was Robert ap
Huw, serving James I in the 15th century.
Catrin, who is in the
second year of a
four-year course at
London's Royal
Academy, will be asked
to perform at a number
of engagements for the
Prince during the
two-year appointment.
The Prince, who visited
the Welsh National
Opera in Cardiff said he
hoped to give "support
and recognition" to harpists like Catrin
"I hope I can help to encourage appreciation of
the harp and its importance to Welsh culture
and tradition," he said.
Her first performance was at a dinner the
Prince hosted for members of the Welsh
Assembly in Port Talbot on Thursday.
Catrin, who began playing the harp at school
after her parents bought her one for her sixth
birthday, said: "I am quite nervous, it's pretty
scary, but it will be a fantastic night.
Gold brooch
"I was speechless when I found out. It is all so
exciting.
"This appointment is my greatest honour. I am
looking forward to every minute of it."
She has not met the Prince before, though she
played at his 50th birthday party at
Buckingham Palace and he congratulated her in
a letter.
After her performance the Prince will present
the student with a gold brooch he designed,
featuring a harp.
From the age of eight to 16, Catrin's parents,
Christopher and Marianne, drove a five-hour
round trip each week so she could take lessons
from the renowned harpist Elinor Bennett.
Talent
"This is a wonderful for my parents too, after
all the hard work they put in to help me learn
the harp," Catrin added.
"The harp is a very important instrument in
Welsh culture and I think the appointment is all
about encouraging Welsh musical talent."
At 16 she moved to London to study at the
Purcell School of Music, of which the Prince is
patron, before gaining admission to the Royal
Academy.
A new harpist to the Prince, who must be
Welsh and aged between 19 and 25, will be
appointed every two years by a selection
committee.
He or she will be paid an annual sum of £2,500
and expenses to cover travel costs.
~*~
CROWNING ACHIEVEMENTS (UK Times)
There were three people in Queen Henrietta Maria's
marriage. There was herself and her hapless husband, King
Charles I. There was also Jeffrey Hudson, her favourite
dwarf. The two foot high Hudson had first introduced
himself to Her Majesty by jumping out of a "noble venison
pasty" at a dinner party hosted by the Duke of Buckingham.
The Queen became devoted to him and he stayed by her
side even when Fortune turned its back on the House of
Stuart.
Official dwarfs are not now considered appropriate
companions for the royal household but the Prince of Wales
is to be congratulated upon re-establishing another ancient
post, that of Royal Harpist. Twenty-year old Catrin Finch is
the first person to hold the £2,500 a year post since Queen
Victoria's golden strummer, John Thomas, last made sweet
music.
Miss Finch joins a select band of those performing unusual
tasks for the Royal Family. The holders of these honours
rightly take their duties seriously. It was a sad moment on
the Queen's Coronation day in 1953 when the Hereditary
Master Falconer - a post related to that first held by a
courtier who offered to be held hostage in the place of
James I of Scotland - felt unable to attend because Palace
officials had dissuaded him from bringing his live falcon with
him into Westminster Abbey.
There are surely grounds to mourn the passing of so many
other talents that were once sustained by Crown patronage.
In the happier times of Queen Anne - before the current
craze for "dress down Friday" - Walter Martyn, Rat-killer
to Her Majesty, joyfully went about his task in a coat nattily
embroidered with a crown, the royal initials A R, a
wheatsheaf and a couple of rats passant. Back in the
1660s, Thomas Cooper had greatness thrust upon him
when he became Royal Comb-Maker for Life and what has
become of the Gentlemen Soapboilers so favoured by
Charles II? But the absence of bubonic plague would make
it difficult to justify re-engaging the Strewer of Herbs, the
task once so expertly discharged by Mary Dowle who was
paid a princely £24 a year to process before the Merry
Monarch scattering herbal confetti to ward off infection.
And, while e-mail has many advantages, it may rule out
reviving the post of Writer and Embellisher of Her
Majesty's Letters to Eastern Princes.
Britain's monarchy has a long tradition as a patron of the
arts. Now that enthusiasm has waned for the trite
predictabilities of "Cool Britannia", it is good to see royal
efforts to endow those who add to the gaiety of the nation.
~*~
Tête-à-Tate shows the art of
partying(UK Times)
BY ALAN HAMILTON AND ALEX O'CONNELL
THE building suggested the inauguration of a cathedral,
the drink more the floating-out of an ocean liner. Europe's
newest temple of the arts was officially opened yesterday,
first by a sober Queen, and later by 4,000 carousing
guests.
Tate Modern, which began life as Giles Gilbert Scott's
cavernous Bankside power station, receives its first public
visitors today - provided it has recovered from its
hangover.
Four hundred worthies including Chris Smith, the Culture
Secretary, and Ken Livingstone, the London Mayor,
watched yesterday morning as the Queen pressed a
button to open the gallery and unveil a plaque. They
sipped champagne and nibbled canapés as the Queen was
shown some of the "safer" exhibits and met the painter
Bridget Riley and the sculptor Sir Anthony Caro.
But the real party happened last night, with tickets
changing hands for up to £1,000 - which would buy a
halfrespectable piece of modern art. Among those sinking
2,500 bottles of £30 non-vintage champagne were many
celebrities regarded by many as living artworks in
themselves.
Impoverished painters and sculptors mingled with the likes
of Mick Jagger, Jerry Hall, Yoko Ono and Sir Paul
McCartney. The eclectic guest list also included
architects, sponsors and others involved in the £134
million project.
But every party has its aftermath. A team of 40 cleaners
worked all night scooping up the detritus, and a fresh
squad was due in at 5 am today.