Too much army

Quote of the day:

“It was probably a classic example of me probably being too much army, and not enough prince. . . ” Prince Harry.

September 15 in history

668  Eastern Roman Emperor Constans II was assassinated in his bath at Syracuse, Italy.

921  At Tetin Saint Ludmila was murdered at the command of her daughter-in-law. 

994 Major Fatimid victory over the Byzantine Empire at the Battle of the Orontes.

1254 Marco Polo, Italian explorer, was born (d. 1324). 

1616 The first non-aristocratic, free public school in Europe was opened in Frascati, Italy.

1649 Titus Oates, English minister and plotter, was born (d. 1705). 

1762 Seven Years War: Battle of Signal Hill. 

1820 Constitutionalist revolution in Lisbon.

1821  Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica jointly declared independence from Spain.

1830  The Liverpool to Manchester railway line opened. 

1831  The locomotive John Bull operated for the first time in New Jersey on the Camden and Amboy Railroad.

1835 HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin aboard, reached the Galápagos Islands.

 

1851  Saint Joseph’s University was founded in Philadelphia.

 

1857 William Howard Taft, 27th President of the United States, was born (d. 1930). 

1879 Joseph Lyons, 10th Prime Minister of Australia, was born (d. 1939).

1881 Ettore Bugatti, Italian automobile engineer and designer, was born (d. 1947). 

1883 The Bombay Natural History Society was founded in Bombay (Mumbai).

 

 1889  Robert Benchley, American author, was born (d. 1945).

1890  Agatha Christie, English writer, was born (d. 1976).

1894 First Sino-Japanese War: Japan defeated China in the Battle of Pyongyang.

1916  World War I: Tanks were used for the first time in battle, at the Battle of the Somm 

1928  Tich Freeman became the only bowler to take 300 wickets in an English cricket season.

1931 In Scotland, the two-day Invergordon Mutiny against Royal Navy pay cuts began.

1935 The Nuremberg Laws deprived German Jews of citizenship. 

1935  Nazi Germany adopted a new national flag with the swastika. 

1937 Fernando de la Rúa, 51st President of Argentina, was born.

1940 World War II: The climax of the Battle of Britain, when the Royal Air Force shot down large numbers of Luftwaffe aircraft. 

1942  World War II: U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Wasp was torpedoed at Guadalcanal 

1944 Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill met in Quebec as part of the Octagon Conference to discuss strategy.

1945 Hans-Gert Pöttering, German politician, President of the European Parliament, was born.

1945  A hurricane in southern Florida and the Bahamas destroyed 366 planes and 25 blimps at NAS Richmond.

1947  RCA released the 12AX7 vacuum tube.

 

1947  Typhoon Kathleen hit the Kanto Region in Japan killing 1,077.

1948  The F-86 Sabre set the world aircraft speed record at 671 miles per hour (1,080 km/h).

1952 United Nations gave Eritrea to Ethiopia.

1958 A Central Railroad of New Jersey commuter train ran through an open drawbridge at the Newark Bay, killing 58.

1959  Nikita Khrushchev became the first Soviet leader to visit the United States. 

1961  Hurricane Carla struck Texas with winds of 175 miles per hour. 

1962  The Soviet ship Poltava headed toward Cuba, one of the events that sets into motion the Cuban Missile Crisis.

1963  The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing: Four children killed at an African-American church in Birmingham, Alabama.

1966 U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, responding to a sniper attack at the University of Texas at Austin, wrote a letter to Congress urging the enactment of gun control legislation.

1968  The Soviet Zond 5 spaceship was launched, becoming the first spacecraft to fly around the Moon and re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere.

 

1969 Iron and steel from local ironsand (titanomagnetite) was produced for the first time at New Zealand Steel’s mill at Glenbrook, south of Auckland.

1971 Nathan Astle, New Zealand cricketer, was born.

1972  A Scandinavian Airlines System domestic flight from Gothenburg to Stockholm was hijacked and flown to Malmö-BulltoftaAirport.

1974  Air Vietnam flight 727 was hijacked, then crashed while attempting to land with 75 on board.

1976 The Rangatira arrived in Wellington from Lyttelton for the last time, bringing to an end more than 80 years of regular passenger ferry services between the two ports.

1981 The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved Sandra Day O’Connor to become the first female justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

1981 – The John Bull becomes the oldest operable steam locomotive in the world when the Smithsonian Institution operated it under its own power outside Washington, D.C.

1983  Israeli premier Menachem Begin resigned.

1984 Prince Harry of Wales, was born.

 

1987  United States Secretary of State George Shultz and Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze signed a treaty to establish centers to reduce the risk of nuclear war.

1993  Liechtenstein Prince Hans-Adam II disbanded Parliament.

 

2008 Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history.

 

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia

The Royal Wedding – live blogging

12:34: I do love a lovely wedding, and this was a really lovely one. They look happy, I hope they are.

12:32: Everyone back into the palace.

12:30: Fly past.

12:29: A second kiss. Very decorous, a peck rather than a snog.

12: 27: The Queen leads other members of the royal family onto the balcony. The crowd is excited. They kiss (Kate and WIllaim that is, not the crowd).

12:26: The Duke and Duchess are on the balcony waving.

12:25 Net curtains on the palace window behind the balcony - tell me no!

12:22: The Brits do secuirty and crowd control well too – all those people and no sign of anything untoward.

12:05: Photos here and here.

12:03:Offical royal wedding pages here.

11:59:  Three hours of bell ringing might be a wee bit much for most people, not least those doing the ringing. Wonder if they wear ear protection? Do they do it in shifts?

11:44:  The Brits do do pomp and ceremony well, don’t they?

11:34: They’re calling it the wedding of the century – it’s been glorious but with 89 years (90 if you’re a pedant) to go that’s a big call.

11:26:  It’s not easy getting out of a carriage gracefully in a long dress and a longer trains, but she does it.

11:25: Back at the palace. Those are very well behaved horses.

11:20:  There’s a reason for that royal wave – the royal arms would get very tired if they did too much ordinary waving.

11:11: The sun is shining, they’re smiling and waving to the crowd.

11:09: WIlliam puts on his cap and gloves. Into the carriage.

11:08:  They walk out of the Abbey to cheers from the crowd and the peal of bells.

11:05: They bow and curtsy to the Queen.

 11:04  Prince WiIliam and Princess Kate (or is it now Princess Catherine?), the DUke and Duchess of Cambridge, return to a fanfare.

11:03 The clergy go to the door.

11:02:  The families return. The choir is still singing.

10:53: Pippa gives Kate her bouquet, they walk forward into a chapel, followed by their parents and siblings, to sign the register. The choir sings.

10:52: God Save the Queen. She doesn’t sing but Prince Phillip does.

10:50: Another prayer.The choir sings Amen.

10:47: Hymn – Jerusalem. Elton John doesn’t seem to be over familiar with this either. Many in the crowd outside are singing more enthusiastically.

1044: Prayers- I know Roman Catholics don’t say the last bit of the Lord’s Prayer (for thine is the kingdon . . . ) but didn’t realise Anglicans don’t either.

 10:40 The choir sings while WIlliam and Kate move to the, is it the nave? Pardon my ignorance of church architecture is showing. No it’s not the nave, it’s the alter.

10:39:  He finishes with a prayer which William and Kate wrote.

10:32:  Address by the Bishop of London. He starts quoting Saint Catherine of Sienna – Be who you are mant to be and you will set the world on fire.

10:27 Anthem This is the Day The Lord Hath Made, commissioned specially for the service as a gift to th couple.

10:24: Bible reading by James Middleton- Romans chapter 12. Let love be genuine, hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good . . . Either he’s using a teleprompter or he’s got a very good memory.

10-:20 The second hymn – Love Divine,  we sang it at our wedding,

10:17: A ring for her but not for him.

10:12 Dearly beloved -the Dean begins the service with the  traditional words.

10:11 Sophie’s veil is off her face, she looks happy.

10:10: The first hymn – Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer. Elton John doesn’t appear to know it.

10:09: Harry looks nervous, William looks happy.

10:08: What restraint – William hasn’t glanced back yet.

10:05: Kate, her father and the Dean walk slowly down the aisle. Her veil is over her face.

10:04: William and Harry are led to the alter steps as the choir sings I Was Glad.

10:03: Is that a tear in her mother’s eye?

10:00: It’s 11am in England. Kate and her father have arrived at the Abbey, PIppa is coming out to greet her. Kate’s dress is simple and elegant with a train which is several metres long. It was made by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen.

9:59: All that waiting by all those people who cheer as the bride and her father glide past in seconds.

9:56: Pippa Middleton (stunning in a sleek, champagne coloured gown), the flower girls and page boys are going into the Abbey.

9:55: She looks happy.

9:51: Kate Middleton, wearing lace and carrying a posey, has got into the car with her father, Michael. My, what a long train.

9:49: The Queen and Duke have arrived at the Abbey. Her outfit looks more subdued inside. She gets a  fanfare fromt he band and a kiss from her son.

9:48: Two page boys in mini-military uniforms.

9:44 Charles and Camilla  are going into the Abbey.

9:43:  The bridesmaids (in champagne coloured dresses) are getting in to the cars.

9:41: The Queen and Prince Phillip have left the palace – she’s in yellow, he’s in red – would it be impolite to say they’re colours I wouldn’t put together?

 9:40:  Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie are wearing what Lyn of Taw would describe as visual symphonies on their heads.

9:38: Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, are on their way to the Abbey.

9:35 Prince Andrew, his daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie; Prince Edward and Princess Sophie are leaving the palace.

9:33: Carole MIddleton and her son James have arrived at the Abbey.

9:30:  The junior royals are travelling from Buckingham Palace to the Abbey. Mini vans don’t have quite the same impact as Rolls Royces or carriages.

9:26 – Carole Middleton, Kate’s mother, in sky blue is on her way to th Abbey.

9:24:  In other news the Blues have beaten the Highlanders 15 -10 at Carisbrook. The Breakers have won the basketball final against the Taipans.

9:22:  The fascinators many women are wearing are fascinating – and surely better for the people sitting behind you than a large hat.

9:20: The princes took off their caps as they entered the Abbey and are chatting to the Dean.

9:12: Princes William and Harry have left Clarence House on their way to the Abbey – William in red, the dress uniform of the Irish Guards.

9:05: British Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha hold hands as they walk into Westminster Abbey.

9:pm: Commonwealth leaders arriving including the Keys and Julia Gillard – the latter in pink.

8.35: Promgramme:

From 8:50pm               Governors-General and Prime Ministers of Realm Countries (including John Key), the Diplomatic Corps, and other distinguished guests arrive at the Abbey 

 9:10pm                        The Bridegroom and Prince Henry of Wales (Prince Harry) leave Clarence House for Westminster Abbey (arrive at 9:15pm)

 9:20pm                        Members of Foreign Royal Families arrive at Westminster Abbey from Buckingham Palace 

 9:20pm                        Carole Middleton (Mother of the Bride) leaves the Goring Hotel for Westminster Abbey (arrive 9:27pm)

 9:25pm                        Members of the Royal Family (except those listed below) leave Buckingham Palace for Westminster Abbey (arrive at 9:30pm)

 9:35pm                        The Duke of York, Princess Beatrice of York, Princess Eugenie of York, The Earl and Countess of Wessex ,The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral

   Timothy Laurence leave Buckingham Palace (arrive at 9:40pm)

 9:38pm                        The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall leave Clarence House for Westminster Abbey (arrive at 9.42pm)

 9:40pm                        The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh leave Buckingham Palace for Westminster Abbey (arrive at 9.45pm) 

 9:48pm                        The Bridesmaids and Pages leave the Goring Hotel for Westminster Abbey (arrive at 9.55pm) 

 9:51pm                        The Bride, accompanied by Michael Middleton, leaves the Goring Hotel for Westminster Abbey 

10:00pm                       The Marriage Service begins 

                                       Service will be conducted by Very Reverend John Hall, Dean of Westminster Abbey

                                       Vows will be presided over by Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury

   Sermon delivered by Right Reverend Richard Chartres   

11:15pm                       The Carriage Procession of the Bride and Bridegroom with a Captain’s Escort of the Household Cavalry, followed by The Queen’s Procession with a

   Sovereign’s Escort of the Household Cavalry, leaves Westminster Abbey for Buckingham Palace

11:30pm                       The Bride’s Carriage Procession arrives at Buckingham Palace

11:40pm                       Members of the Royal Family and Members of Foreign Royal Families arrive at Buckingham Palace

From 11:40pm             Guests arrive at Buckingham Palace for the Reception  

SATURDAY NZT

12:25am                       The Queen and the Bride and Bridegroom, together with their Families, appear on the Balcony to wave to the crowd

12:30am                       Fly Past by the Royal Air Force and Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (includes the traditional kiss)

8:25 My farmer is watching the rugby but I’m enjoying watching people arrive at Westminster Abbey.

Earlier this evening Prime Minsiter John Key and his wife Bronagh showed off their wedding finery – she in a Trelise Cooper pink lace dress with a royal blue coat and hat, he in a greenstone-washed merino suit. Tv3 here; TV 1 here and here.

September 15 in history

On September 15:

668  Eastern Roman Emperor Constans II was assassinated in his bath at Syracuse, Italy.

921  At Tetin Saint Ludmila was murdered at the command of her daughter-in-law.

 

994 Major Fatimid victory over the Byzantine Empire at the Battle of the Orontes.

1254 Marco Polo, Italian explorer, was born (d. 1324).

 

1616 The first non-aristocratic, free public school in Europe was opened in Frascati, Italy.

1649 Titus Oates, English minister and plotter, was born (d. 1705).

 

1762 Seven Years War: Battle of Signal Hill.

 

1820 Constitutionalist revolution in Lisbon.

1821  Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica jointly declared independence from Spain.

1830  The Liverpool to Manchester railway line opened.

 

1831  The locomotive John Bull operated for the first time in New Jersey on the Camden and Amboy Railroad.

1835 HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin aboard, reached the Galápagos Islands.

1851  Saint Joseph’s University was founded in Philadelphia.

1857 William Howard Taft, 27th President of the United States, was born (d. 1930).

 

1879 Joseph Lyons, 10th Prime Minister of Australia, was born (d. 1939).

1881 Ettore Bugatti, Italian automobile engineer and designer, was born (d. 1947).

 

1883 The Bombay Natural History Society was founded in Bombay (Mumbai).

 1889  Robert Benchley, American author, was born (d. 1945).

1890  Agatha Christie, English writer, was born (d. 1976).

1894 First Sino-Japanese War: Japan defeated China in the Battle of Pyongyang.

1916  World War I: Tanks were used for the first time in battle, at the Battle of the Somme.

 

 

1928  Tich Freeman became the only bowler to take 300 wickets in an English cricket season.

1931 In Scotland, the two-day Invergordon Mutiny against Royal Navy pay cuts began.

1935 The Nuremberg Laws deprived German Jews of citizenship.

 

1935  Nazi Germany adopted a new national flag with the swastika.

 

1937 Fernando de la Rúa, 51st President of Argentina, was born.

1940 World War II: The climax of the Battle of Britain, when the Royal Air Force shot down large numbers of Luftwaffe aircraft.

 

1942  World War II: U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Wasp was torpedoed at Guadalcanal.

 

 

1944 Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill met in Quebec as part of the Octagon Conference to discuss strategy.

1945 Hans-Gert Pöttering, German politician, President of the European Parliament, was born.

1945  A hurricane in southern Florida and the Bahamas destroyed 366 planes and 25 blimps at NAS Richmond.

1947  RCA released the 12AX7 vacuum tube.

1947  Typhoon Kathleen hit the Kanto Region in Japan killing 1,077.

1948  The F-86 Sabre set the world aircraft speed record at 671 miles per hour (1,080 km/h).

1952 United Nations gave Eritrea to Ethiopia.

1958 A Central Railroad of New Jersey commuter train ran through an open drawbridge at the Newark Bay, killing 58.

1959  Nikita Khrushchev became the first Soviet leader to visit the United States.

 

1961  Hurricane Carla struck Texas with winds of 175 miles per hour.

 

1962  The Soviet ship Poltava headed toward Cuba, one of the events that sets into motion the Cuban Missile Crisis.

1963  The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing: Four children killed at an African-American church in Birmingham, Alabama.

1966 U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, responding to a sniper attack at the University of Texas at Austin, wrote a letter to Congress urging the enactment of gun control legislation.

1968  The Soviet Zond 5 spaceship was launched, becoming the first spacecraft to fly around the Moon and re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere.

1969 Iron and steel from local ironsand (titanomagnetite) was produced for the first time at New Zealand Steel’s mill at Glenbrook, south of Auckland.

1971 Nathan Astle, New Zealand cricketer, was born.

1972  A Scandinavian Airlines System domestic flight from Gothenburg to Stockholm was hijacked and flown to Malmö-BulltoftaAirport.

1974  Air Vietnam flight 727 was hijacked, then crashed while attempting to land with 75 on board.

1976 The Rangatira arrived in Wellington from Lyttelton for the last time, bringing to an end more than 80 years of regular passenger ferry services between the two ports.

1981 The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved Sandra Day O’Connor to become the first female justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

1981 – The John Bull becomes the oldest operable steam locomotive in the world when the Smithsonian Institution operated it under its own power outside Washington, D.C.

1983  Israeli premier Menachem Begin resigned.

מנחם בגין

1984 Prince Harry of Wales, was born.

1987  United States Secretary of State George Shultz and Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze signed a treaty to establish centers to reduce the risk of nuclear war.

1993  Liechtenstein Prince Hans-Adam II disbanded Parliament.

2008 Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia