Brits Explain Why They're Obsessed with the Queen

Yesterday was the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. Her actual birthday, that is, not that confusing “official birthday” she has in June, where she presumably gets a second load of presents and another cake and a whole day where she can be as much of a dick as she wants and nobody can do or say anything because it’s kind of her birthday.

Anyway, we went to Windsor yesterday to ask all the people who’d gathered there to celebrate the monarch’s birthday one simple question: What does The Queen mean to you?

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I think she’s an inspiration to everyone. She’s an icon. She’s a role model for the women of today. We don’t have anything like this in the United States. Y’know, a woman to look up to that’s been around for so many years and never made a wrong footstep anywhere. She’s just—she’s… I have no words.

She means an awful lot. I mean, she’s been going for a very long time, y’know? She’s been one of the longest-reigning monarchs of all time. On a different note, I feel sorry for what people have been saying about Prince William. He’s not lazy. He does a lot for the country. An awful lot for the country. I wish them all the best.

Oh, she means so much to me. I’ve been involved with the royal family for a number of years, but my claim to fame is introducing Prince George to the world—and Princess Charlotte.

Well, she’s a national treasure, obviously. The Queen is just important—I mean, the history involved in it all. Yeah, a really important figure in the country.

Everything. I think she’s a fantastic person. She makes you proud to be British. I’ve always been a royalist through and through—I follow royalty all over the country. I’ve been to many occasions where the royalty has been there. When people say that it costs a lot of money, I disagree with them, as the royalty does bring a lot of money into the country. I think they bring more money in than they cost. That’s my personal view.

I can’t do interviews as i’m under contract, but I can say Happy Birthday to the Queen!

The Queen means everything to me. She’s like my mother. I’m 80 now—the big eight-oh. She’s ten years older than me, but can I be a bit teary? I had no family as a child—I was a Barnardo’s boy. I was at the orphanage. The Queen became my mother. My mother is the Queen, and today I’m happy for her. She’s still around, she’s fit, she’s young; young at heart. I hope that my partner can get that cake to her—she cooked a Corgi cake just for the Queen. It’s called Susan because the Queen’s favorite Corgi was also called Susan.

Everything. You haven’t heard that one, have ya? I’ve been around for donkeys years, and as she’s grown up I’ve grown with her. She does a fantastic job. She has problems like you and me at home, but she overcomes these. Can you imagine? She’s looking after the whole world in between. All these castles need cleaning and sweeping out. She’s working night and day. The Queen reaching 90 is a real special bonus to me. If you live to 90 that’ll be good. I’m hoping to be around for when she gets to 100. For me to give her my special card, that would be really good. I’ll be 91 and she’ll be 100.

What can I say? I reckon she’s done a very good job over the years. I think she’s important to our country. If we had never had a Queen we would have had a president. I’d sooner have the Queen and the royals.

Oh, she means everything to me. I was eight years old when her father died, and nine when she was crowned Queen. Really, she’s been there all my life. I just think we’re so lucky in this country to have her. We have the most famous royal family in the world. The Queen is the most famous lady in the world. I mean, what’s not to like about it? She also works so hard—every morning except her birthday and Christmas Day, she does those red boxes. She reads everything, she knows what’s going on tomorrow, she’s hosting President Obama. She’s working all the time, but she doesn’t make a big song and dance out of it—she’s not jazz hands. She just gets on with it quietly, but she’s got our interests at heart all of the time.

The Queen is a representation of being English, really. It’s always going to be a part of who we are. It especially means a lot to my dad. It’s something that’s passed down to all of us through our families so that we have a sense of where we come from, and the royal family helps us to define ourselves.

She’s just really important. She’s been here for such a long time and I just think she’s really influential. She did so much for us during the war. She’s always really gracious and really nice—she’s influenced me in that sense.

I think she’s amazing. I grew up with her my whole life and I think she’s tireless in her duty, in her commitment—she symbolizes Britain, I think. The best of Britain.

The Queen means an awful lot to me. First of all, this is a historic birthday—this is her 90th year. She goes back 2,000 years of knowledge—her ancestors go back that long. She’s a mother, a wife, hand-in-hand with the Duke of Edinburgh. She’s a grandmother, she’s a great-grandmother, and also, she’s done her work supremely well. I say God save the Queen.

I just love her. I love all the royal family, but especially the Queen. She’s 90, but she’s still fabulous and working hard. As a member of the royal family she has been an inspiration to me—their standards and morals and everything else. Their kids may have been off the rails a bit, but not the Queen.

She’s a symbol of the country, and the history of the country that I’m very proud to serve. It’s a bit of a privilege here, on her 90th birthday, to be a part of it.

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