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Queen Elizabeth II

The Queen may not attend VE Day commemorations

It has been claimed that The Queen could miss Victory in Europe Day commemorations in May in order to distance herself from any coalition talks following this years General Election. Victory in Europe Day is on May 8th and marked the end of the Second World War.

With the polls predicting a hung parliament as the outcome of the upcoming May 7th General Election, it has been reported that Buckingham Palace want Her Majesty “one step removed” from any talk of political nature the day after the election. A Whitehall source told the Guardian newspaper, “All you need is one photograph where The Queen smiles at one of the leaders which would prompt talk of ‘Oh The Queen is showing how she wants it to play out’. No, no, no to that. They want to keep he quite separate.”

One of the biggest reasons for Her Majesty’s alleged absence from the commemorations is because it is believed that any conversation or photograph with any political figure could be misinterpreted and eventually influence the outcome of any discussions.

VE Day was the public holiday celebrated on 8th May 1945 to mark the formal acceptance by the Allies of Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender of its Armed Forces thus marking the end of the Second World War in Europe. The act of Military surrender was signed on 7th May in Reims, France and on 8th May in Berlin, Germany. VE Day in the United Kingdom saw more than one million people line the streets of London, including all the way along The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace, where they witnessed King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret and Prime Minister Winston Churchill make a balcony appearance.

Although there are speculations that The Queen won’t attend the commemorations at Westminster Abbey on May 8th, it is also being reported that no decision has been made regarding The Queen’s attendance at the 70th anniversary celebrations of VE Day.

Featured Photo Credit: Irish Defence Forces via photopin cc

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