17th June 2021
Colombo, Sri Lanka
This week, we celebrate Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s official birthday. The Queen has reigned for longer than any other Monarch in British history with a Platinum Jubilee (70 years since her Coronation) planned for 2022. Her extraordinary reign has seen her travel more widely than any other monarch – and one third of her […]
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25th July 2020
Image ©Aliona Adrianova During my first meeting with Foreign Office Permanent Under-Secretary Sir Simon McDonald in March 2019, when we discussed ideas for the portrait of The Queen that he wanted to commission, I was delighted to hear that he wanted it to feel intimate. He wanted to express Her Majesty’s humanity, rather than creating […]
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21st December 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
As we celebrate Christmas, it is right to think of those Christian families who will find it difficult to enjoy the good cheer that we take for granted at this time. They are those who are being persecuted or discriminated against for their faith, who are refugees because they were forced to flee for their […]
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23rd November 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Last week, I presided over a small ceremony at my Residence to present, on behalf of The Queen, the British Empire Medal to my colleague at the embassy, Helen Beggs Frigieri. The medal was awarded for services to relations between the United Kingdom and the Holy See. I was very pleased that Holy See officials […]
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