QUARTERLY COMMUNICATION
13 June 2012
An address by RW Bro Dr JW Daniel, PJGW

MW Pro Grand Master, Distinguished Visitors, and Brethren

The last year in which the loyal freemasons of the English Constitution had occasion to celebrate a royal diamond jubilee was 1897. You will recall, however, that in the Charge after Initiation we are enjoined
'to be exemplary in the discharge of our civil duties…above all, by never losing sight of the allegiance due to the Sovereign of our native land…'
Of course, we demonstrate that allegiance at every masonic banquet when we honour the loyal toast to ‘The Queen’ – indeed, I doubt if there is any other organisation in Her Majesty’s dominions that has drunk her health more often over the last 60 years. But there have been no greater expressions of the English Craft’s allegiance and loyalty to the sovereign of its native land than at the two ‘Special Meetings’ of this  Grand Lodge held in 1887 and 1897 to commemorate the golden and diamond jubilees of Queen Victoria, two of the largest Masonic meetings ever held in England. Both were held in the Royal Albert Hall, and the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) presided over both as Grand Master, yet neither is (yet?) included in the list of ‘Outstanding Masonic Events’ in the Masonic Year Book, and little has been said or written about them since. So, in this address of between 15 and 20 minutes, I will attempt to repair that loss, taking as my theme ‘Royal Jubilees and Loyal Freemasons’

First, though, the ‘back story’.

When HRH Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, was elected Grand Master in 1874, the close connection with the British Royal Family that had been broken with the death of HRH The Duke of Sussex, the Grand Master, in 1843, was restored. The Duke of Sussex and his brother, the Duke of Kent (sons of King George III), had supervised the of the two English Grand Lodges in 1813; the Duke of Kent was the father of Queen Victoria, and when he died, the Duke of Sussex gave her away at her marriage to Prince Albert, and Prince Albert Edward was the first of their four sons.

Although Prince Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales, had been a Freemason since his initiation in Sweden in 1868, and had been appointed as a Past Grand Master of the UGLE a year later, it was almost as an afterthought that he was formally offered the Grand Mastership in 1874 after the resignation of the Marquess of Ripon on his conversion to Roman Catholicism. I suspect that it was somewhat to the surprise of the Earl of Carnarvon, the Deputy Grand Master, that the Prince accepted the offer. However, the Prince immediately appointed Lord Carnarvon as his Pro Grand Master, and the earl then installed him as Grand Master in the Royal Albert Hall in April 1875 at a meeting which thousands of Freemasons attended.

In his address to the Prince Lord Carnarvon emphasised what he saw as the key aspect and value of ‘English’ freemasonry, namely its alliance with
‘social order and the great institutions of the country, and, above all, with the monarchy, the crowning institution of all.’
That was the first sound of the theme of loyalty that was to be heard ever more clearly and frequently as the Queen’s reign and the Grand Mastership of her son continued. Lord Carnarvon also claimed that Freemasonry’s ‘works of sympathy and charity’ had earned it ‘respect even in the eyes of the outer world’. And for his part the newly installed Grand Master added that
as long as Freemasons do not, as Freemasons, mix themselves up in politics so long I am sure this high and noble order will flourish, and will maintain the integrity of our great empire.

The Times described the event as a ‘gathering unequalled alike in the numbers and social status of those who took part in it’, representing ‘the largest association of English gentlemen’, an event that marked out the difference between freemasonry as practised in England, with its ‘solemn protestation of its loyal, religious, and charitable principles’, and continental freemasonry where it was ‘quite possible that under the pressure of past tyranny Freemasonry was really used…as a means of revolutionary agitation.’ Indeed, the favourable press the Craft then received as ‘a perfectly innocuous, loyal and virtuous Association’, constituted a high-water mark in the public recognition of ‘English’ freemasonry at the outset of the last quarter of the nineteenth century.

The Prince of Wales thus got off to a flying start as Grand Master. He was the head of an ancient and well respected institution that was perceived to be socially useful and, above all, loyal to the monarchy that crowned the largest empire the world had ever seen and over which he would eventually preside. The Empire was still growing apace and the Craft under the English, Irish and Scottish Grand Lodges grew with it. At every Masonic function throughout the Empire, Freemasons drank the Queen’s health. Even in the Dominion of Canada and the colony of South Australia, where the majority of the British lodges had broken away to form their own Grand Lodges, their new Grand Lodges insisted that they remained loyal to the British Crown.

Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in June 1887 provided just the right context for the celebration of the renewed close relationship between the Royal family and the Craft. The major event was to be a ‘Special Meeting’ of Grand Lodge, at the Royal Albert Hall, to move a loyal Address to the Queen, but two additional ideas were put forward early in that jubilee year, only to fade away in the following months.

First, the Prince of Wales, with the Queen’s approval, decided in 1886 that the nation should commemorate the jubilee by erecting the ‘Imperial Institute of the United Kingdom, the Colonies, and India’, and he called on institutions and individuals to subscribe to the Fund he had set up for that purpose. So in January 1887, Lord Carnarvon, the Pro Grand Master, dutifully wrote to each lodge under the English Constitution to ask it to consider his suggestion that it make a voluntary subscription to the Fund of not more than a guinea per head (about £85 in today’s money). Although he announced in April that the initial response was largely in favour of the idea, and the intended Masonic collection was then announced in The Times on 25 April, the amount actually collected appears to have been so insignificant that the Masonic contribution received no further mention either in Grand Lodge - or indeed at the Albert Hall meeting, the proceeds of which were donated to the Masonic charities rather than to the Imperial Institute.

The second idea was more imaginative but had an even shorter life. At the March Quarterly Communication the Master of Mizpah Lodge moved that
'to perpetuate the memory of the Jubilee…it be resolved that the Grand Lodge of England do prepare forthwith a Foundation Stone…to be ultimately placed, if possible, upon the ground in or near the original site of King Solomon’s Temple…and that the rebuilding of the said Temple as a “House of Prayer for all Nations” shall be proceeded with as soon as necessary funds be provided.'
Although the proposer claimed that the expense to Grand Lodge would be but £25, and despite his argument that Queen Victoria was ‘quite equal in glory to King Solomon’, the minutes of the meeting record that ‘The motion not being seconded fell to the ground.’ On the other hand, and to support needy regalia manufacturers, Grand Lodge then proceeded to carry the motion ‘That Past Masters be entitled to wear a distinctive Collar.’

Thousands of Freemasons attended the Special Meeting on 13 June 1887. The Prince of Wales presided as Grand Master. At his side sat his younger brother, the Duke of Connaught (the Provincial Grand Master for Sussex and the District Grand Master for Bombay, and whom he had also appointed as a Past Grand Master). The Senior Warden was none other than the Grand Master’s eldest son, Prince Albert Victor. His Highness the Maharaja of Kuch-Behar added imperial lustre to the occasion, and the wider universality of the Craft was demonstrated by deputations from the Irish and Scottish Grand Lodges, a Past DepGM from New York City, a general from Hawaii, and a bishop representing the Grand Lodge of British Columbia. In opening the proceedings the Grand Master reminded the brethren that ‘Loyalty and Philanthropy’ were two of the Craft’s proudest tenets. He then invited the Grand Secretary to read the proposed Address, and, as this extract will show, loyalty was its keynote:
We, your Majesty’s most loyal and faithful subjects…most respectfully desire…to assure your Majesty of our fervent and unabated attachment to your Throne and Royal person. Founded as our ancient Institution is on principles of unswerving loyalty to our Sovereign and fidelity to our country, we rejoice to think that the great increase of our Order in all parts of your Majesty’s Dominions is in unison with the welfare of the nation and the maintenance of the established Institutions of the land…
In moving the motion, the Pro Grand Master, Lord Carnarvon, declared that
'in English Freemasonry order and law and loyalty to our Sovereign are the pillars of our ancient Institution'.
He reminded the audience that the Queen was ‘the daughter of a Freemason, that her uncles had been in Freemasonry, that her Royal sons are Freemasons, and that she has a Grandson in the Order’, and he repeated the claim that of all her subjects ‘there are none who are animated with more heartfelt loyal devotedness to her Throne than the Freemasons of England.’ The Address was adopted ‘unanimously amidst loud cheering’. Having signed it, the Grand Master ‘called on the Brethren for three cheers for Her Majesty’ and then joined in the singing of all three verses of the National Anthem, led by the Grand Organist, none other than ‘Brother Sir Arthur Sullivan.’ A Golden Jubilee Jewel had already been commissioned for all members of the Craft at the time of the celebration, and, in further support of my theory that Craft was designed by and for regalia manufacturers, the Grand Master ended the jubilee celebration by appointing and investing about 100 ‘deserving Brethren’ with Past Grand ranks.

When the ‘loyal and dutiful’ Address was eventually presented to the Queen at Osborne on 2 August 1887 by a deputation from Grand Lodge, led by the Prince of Wales, she received it with pleasure and commented:
I observe that the Society of Freemasons increases in numbers and prosperity in proportion as the wealth and civilization of my Empire increases. I heartily appreciate the charitable efforts which have always distinguished your Society. I thank you sincerely for your affectionate devotion to my throne and person.
And just to round off a remarkable year, Grand Lodge, in September 1887, gladly accepted the Grand Master’s suggestion that Provincial and District Grand Masters be allowed to award a number of Past Provincial or District Grand ranks.

Queen Victoria completed the sixtieth year of her reign in 1897, and her Diamond Jubilee was celebrated even more grandly and widely. By then even more of the terrestrial globe was painted red, and the number of lodges on the role of this Grand Lodge alone had grown from 646 in 1837 to 2,220. In 1837 there had been only three Grand Lodges in the British Empire (England, Ireland and Scotland) but by 1897 a further twelve had been established, all independent, sovereign bodies but whose members, as British subjects, still owed their loyalty to ‘Her Imperial Majesty The Queen-Empress’.  

However, I did not find any formal announcement of Grand Lodge’s intentions to honour that Diamond Jubilee until I came across one in The Times of 1 May 1897 after an article starting with the sentence
'The Greek Government have taken a fresh step, and a long step, towards meeting the demands of Europe'.
In a section headed ‘The Queen’s reign’ I read first that the Grand Secretary had sent out invitations to Freemasons to support the Pro Grand Master by attending ‘a Masonic service to commemorate the record reign of Her Majesty the Queen’ at Southwark Cathedral on 27 May; and then the announcement of the Masonic celebration to be held in the Albert Hall on 14 June, the proceeds from which were to be divided between the ‘Prince of Wales Hospital Fund’ and the three Masonic charities.

The idea of calling on loyal Freemasons to mark a royal jubilee by raising money for a purpose other than the Masonic charities again met with some opposition. On this occasion, however, a compromise was reached. Seven thousand Freemasons attended the Albert Hall celebration, and the sale of tickets produced £7,000 (more than half a million pounds in today’s money), half of which went to the Prince’s Hospital Fund, and the rest to the three Masonic charities.

The Grand Master, HRH The Prince of Wales, presided, as in 1887, and among those present were the Grand Masters of Ireland, Scotland and South Australia, and His Highness the Rajah of Kapurthala, the 25 year-old head of the eponymous princely Indian state, then within the British Empire.

In his opening remarks the Grand Master repeated his belief that
'there is no body in her Majesty’s dominions who are more orderly or more loyal that the Freemasons'
and in these extracts from the proposed address to the Queen you will again note the emphasis on loyalty:

'We, your Majesty’s most faithful and loyal subjects, the Free and Accepted Masons under the United Grand Lodge of England, venture...on this, the completion of the 60th year of your Majesty’s reign over these Kingdoms and the vast Empire of the British Crown, humbly to offer our dutiful and heartfelt congratulations, and to express our continued and unswerving loyalty to your Majesty… No class of your Majesty’s subjects outvies in loyal attachment to the Throne and devotion to your Majesty’s person than the Ancient Institution of English Freemasonry… '

The motion to present the address to the Queen was carried by acclamation, and the address was there and then signed by the Grand Master – whereupon, according to The Freemason’s Chronicle
'Bro Sadler, Grand Tyler, seized the pen with which the important document had been completed, probably recognising its value as a memento of this most unique celebration. No doubt we shall hear in good time that the pen has been added to the collection of interesting articles in the possession of Grand Lodge, and in which our Grand Tyler takes so great and lively an interest'.

MW Pro Grand Master and Brethren, this is that very pen. Bro Sadler subsequently suggested that brethren who had yet to donate to the Prince of Wales’ Fund could write their cheques with it. I have no idea how many brethren took up that idea, but the pen, and this, the inkstand used on 14 June 1897, are still kept in the Library and Museum.

The Grand Master then invested the Raja of Kapurthala as a Past SGW, the Grand Master of South Australia as a Past JGW and the Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells as a Past Grand Chaplain, before going on to make sixty further appointments to past Grand Rank, most of whom were present to be invested. There was one notable absentee, however, from the District Grand Lodge of Egypt, who was nevertheless appointed as a Past JGW, namely Major-General Sir Horatio Herbert Kitchener. His apology for absence, if he sent one, might have mentioned that he was instead leading his Egyptian and British armies up the Nile to Khartoum to avenge the murder of General Gordon.

Before the meeting closed the Earl of Lathom, on behalf of Grand Lodge, presented the Grand Master with a jewel in commemoration of the great event, a jewel set with 62 diamonds and which is now on display in the Library and Museum, together with examples of the other jewels specially commissioned by Grand Lodge for the Queen Victoria’s Golden and Diamond Jubilees. HRH expressed his thanks and, on retiring from the Hall, he ‘turned and bowed three times before disappearing from view’. (The Home Secretary took only a month to acknowledge the Queen’s receipt of Grand Lodge’s ‘loyal and dutiful address’, and, following the example set in 1887, Provincial and District Grand Masters were empowered to confer a large number of Past ranks.)

But we did not celebrate the 1897 Diamond Jubilee only at that special meeting of Grand Lodge, or with additional Masonic ‘bling’. Loyal Masons in full regalia  attended cathedral and church services from Axminster in Devon to Bridgetown in Barbados and from Durham to Llandaff; the Freemasons of Kent presented the east window to the Chapter House of Canterbury Cathedral; at a ceremony in Leicester, Bro Sir Israel Hart laid the foundation stone of the new Jewish synagogue and the Mayor, Bro Marshall, laid a second stone to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee; the Scarborough brethren installed electric light in the Hospital and Dispensary; the Nottinghamshire brethren put on a concert and a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Nottingham Castle – specially illuminated by electric light for the occasion – to which ‘non-Masons and ladies’ were admitted, the Masons being ‘at liberty to appear in the clothing and jewels of any Degree to which they may belong; and Constitutional Lodge in Beverley, Yorkshire, held its own ‘special meeting’ when a ‘handsome moose deer head’ was presented to the Earl of Londesborough.

Full reports of the Albert Hall event appeared in the press. This extract from The Evening Standard encapsulates the depiction of the English Craft at that time:
'The great meeting of Freemasons at the Royal Albert Hall was remarkable for the presence of many of the Indian Princes now present in the country, and it was stated…that the Indian Christians, Parsees, Hindoos, and Mohammedans met together in the Lodges, irrespective of religion and caste, and dined and held social intercourse with each other… Happily, Freemasonry has not been converted in Great Britain or her colonies into a political machine, as has been the case in Europe, but has held itself aloof from all subjects alien to its constitution and purposes, foremost among which stand charity and goodwill towards men…There can be no doubt that the Masonic body exercises a large influence for good, and that it is an institution that has a beneficial effect upon public life in England.'

So, Brethren, those were some snapshots of how our predecessors celebrated the golden and diamond jubilees of Queen Victoria. How times have changed! But, Brethren, I am sure you will agree with me that our loyalty to the sovereign of our native land, and indeed to all our principles, remains unabated.

MW Pro Grand Master, at Grand Lodge’s celebration of the Golden Jubilee in 1887 the Prince of Wales led the assembly in giving three cheers for Queen Victoria. I am assured that it is your wish that we celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at least as enthusiastically.

The Pro Grand Master warmly confirmed this.
The Grand Director of Ceremonies then called the Brethren to order and led them in three hearty cheers for Her Majesty the Queen.

Quarterly Communication of Grand Lodge 
13 June 2012 
Report of the Board of General Purposes 

Minutes

The Minutes of the Quarterly Communication of 14 March 2012 and the Annual Investiture of 25 April 2012 were confirmed.

ANNUAL DUES
A Resolution was moved that the annual dues (including VAT) payable to Grand Lodge in respect of each member of every lodge for the year 2013 shall be:
In a lodge in England and Wales that is unattached .............................  £50
In a lodge in a Metropolitan Area or a Province ..................................  £30
In a lodge in a District ............................................................................£7.50
In a lodge abroad not in a District ..........................................................£12.50
The Resolution was approved.

FEES
A Resolution was moved that the fees (exclusive of VAT) payable for registration, certificates and dispensations should be increased in line with inflation to:
(a) the Registration of £
1. A Grand Officer, present or past, on first appointment ................... £106
2. A Deputy or Assistant Metropolitan Grand Master or a
Metropolitan Grand Inspector (under Rule 60) ...............................       £59
3. A Deputy or Assistant Provincial or District Grand
Master (under Rule 66) ....................................................................       £59
4. A holder of Overseas Grand Rank (under Rule 93) ..........................  £23
5. A Mason, inclusive of Grand Lodge Certificate (initiation,
or joining from a Lodge not under the Grand Lodge)
In a Lodge in England and Wales that is unattached ...................            £59
In a Lodge in a Metropolitan Area or a Province ........................             £52
In a Lodge in a District ................................................................             £32
In a Lodge abroad not under a District ........................................             £44
(b) the replacement or amendment of a Grand Lodge Certificate ..........  £58
(c) a certificate for a Serving Brother .....................................................  £32
(d) a Dispensation by the Grand Master ...............................................    £30
a Dispensation by the Grand Master “nunc pro tunc” ............................. £60
The Resolution was approved.

CONTRIBUTION TO THE GRAND CHARITY
Under Rule 271, Book of Constitutions, Grand Lodge must fix each year the annual contribution that is payable to the Grand Charity. The Council of the Grand Charity had  requested that for 2013 the annual contribution be increased to £16 in respect of each member of a lodge in a Metropolitan Area or a Province, or in England and Wales that is unattached.

The Resolution was approved.

PRESTONIAN LECTURES
2011: Was Sir Christopher Wren a Freemason?
The Lecturer, Dr J.W.P. Campbell, has informed the Board that in addition to the five official deliveries to Isaac Newton University Lodge, No. 859 (Cambridgeshire); Christopher Wren Lodge, No. 4855 (Berkshire); Archibald Campbell Lodge, No. 4998 (Madras); Alphin Lodge, No. 8461 (East Lancashire) and Metropolitan Grand Stewards’ Lodge, No. 9812 (London), the Lecture was also delivered on eight other occasions throughout the Constitution. The Board expressed its thanks to Bro Campbell for the considerable time and effort he has spent in this connection.

2012: Scouting and Freemasonry: two parallel organisations?
The Prestonian Lecturer for 2012 is A.D.G. Harvey. Three official Prestonian Lectures for 2012 have been or will be given under the auspices of: Humber Installed Masters Lodge, No. 2494 (Yorkshire, North and East Ridings), Authors Lodge, No. 3456 (London) and North Notts Masters Lodge, No. 9525 (Nottinghamshire).

RECOGNITION OF FOREIGN GRAND LODGES
The Grand Lodge Oriental of Colombia “Francisco de Paula Santander”

The Grand Lodge Oriental of Colombia “Francisco de Paula Santander” was formed on 18 November 1945 from four lodges meeting in the region of Santander under the National Grand Lodge of Colombia, at Barranquilla, which is one of the four Colombian Grand Lodges currently recognised by the UGLE.

The Grand Lodge of los Andes
On 29 April 1972 the Grand Lodge of los Andes was formed by the Grand Lodge Oriental of Colombia “Francisco de Paula Santander”.

The four Colombian Grand Lodges already recognised by the UGLE together with the above two cover distinct geographical areas in Colombia and all share mutual recognition.

The Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Nevada
The Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Nevada was formed on 16 August 1980, from three lodges meeting in that State under the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Arizona, which was recognised by the UGLE on 11 September 2002. Having shown that they have regular decendency and that they conform to the Basic Principles for Grand Lodge Recognition, the Board, having no reason to believe that they will not continue to maintain a regular path, recommends that these three Grand Lodges be recognised.

A Resolution to this effect was approved.

ERASURE OF LODGES
The Board had received a report that 18 lodges had closed and had surrendered their Warrants. The lodges are:
Lodge of Emulation, No. 1505 (West Lancashire), Greenwood Lodge, No. 1982 (Surrey), Carville Lodge, No. 2497 (Northumberland), King Edward VII Lodge, No. 2969 (South Africa, Western Division), Napier Clavering Lodge, No. 3428 (Northumberland), Raynes Park Lodge, No. 4377 (Surrey), London Staffordshire Lodge, No. 4474 (London), Continuity and Perpetua Lodge, No. 4651 (London), Lodge of Progress, No. 5017 (Hertfordshire), Camperdown Lodge, No. 5250 (Hertfordshire), City Centre Lodge, No. 5787 (London), Hinchley Wood Lodge, No. 5809 (Surrey), Noel Acacia Lodge, No. 5852 (Surrey), Keystone Lodge, No. 6173 (Warwickshire), Rosemary Lodge, No. 6421 (Northumberland), Riverside Lodge, No. 7247 (London),  Allegiance Lodge, No. 7434 (Cheshire) and  St Ambrose Lodge, No. 8251 (West Lancashire).

A Resolution that these lodges be erased was approved.

THE RULERS’ FORUM
A recent review of the Rulers’ Forum and consultation with Provincial Grand Masters has led to the conclusion that the Forum is not functioning as originally intended. By contrast, the Rulers’ Forum Groups have proved remarkably effective in promoting discussion across Provincial boundaries. After careful consideration, the Board recommended that the Rulers’ Forum be dissolved and that the Rulers’ Forum Groups be reconstituted on an informal basis.

It further recommended that the members of the Commission for Appeals Courts and certain members of the Panel for Clemency, who are currently elected by the Rulers’ Forum at its meeting in December, be appointed in future by the Grand Master from among Brethren nominated for appointment in the same manner as currently applies for election by the Rulers’ Forum.

A Notice of Motion to amend the Book of Constitutions accordingly appeared the Paper of Business.

LIST OF NEW LODGES
List of new lodges for which warrants have been granted by The Grand Master showing the dates from which their warrants became effective:
14 March 2012:
9870 Sir Adeyemo Alakija Lodge (Ebute Metta, Nigeria)
9871 Sussex Motorcycling Lodge (Southwick, Sussex)
9872 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy Lodge (Ramsey, Isle of Man)
9873 Ghana District Grand Stewards Lodge (Accra, Ghana)

ADDRESS: DIAMOND JUBILEE OF HM QUEEN ELIZABETH II
Dr J W Daniel gave an address entitled Royal Jubilees and Loyal Freemasons.

QUARTERLY COMMUNICATIONS
Grand Lodge will meet on 12 September 2012, 12 December 2012, 13 March 2013, 24 April 2013 (Annual Investiture), 12 June 2013 and 11 September 2013.

SUPREME GRAND CHAPTER
Supreme Grand Chapter will meet on 14 November 2012, 25 April 2013 and 16 October 2013 (transferred from 13 November by resolution of Grand Chapter).

17 September 2012 - UPDATE: It has just been announced that 'The Queen has been graciously pleased, on the ocassion of Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee' to award Brian Todhunter with the Royal Victorian Medal (Silver) for 'Restoration of Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia's Royal Barge and Escort Boats'.

 ***

Brian Todhunter, a member of Tuscan Oak and Lamberthead Lodge No.6387, will be on board the Royal Yacht Britannia's tender, the Britannia Royal Barge, transporting Her Majesty The Queen to the Royal Barge, the Spirit of Chartwell, for the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant this weekend.

Brian is a former Royal Navy engineer and a member of the Association of Royal Yachtsmen, having served on the Royal Yacht Britannia between 1975 and 1978.   Last November, at the Association's Annual General Meeting, he was asked to inspect the Britannia Royal Barge and an escort launch in order to get them both running. He quickly put together a team of ex-Royal Yachtsmen from the engineering branch, and, based in Leith, Scotland (Britannia's current home), they have worked tirelessly for the past seven months in order to recommission their engines and get the boats shipshape.  This has included extensive sea trials on the Firth of Forth in Force 4 winds - although he is not expecting anything quite so rough on the Thames!

The royal barge was used to transport The Queen and other members of the Royal Family to and from Britannia, until she was decommissioned in 1997.  Brian, who also served on HMS Hermes, said: “Its remarkable how well she ran after 15 years of idleness. We are all looking forward to carrying out Royal duty again - although probably for the last time”.

The Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, who is Patron of the Pageant, and the Duchess of Cornwall, will board the Britannia Royal Barge, at Chelsea Pier.  They will then be transported some eight hundred yards downstream to Cadogan Pier, where they will disembark and board the Royal Barge, the Spirit of Chartwell.  The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry will join them onboard.

The Britannia Royal Barge will then proudly escort the Royal Barge at the head of this spectacular pageant until the Royal party disembarks close to Blackfriars Bridge and boards HMS President, where they will watch the pageant go by. 

The Association of Royal Yachtsmen was founded in 1989 by Albert ‘Dixie’ Deane and is dedicated to bringing together many of the estimated 1,767 ‘Yotties’ who served on-board HMY Britannia between 14 January 1954 and 11 December 1997.  HM The Queen is Patron of the Association and the Duke of Edinburgh is its President.  Its headquarters are on the Royal Yacht Britannia, where many Yotties return annually for their working party week. Throughout this sociable week the Yotties work alongside Britannia’s maintenance crew to undertake a wide range of jobs throughout their old home. They also mix with visitors, who are enthralled by their stories of the 'good old days'.

Further information on the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant, which takes place on Sunday 3 June 2012, can be found on their website.

To mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the Province of Yorkshire, West Riding will make grants available up to £250,000 to non-masonic causes in its area

The Province was invited by the Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, Dr Ingrid Roscoe, to become involved in the Diamond Jubilee. As the Province covers three Lord Lieutenancies, making grants that covered the entire vicinity was seen as an appropriate manner in which to mark the occasion.

Called the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Masonic Grants, £100,000 will be allocated to major grants and the rest will be for minor grants under £5,000. Provincial Grand Master John Clayton said, ‘It is fitting that an organisation such as the Freemasons, which instils a moral and ethical approach to life, should mark the occasion by making available these grants. In the past 25 years, the Province has given over £2.5m to support local non-masonic causes.’

Applications for grants, from recognised organisations, must have the support of a lodge or chapter in the Province.

To mark the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty The Queen the Province of Yorkshire, West Riding will make available up to £250,000 in grants to non-Masonic causes within the geographical area covered by the Province. These will be called “The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Masonic Grants”.

£100,000 of the total will be allocated to major grants; the rest will be for minor grants under £5,000. John Clayton, the Provincial Grand Master in announcing the decision, said “It is fitting that an organisation such as the Freemasons, which instils a moral and ethical approach to life: and teaches and practices concern for people, care for the less fortunate and help for those in need, should mark the Diamond Jubilee of The Queen by making available these grants. In the last 25 years the Province has given over £2.5M to support local non-Masonic causes”.

Applications for grants, from recognised organisations, must have the support of a Lodge or Chapter in the Province, and will normally be for capital projects or to purchase equipment.  Eligibility for grants will be in line with the existing rules, consequently, applications will not be considered for revenue projects or to sponsor individuals.

Certificates to mark the Diamond Jubilee will be presented to recipients of the grants at an event to be held at the Royal Armouries in Leeds on 20 June 2012, where the major grants will be announced and awarded. It is hoped the Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, Dr Ingrid M Roscoe will be present, or represented.