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Recalling those encounters of the royal kind

As the nation prepares to celebrate, we look at the Queen's Jewish connections

June 9, 2016 12:49
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth enthroned on a bejewelled howdah in Jaipur, India in 1961.

As the nation pays tribute to the Queen for her official 90th birthday this weekend, we may be tempted to wish her "till 120".

Moses lived to 120, a fact I recall being taught at primary school. But little did I know how this knowledge would be applied 25 years later. I was working at Buckingham Palace during the Diamond Jubilee in 2012, and one of the special events that year, held in the spectacular ballroom, was a gathering of the leaders of an exclusive group of historic organisations called "Privileged Bodies".

They had a special status which carried rights to convey a message of congratulations to the monarch in person on significant anniversaries.

The Board of Deputies, dating back to 1760, was among them and at the end of his address, the-then Board president, Vivian Wineman, wished the Queen "to 120".

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