Archived papers reveal UK queen's 'World War Three' speech

By Li-mei Hoang

LONDON (Reuters) - Relations between the Soviet Union and the West had become so tense 30 years ago that British officials drew up a speech for Queen Elizabeth to deliver to the nation in the event of a nuclear war, newly released archives showed on Thursday.

In the speech, the monarch was to urge Britons to remain united and resolute in the face of the "madness of war."

Written by government officials, the hypothetical speech was part of a secret exercise designed to prepare Britain for the threat of a possible World War Three, but was never broadcast.

It starts by referring to the queen's traditional Christmas address to the nation.

"The horrors of war could not have seemed more remote as my family and I shared our Christmas joy with the growing family of the Commonwealth," she was to have said.

"Now, this madness of war is once more spreading through the world and our brave country must again prepare itself to survive against great odds."

The queen's speech was imagined to be broadcast in the spring of 1983 against the backdrop of worsening U.S.-Soviet relations, during a year in which then U.S. President Ronald Reagan described the Soviet Union as an "evil empire".

The queen was to have continued: "I have never forgotten the sorrow and the pride I felt as my sister and I huddled around the nursery wireless set listening to my father's (King George VI's) inspiring words on that fateful day in 1939 (at the start of the World War Two).

"Not for a single moment did I imagine that this solemn and awful duty would one day fall to me."

Citing the close bond of family life as the greatest defense against the unknown, the speech also mentioned the queen's second son Prince Andrew, who was serving in the Royal Navy at the time.

"If families remain united and resolute, giving shelter to those living alone and unprotected, our country's will to survive cannot be broken," she was to have said.

The papers were released by the National Archives as part of a 30-year rule that sees official records from the Prime Minister's office and Cabinet Office released to the public.

They also revealed how Margaret Thatcher, who was Britain's prime minister at the time, dismissed the idea of hiring the then 21-year old William Hague - now Foreign Secretary - as an advisor to the Treasury.

"No," she wrote, underlining the word three times before adding "This is a gimmick and would be deeply resented by many who have financial economic experience."

(Reporting by Li-mei Hoang, editing by Paul Casciato)

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Archived papers reveal Queen's 'World War Three' speech

By Li-mei Hoang

LONDON (Reuters) - Relations between the Soviet Union and the West had become so tense 30 years ago that British officials drew up a speech for the Queen to deliver to the nation in the event of a nuclear war, newly released archives showed on Thursday.

In the speech, the monarch was to urge Britons to remain united and resolute in the face of the "madness of war."

Written by government officials, the hypothetical speech was part of a secret exercise designed to prepare Britain for the threat of a possible World War Three, but was never broadcast.

It starts by referring to the queen's traditional Christmas address to the nation.

"The horrors of war could not have seemed more remote as my family and I shared our Christmas joy with the growing family of the Commonwealth," she was to have said.

"Now, this madness of war is once more spreading through the world and our brave country must again prepare itself to survive against great odds."

The queen's speech was imagined to be broadcast in the spring of 1983 against the backdrop of worsening U.S.-Soviet relations, during a year in which then U.S. President Ronald Reagan described the Soviet Union as an "evil empire".

The queen was to have continued: "I have never forgotten the sorrow and the pride I felt as my sister and I huddled around the nursery wireless set listening to my father's (King George VI's) inspiring words on that fateful day in 1939 (at the start of the World War Two).

"Not for a single moment did I imagine that this solemn and awful duty would one day fall to me."

Citing the close bond of family life as the greatest defence against the unknown, the speech also mentioned the queen's second son Prince Andrew, who was serving in the Royal Navy at the time.

"If families remain united and resolute, giving shelter to those living alone and unprotected, our country's will to survive cannot be broken," she was to have said.

The papers were released by the National Archives as part of a 30-year rule that sees official records from the Prime Minister's office and Cabinet Office released to the public.

They also revealed how Margaret Thatcher, who was the prime minister at the time, dismissed the idea of hiring the then 21-year old William Hague - now Foreign Secretary - as an advisor to the Treasury.

"No," she wrote, underlining the word three times before adding "This is a gimmick and would be deeply resented by many who have financial economic experience."

(Reporting by Li-mei Hoang, editing by Paul Casciato)

View the original article here

'Desperate father' spray paints British queen's portrait

By Michael Holden

LONDON (Reuters) - A man defaced a portrait of Britain's Queen Elizabeth with paint at London's Westminster Abbey on Thursday, with a campaign group for fathers' rights saying he was one of its members making a "desperate" plea to the monarch for help.

The painting of the 87-year-old monarch, "The Coronation Theatre: Portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II" by London-based artist Ralph Heimans, had been part of a display marking the 60 years since the queen's coronation in 1953.

"In an incident at lunchtime today, a visitor to the Abbey sprayed paint on the Ralph Heimans portrait of the queen presently on display in the Chapter House," an Abbey spokesman said.

"Until work can be done to remedy the damage, it will, very regrettably, not be possible to have the painting on public view."

London's Metropolitan Police said security guards had detained a suspect at the scene. Officers arrested the 41-year-old man on suspicion of criminal damage and he has been taken to a central London police station for questioning.

Fathers4Justice (F4J), a group which supports divorced fathers seeking greater access to their children, said one of its members had carried out the attack to bring attention to his plight ahead of Father's Day on Sunday.

"We understand that a desperate father belonging to Fathers4Justice has attempted to write the word 'help' on a portrait of the queen in Westminster Abbey," the group said in a statement, adding it was not directly involved.

F4J named the man as Tim Haries from Doncaster in northern England. "Tim Haries has lost all contact with his children and felt he had nothing to lose by appealing directly to the queen for help by spraying his plea onto her portrait," said Campaign Director Jolly Stanesby.

F4J gained notoriety in 2004 when a campaigner dressed as Batman climbed the queen's Buckingham Palace residence and another threw purple flour bombs at former Prime Minister Tony Blair while he addressed parliament.

In 2006, two of its members were arrested after scaling London's Westminster Abbey with a crucified dummy Jesus Christ. Earlier that year, the campaign group said it had decided to disband after reports that police had foiled a plot to kidnap Blair's five-year-old son Leo.

A new official campaign group reformed some years later.

Last week, the queen and senior members of the royal family attended a service of celebration at the Abbey to mark the diamond anniversary of her coronation.

(Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)

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