On the Beach, Omaha, stood Gordon Brown, current Prime Minister of England; Nicholas Sarkozy, the French President; Stephen Harper, the Canadian Prime Minister; and Prince Charles - filling in for his mother, who was noticeably absent.
The Queen is the only one of the lot who has any connection to Normandy and the battle that took place on the beaches - she is the only one old enough, the only one who served in the war (in her official capacity).
So the question of why she wasn't invited remains that, a question.....
To my mind it was a deliberate snub and there’s no two ways about it. That’s the French President for you.
'The Queen is the only head of state who served in the Second World War and she has far more right to be there than Barack Obama or Monsieur Sarkozy. I was
delighted to see the Prince,’ continued Mr Townsend, ‘but I think the Queen should have been here and I wonder why the French didn’t invite her.’
Mr Townsend’s feelings were echoed by many veterans wearing badges bearing the Queen’s photograph in protest at her absence.
Now aged in their mid and late 80s, the 65th anniversary may be the last time they are able to make their pilgrimage and they had longed to do it before their Sovereign.
Yet the French government had described the event as a ‘Franco-American occasion’, preferring to invite Tom Hanks, the star of the Hollywood movie Saving Private Ryan.
Their seeming precedence over the British head of state will further encourage accusations that Hollywood has hijacked D-Day, using creative licence to manufacture a cinematic history at odds with the truth through epics such as
Band Of Brothers, which Hanks co-produced with Steven Spielberg.
I don't believe it was the French President who instigated the 'snubbing' of the Queen. I do believe the French were the carrier of the message, but it was not Sarkozy. Sarkozy and Bush are very friendly. Sarkozy and Obama have virtually nothing in common and Sarkozy does not like the man personally (nor does his wife). It was not Sarkozy who wanted this to be a moment he and Obama got to bond - it was, I believe, at the insistence of Barack Hussein Obama, that the Queen was not invited.
Why? She would be the main character in the play that unfolded on the cliffs above Normandy - Not Barack. She would be the one the media would turn to, not Barack. She would capture the spotlight, for all the reasons the veteran referenced above gave - not Barack.
Barack cannot stand the idea he is not the center of all attention. With his speaking (teleprompter) ability, he should surely be the man on the field - and he needs the photo op - to use again in 3 years when he runs for president. It is entirely about politics. Everything he does domestically is politics and his handlers (with his knowledge) wanted this to be Obama Day, not Queen Day.
The truth will come out, but it may take some time. It will happen a) if Obama is weakened politically, b) he is defeated in 2012, c) on or shortly after January 21, 2017.
One way, or the other, the truth will come out and while the Queen may not be with us, we will also learn from insiders at Buckingham Palace that she was aware, and that Sarkozy was forced to exclude the Queen. She will, if I am correct, not forgive Sarkozy nor Obama, and this will play out if there are any future moments where the individuals could meet.
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