JEDDAH: The British Consulate in Jeddah and UK diplomatic and trade missions in the Kingdom celebrated the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II at the premises of the consulate on Tuesday.
The guest of honor, Adel Abdurrahman Bakhsh, director of protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Makkah region, elite Saudi guests, diplomats from various countries and members of the British expat community attended the event.
Consul General Mohammed Shoukat, who welcomed the guests, said the consulate was celebrating three things together: Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday, 100 years of diplomatic relations between the two Kingdoms and the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s life.
British Ambassador Simon Collis said, “Nobody under about 80 years old can remember a time when she was not the Queen. It is a remarkable achievement and we wish her many more years.”
He said they were also commemorating the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare. The Bard was famously described by his friend and rival dramatist Ben Jonson as a man not just for his time but for all times.
“We might add also for all humanity. His plays and poetry have shaped our English language, perhaps our greatest gift to the world. And through his treatment of the subjects he dealt with they have changed the way we think about the world and our own place in it, as individuals and as societies,” said Collins.
Another theme of the celebration was 100 years of relations between the UK and Saudi Arabia. The Treaty of Darin was signed between King Abdulaziz and Captain Shakespear over ten years before the foundation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a state. “Relations between our two countries are long. They are also deep and wide; never more so than today,” he added.
The guest of honor, Adel Abdurrahman Bakhsh, director of protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Makkah region, elite Saudi guests, diplomats from various countries and members of the British expat community attended the event.
Consul General Mohammed Shoukat, who welcomed the guests, said the consulate was celebrating three things together: Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday, 100 years of diplomatic relations between the two Kingdoms and the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s life.
British Ambassador Simon Collis said, “Nobody under about 80 years old can remember a time when she was not the Queen. It is a remarkable achievement and we wish her many more years.”
He said they were also commemorating the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare. The Bard was famously described by his friend and rival dramatist Ben Jonson as a man not just for his time but for all times.
“We might add also for all humanity. His plays and poetry have shaped our English language, perhaps our greatest gift to the world. And through his treatment of the subjects he dealt with they have changed the way we think about the world and our own place in it, as individuals and as societies,” said Collins.
Another theme of the celebration was 100 years of relations between the UK and Saudi Arabia. The Treaty of Darin was signed between King Abdulaziz and Captain Shakespear over ten years before the foundation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a state. “Relations between our two countries are long. They are also deep and wide; never more so than today,” he added.
