Cartoon: The Queen Takes the Tube

This cartoon by Mac from The Daily Mail relates to news that the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall (aka, Charles and Camilla) have made their first joint trip on the London Underground to celebrate its 150th anniversary. The royal couple travelled on the Tube from Farringdon to King's Cross on the Metropolitan line. Charles last travelled on the Tube in April 1979 when he opened the first stage of the Jubilee line. Read more >>

The cartoon shows the Queen and Prince Philip standing on a crowded tube train, surrounded by a typically mixed bunch of passengers, who are oblivious to the royal presence. The Queen comments, "I don't understand. Charles and Camilla said it was quite jolly."

HISTORICAL NOTE
As Princess Elizabeth, the Queen travelled on the Underground for the first time in May 1939, when she was 13 years old, with her governess Marion Crawford and Princess Margaret. In 1977, she travelled from Hatton Cross to Heathrow in the driver’s cab of a Tube train, when she opened the Piccadilly Line extension.

VOCABULARY
1. A jolly event is lively and enjoyable. • Everyone agreed that it had indeed been a jolly day out as promised by the brewery.
2. The tube is the underground railway system in London.

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