Telegraph writers and editors have chosen 25 notable Britons of 2012 – here are our top 10 – including our Briton of the Year
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The Queen not only celebrated her
Diamond Jubilee, giving us all a reason to remind ourselves what is best
about Britain, but also played a starring role in the opening ceremony
of London 2012 Olympics Photo: PA
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The Queen, Our Greatest Briton
When historians look back on 2012, one Briton will define the year’s momentous
and joyous events more than any other. The Queen not only celebrated her
Diamond Jubilee, giving us all a reason to remind ourselves what is best
about Britain, but also played a starring role in the opening ceremony of
London 2012.
Who will ever forget the delicious moment when Her Majesty greeted James Bond
at Buckingham Palace, before appearing to parachute out of a helicopter into
the Olympic Park? Our Olympians and Paralympians may have given us a month’s
worth of unashamed patriotism, but the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee was the
culmination of a lifetime of service to the country.
At the centre of the celebrations were four remarkable days in June, during
which the Queen defied age and the elements to attend the Thames Pageant,
the splendidly over-the-top Jubilee Concert outside Buckingham Palace and a
Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s, followed by a Carriage Procession and
Balcony appearance. She had already taken on a daunting schedule of travel
at the beginning of the year, as she set out to visit every corner of the
United Kingdom, determined that as many of us as possible should see her in
her landmark year; and she ended 2012 in the same spirit, shaking off a cold
to lead her family to church on Christmas Day. Her Majesty has not only
defined a year, but has helped shape an entire era, and for that she is our
Greatest Briton.
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Read the rest of this entry at The Telegraph >>
