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As of this month, Sir Peter Westmacott is Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the United States of America. Sir Peter replaces Nigel Sheinwald, Ambassador since October 2007. [Read Sheinwald's departing words]

Westmacott was born in the village of Edington, Somerset in the South West of England in December 1950. He was educated at New College Oxford. He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1972, and has extensive experience abroad with postings in Tehran, Brussels, Ankara, and Paris.

The new ambassador also has royal connections: in 1990, he was made Deputy Private Secretary to the Prince of Wales. Three years later, Westmacott was sent to Washington as a Counsellor. Later postings included Director for the Americas in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and Deputy Under Secretary of State.

In 2002, Westmacott was appointed Ambassador to Turkey, where he served until 2006. The following year he was appointed as the Ambassador to France where he served until this month.

The Wisdom Of Queens

Sally Bedell Smith writes for TIME magazine:

Few remember now, but the regally wrinkled Queen Elizabeth II was once called the World’s Sweetheart. Trained for her role from birth by her parents and various tutors, she walked onto the world stage at age 25 fully equipped to do honor to her post. Kate Middleton, now the Duchess of Cambridge, entered the spotlight without a lifetime of preparation, but she seems open to learning how to play her part.

During Elizabeth’s 60 years on the throne–the longest reign in the 1,000-year history of the British monarchy, save for Queen Victoria’s–she has evolved from ingenue to wise grandmother …

From this week’s issue of TIME, on newsstands January 6th. [Read more]

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

This has been a banner year for Her Majesty. After two royal weddings and several successful tours, she now looks forward to her Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

Throughout the year, many events kept Her Majesty busy. We take a look back at 2011 in review:

January

• 10^th: Singer Charlotte Church apologizes for referring to the Queen as ‘an old woman [who] has no idea what’s going on’. The Queen, who at almost 85 is one of the most experienced leaders in the world, wasn’t bothered in the slightest. People begin asking, “Charlotte who? Casiraghi?”

February

• 24th: Official visit to Wales by Prince William to introduce his fiancée and future Queen consort, Catherine Middleton.

March

• 17^th -18th: Prince William undertakes an official visit to New Zealand, representing The Queen.
• 19^th -21^st: Prince William continues on an official visit to Australia.

April

• 21^st: The Queen turns 85.
• 23^rd: The christening of Savannah Phillips, Elizabeth’s first great-grandchild.

• 29th: Her grandson and eventual heir, Prince William, marries Catherine. They become the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

May

• 3^rd – 5th: The Prince of Wales represents Her Majesty on a visit to the United States.
• 17th – 20th: State Visit to Ireland by The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh.
• 24th – 26th: State Visit from the President of the United States and Mrs. Obama. The President and First Lady also meet with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
  

June

• 2^nd: The 58^th anniversary of Her Majesty’s coronation.
• 10^th: Prince Philip celebrates his 90^th birthday.
• 11^th: Her Majesty’s official birthday and Trooping the Color.
• 30^th: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge begin their extensive tour of Canada, representing the Queen.

July

• 1st – 8th: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge continue their Canadian tour, with a brief stop in Los Angeles, California in the USA.
• 11th: The year was darkened by the loss of a lovely man. The Queen’s first cousin, Lord Harewood, dies at age 88.
• 30th: The Queen’s eldest granddaughter, Zara Phillips, marries rugby captain Mike Tindall in Scotland.
  

August

• 15^th: Iranian media was caught publishing fake stories about an anti-monarchy uprising in the UK. The Guardian reports that the press for the Islamic regime used photos of the miners’ strike of 1984, a bloodied man who was involved in a football skirmish in 2010, among others, to pretend that there were anti-monarchy riots across Britain.
  

September

• 12^th: The BBC presents The Queen’s Palaces, a three-part landmark television series hosted by Fiona Bruce.

October

• 19th – 29th: The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh tour Australia. A protocol controversy brews upon being met at the airport by Prime Minister Julia Gellard, who bowed instead of curtseying. The rest of the tour is a smashing success.

November

• 2nd: Working visit to Copenhagen by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. They meet with Crown Prince Frederik and his wife, Crown Princess Mary.
• 20th: The Queen and Prince Philip celebrate their 64th wedding anniversary.

• 22nd – 24th: The President of the Republic of Turkey and Mrs. Gül paid a State Visit to the UK as the guests of Queen Elizabeth II.

December

• The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh host one of the largest royal gatherings at Sandringham in years. A brief scare ensues when Prince Philip suffers chest pains and is taken to a nearby hospital. The Duke turns out to be fine, but requires a stent to open a blocked coronary artery.

Queen’s Australia Trip May Overturn Succession Law

British Prime Minister David Cameron, with the backing of the Queen, has discussed overturning the ancient law of primogeniture in the United Kingdom.

Currently, if a first-born royal child is a girl, she will be automatically superseded in the line of succession if a male sibling is born.

With the marriage of Prince William to Kate Middleton in April, the topic of primogeniture has been a major talking point. It has been deemed out of date in the current modern era, and the Queen is set to support the change. Her Majesty needs the approval of Commonwealth countries to enact such a change, so the royal tour is the time to seize the moment.

David Howell, the Foreign Office minister for the Commonwealth, said that he believed the matter of royal succession “will be discussed and I believe approved at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth”.

A Handy Map: