The board remembering Queen Elizabeth II below the Old Warren “community transformation” board has been updated with the accession and coronation of Charles III: “Lisburn is proud of the history and heritage of our royal family – faith, blood, service, sacrifice – God save the King” with images of William III, the present king Charles III, and his mother and predecessor Queen Elizabeth II. For a (brief!) explanation of the line from William (1689) to Elizabeth (1952), see Elizabeth, Queen Of Orange.
For the previous (QEII remembrance) board (and an image of the old UDA mural at the top of the estate which is included in the “Before” panel on the left), see Conflict To Peace.
A new board was unveiled on July 1st 2024, by the 1st Raven Somme Society and The Loyal (Fb) at the Raven social club (Fb), putting together the Ulster Tower (see e.g. A Thought Is Not A Lot), JP Beadle’s painting of the 36th going ‘over the top’ (see The Trenches Have Vanished Under The Ploughs) and Wilfrid Spender’s famous quote about the first day of the Battle Of The Somme (see I Would Rather Be An Ulsterman).
This board takes the place of the King Charles board (seen previously in Long Live The King), which has been moved to the other side of Castlereagh Street and joined by the board that it replaced, to Queen Elizabeth (both on top of some old (2012) panels depicting east Belfast of yesteryear – see Shipyard Workers).
The two passages cited here have been cited before on the side wall at the junction of the Limestone Road and N Queen St, with images of Orange symbols and Union Flags, in order to promise that Your Kingdom Will Endure Forever. That theme has now been invoked in upper Tiger’s Bay, to celebrate the latest king (Charles III) of the everlasting kingdom demarcated by the shields of the “four nations” in the corners of the main gable, Northern Ireland included.
The people in question in the second book of Samuel are the people of Israel but as with previous scriptural references on the lower wall (Lamentations | Chronicles | Revelations | Psalms | Genesis), the Protestant people in Ireland and Britain are under discussion (though they might also refer to contemporary Israel).
In the King James version, 2 Samuel 7:10-16 the prophet Nathan is speaking to David: “Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime, and as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house. And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.”
In Luke 1:31-33, an angel is speaking to Mary: “And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”
Steeple Veterans flute band is a part-time band drawing on “veterans” or “old boys” of the Steeple Defenders (which used to have a board nearby). The “older but no wiser” tag-line is exemplified by the fact that they dress up in costume each 12th for the return leg of the day– in 2023 they adopted Jurassic Park as their theme, with members dressed as dinosaurs, park rangers, and explorers. The black ribbons in the bottom corners are perhaps in memory of member David Johnston, who died last year (2023) (Belfast Live | BelTel).
Also included (below) is a tribute to Elizabeth II on the occasion of her platinum jubilee, a few months before she passed away in September, 2022, added next to the Somme mural seen in Ulster Volunteer Forces.
“His majesty King Charles III D.G.Rex.F.D. [Dei gratia rex; fidei defensor – King by the grace of God; defender of the faith]” successor and son of Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) and father to William, the current Prince Of Wales and Baron Carrickfergus (no “of”).
Each of the corners of the board shows a quarter of the royal standard, including, in the bottom left, a ‘maid of Erin’ flag representing the kingdom of Ireland, which has been present in the standard (of England, of Great Britain, of the United Kingdom) since 1603. Shortly after partition (1922) it was used as the banner of arms of the Irish Free State and later adopted as the arms of Ireland and of the President but it continues to be used in the UK royal standard. (For a history of the royal standard, see Prothero, Faul, & Grieve one | two.)
September 8th, 2022, is the date of the accession of Charles – then Prince Of Wales – the UK crown, upon the death of his mother Elizabeth at ten past three in the afternoon (as shown on the clock in the bottom left of the wide shot, below). At Balmoral Castle, the Royal Standard (in the top left of the wide shot, below) was lowered and immediately raised again, as the monarchy immediately moved to Charles and he was present in the building (WP).
The unnamed figure on the left is William, the son of Charles and his first wife, Diana, and the current Prince Of Wales. William’s son, George, on the right, is known as “Prince George Of Wales” (and his siblings similarly) rather than (as here) “George, Prince Of Wales.” The title “Prince Of Wales” is reserved for the heir to the UK throne, currently William.
“His Majesty King Charles III by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories, King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.”
Devenish Drive, Monkstown, Newtownabbey, with funding from the Housing Executive (NI World) to replace the UDA hooded gunman seen in Open & Shut.
Queen Elizabeth II died, aged 96, on September 8th, 2022, and is now (according to this board) queen of the angels in heaven (Matthew 28:2), which perhaps allows her to send other angels to Earth (Matthew 24:31) to deliver messages to chosen people.
Also included (below) from the same street is a memorial tarp to British soldiers in the Great War and WWII, including Vickers machine guns, Spitfire aeroplanes, and a WWI tank (perhaps a Mark V (Tank Museum)).
Here is a survey of PUL boards (from left to right) at the shops in the centre of the village of Moygashel, just south of Dungannon.
First is a British Army soldier in a firing position. Compare this board to Now Is The Time To Kneel in Clonduff, Castlereagh, which suggested that the time for soldiers to kneel was in mourning for Queen Elizabeth.
The subject of the second image is obscure. Vanguard as a political and activist group dissolved in 1977 (WP) and the name and emblem have been taken up by the Vanguard Bears, a Rangers supporters’ club (see e.g. Defending Our Traditions).
Third is a children’s mural, produced (in part) by children from Howard primary school.
The ‘Time To Decide’ and UDR 8th (Co. Tyrone) battalion roll of honour were seen previously, alongside two others which are now absent, in Belfast Agreement Null & Void.
Beyond those is a tarp celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee, in 2022.
Finally, a Moygashel Youth Club (Fb) mural in disrepair.
This is the new Vanguard Bears (web) board at the Ulster Rangers Supporters’ Club on the Shankill Road. It replaces the board that celebrated the 55th championships of Rangers and Linfield. In the close-up above of the left-hand side, below King Charles III and formed into the numeral 66, are the names of the fans who were crushed to death as they left Ibrox after the Old Firm derby on January 2nd, 1971 (WP).
There used to be a Vanguard Bears board in Sugarfield Street, on the other side of the Shankill Road – see The Boys In Blue – and another is still in place in Barrington Street (Sandy Row) – see Follow, Follow.
Paddy Duffy Collection 