Queen Elizabeth is the ’embodiment of the national spirit’

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth has been hailed as the “embodiment of the national spirit”.
Sir Simon McDonald, the British Ambassador to Berlin, has underlined Germany’s respect for the 89-year-old monarch, who’s currently on a state visit to the country.
He said: “She stands for reliability, continuity, stability, she is the focus of national attention and if there is a national event or a national crisis she is the embodiment of the national spirit.
“That is something that the Germans appreciate, it’s almost a kind of nostalgia for them – if things had worked out differently they would have had something similar, but they don’t.”
Meanwhile, it’s been suggested the Queen may have to be temporarily moved from Buckingham Palace to allow refurbishment work to take place.
The royal residence has not been decorated since 1952 and needs new plumbing and wiring.
A source said: “One option is for the palace to be vacated. The initial estimate for the refurbishment of Buckingham Palace looks like £150 million.
“That depends on how you go about refurbishment, whether you do it in parts or the whole thing (at once).”