An elderly lady was caught driving a car without a seat belt. But she wasn’t fined because she can’t be. She’s the Queen! Queen Elizabeth drove her Jaguar away from a polo match in Windsor without wearing the belt, and the Daily Mail caught her on camera.
She was not on a public road, but even if she was, the chance of her getting a ticket was a zero. Such driving is against the law, but a reigning monarch cannot be found guilty of it. As British courts are established on her behalf, the Queen cannot be a defendant in one — as it will mean she was prosecuting herself. The Queen is also the only person in Britain who is permitted to drive without a licence and is not obliged to have registration plates on her vehicles. For ordinary motorists, the fine for not wearing a seatbelt is £60. It was doubled from £30 last year after the home office admitted the fine was not acting as enough of a deterrent. The Queen, 84, is said to enjoy driving. During World War II, she was a member of the Auxiliary Transport Service.
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Big win by separatists in Belgium
ROBERT WIELAARD
BRUSSELS
Voters gave a stunning win in general elections to a Flemish separatist party that wants Dutch and French-speakers to end years of acrimonious linguistic disputes — or go their own way and break up Belgium.
The New Flemish Alliance on Sunday shook up Belgium’s hidebound political scene, winning 27 seats, up 19 from the 2007 elections, to become Belgium’s biggest party.
Its win was a withering report card on Premier Yves Leterme’s outgoing coalition of Christian Democrats, Liberals and Socialists — split into Dutch- and French-speaking factions —whose three years in office were marked by enduring linguistic spats that remained unresolved.
The election outcome was seen as a warning to Francophone politicians to negotiate seriously about granting Dutch- and French-speakers more self-rule, or Dutch-speaking Flanders will bolt.
The reaction in Wallonia was one of shock. The daily Le Soir said “Flanders has chosen a new king,” referring to Bart De Wever, 39, leader of the New Flemish Alliance who urged “Francophones to make (a country) that works.” —AP