To use her official title. Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith - is dead.
Her reign of 70 years and 214 days was the longest of any British monarch and the second-longest recorded of any monarch of a sovereign country. (See note 1)
Her passing has not only been felt in the United Kingdom but across the world, she was not just a British monarch but someone who was deeply respected around the globe.
Even many outspoken anti-monarchists understand the total devotion with which she conducted her role and have a great deal of respect for her lifelong dedication and tenacity to do the right thing, even if they do not agree with the role itself.
The Queen was one of a tiny group of people who, by and large, command global respect and affection regardless of race, religion or creed. In fact, I can really only think of two others who get anywhere close, the current Pope and the current Dalai Lama. Of course both differ greatly in as much as they are religious leaders and not heads of state.
It should be understood that while head of state, the British Monarch plays no part in politics.
Royal assent is the final step required for a parliamentary bill to become law but the Monarch never refuses to sign. In her last official act as Queen, just two days before her death, she met with Liz Truss to give assent for her to become UK Prime Minister, but she could not have refused.
It is all a bit anachronistic and seems odd, but it is still the tradition and the Monarch has no real power in practice.
I can think of no other person, monarch, statesman, religious leader, politician, pop star or actor who would receive the same kind of global reaction and coverage of real affection as we are witnessing at the moment over the Queen’s demise.
I’m guessing what we are seeing now will outstrip what happens when the inevitable overtakes his Holiness the Pope and his Holiness the Dalai Lama.
I will concede that South Africa political leader Nelson Mandela comes close to this exclusive list, but I do not remember a global outpouring anywhere close to what we are seeing now when he died in December 2013.
TV networks around the world interrupted programming to announce the Queen’s death and tributes from leaders around the world immediately began pouring into Buckingham Palace.
Over a dozen countries recognized Elizabeth II as their head of state, including Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Belize, Jamaica, Tuvalu, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Her death has already prompted some to question whether recognition of the British Sovereign will continue as her son Charles takes over as the monarch Charles III. Yet another indication of the high regard in which Elizabeth was held, and Charles is not.
Katie Pickles, a professor of history at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, summed it up well. “As the importance of the monarchy became less important in society, places like New Zealand hung on because they held the Queen personally in such high respect.”
“King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla will likely not have the same appeal.”
So where did Elizabeth’s obvious magical touch stem from? It was certainly not from charisma, stirring public oratory or great acts of policy, but from a quiet and understated demeanour devoid of ego, a good sense of humour and an uncanny human touch.
I say uncanny as someone who lived her entire life in the lap of luxury above the wildest dreams of ordinary people was still able to somehow connect with pretty much everyone she met. It was truly a unique quality and the current scandals and millionaire lifestyles of the likes of Prince Andrew and Meghan and Prince Harry only serve to demonstrate how different she actually was. I guess we will never know why, as Matriarch she was unable to control the family better, but do you know a perfect family? I don’t.
Which all throws her personal style into sharp relief given the daily hate we see in the media for her favourite son Andrew and her grandson Harry. A dislike which is very much reciprocated among the British population who have little love for either, and internationally too, for that matter.
Even Private Eye, a savage British satirical magazine which regularly lampoons and attacks politicians and others in the public eye went easy on the Queen, even though she was the top establishment figure in the land. They referred to her as ‘Brenda’ and never really attacked her as they would politicians, the media, actors etc… It was hard because she was simply too nice a person.
There was a standing joke in the UK that if you were lucky enough to shake hands with her during one of her many ‘walkabouts’ with the public she would ask you one of two questions. “Have you come far?” if it was an open public event which people would have flocked to in order to spectate and be in the crowd, or “And what you do?” if she were visiting a factory/power station/building site/office/hospital/local council office etc.
But yet with such simplicity she managed to win the affection of millions of people, certainly in Britain where many will spend weeks talking about her, but also internationally.
Another thing to consider is the longevity of her reign. She ascended the throne in 1952 after the death of her father King George VI, not long before I was born. In fact, 86 percent of the UK population were born after she became Queen and roughly the same figure applies to the rest of the world. So for the vast bulk of people she has been the Queen of England for their entire lifetime. She was actually crowned in 1953, but more of that later because as is the case for Charles, his actual coronation ceremony will be sometime next year.
She will also be remembered for the old British tradition of the Christmas Address, which in 1957 moved from being a radio to a television broadcast.
The excitement of Christmas Day with presents and then turkey dinner was rounded off at mid-afternoon with everyone stopping what they were doing to listen to the Queen’s speech. For as long as I can remember, including all the years I have lived abroad, I have made a point of listening to the Queen’s Christmas Day address.
Not out of any innate sense of patriotism, it’s simply something you want to do because she was a good egg and you really wanted to hear what she had to say.
It was only ever ten minutes or so, and being apolitical she never talked about politics or policy but instead talked about what was happening to ordinary people and to express sympathy for any difficulties and to wish people healthy and happy lives.
It was never tainted by politics, nationalism or jingoism. It was more like being spoken to by a caring grandmother who really wanted you to do well and be happy. Each was remarkable in the way it was put together…and that comes from an anti-monarchy and some say, cynical journalist.
I also think her steadfastness during World War II and her personal fight against tyranny and fascism also went a long way to bolster her global image. Even at a time when members of her own family were making active moves to side with Hitler and his Nazi Party. (See note 2)
In 1945 when she turned 18, she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service, a women's branch of the British army, as a driver and mechanic and famously celebrated on the streets of London with thousands of other revellers when the war in Europe came to an end in September 1945.
There is a film about the event called ‘A Royal Night Out’ which tells the story about the young Elizabeth persuading her parents and security to go out incognito on Victory in Europe Day to join the celebrations. The King, her father George VI, was impressed by Elizabeth's keenness to mix with the ordinary people and asked her to report back on the people's feelings towards him for his midnight victory speech on the radio.
The film is obviously a romanticised version of events, but is nevertheless based on fact and underpins the notion that she cared deeply about ordinary people to which she would not long afterwards become Queen when George succumbed to lung cancer in 1952 after a lifetime of heavy smoking.
It is against these kinds of background factors that an enormous affection grew over the decades and her many foreign trips and kindness and decency to the people she met only served to spread this affection overseas.
She was a true phenomenon and will be remembered as such.
Her eldest son Prince Charles, now Charles III addressed the nation on Friday and said this about his mother. “In her life of service we saw that abiding love of tradition, together with that fearless embrace of progress, which make us great as nations. The affection, admiration and respect she inspired became the hallmark of her reign.
“And, as every member of my family can testify, she combined these qualities with warmth, humour and an unerring ability always to see the best in people.”
As Britain enters 10 days of official mourning, what happens now? Just as Thursday’s announcement of her death was carefully choreographed, the subsequent events have been meticulously planned for years.
First comes the lesser known Operation Unicorn because the Queen died in Scotland at her favourite summer residence Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire which is about 160 kilometres north of the capital Edinburgh and 800 kilometres from the UK capital London.
At the time of writing (Friday) Unicorn is underway and the Queen’s body is being transported from Balmoral to the nearby city of Aberdeen en route to be loaded onto the Royal Train for a journey down Scotland's east coast to Edinburgh.
Following ceremonies in Scotland's capital, the Queen's body will be moved to London on Tuesday and once it has crossed the Scottish border, Operation London Bridge takes over. (See note 3)
The Queen will lie in state for four full days in Westminster Hall in London during which time thousands of people will file past the coffin to pay their respects. The huge Westminster Hall is the oldest building on the Parliamentary estate dating back to 1097.
On Sunday September 18 visiting heads of state, including US President Biden, will begin to arrive for the funeral the following day.
The Queen’s state funeral will take place at Westminster Abbey in central London. The Queen’s coffin to be carried on a gun carriage to the abbey, pulled by sailors using ropes rather than by horses. Senior members of her family will walk behind and the military will line the streets and also join the procession.
Heads of state, prime ministers and presidents, European royals and key figures from public life will be invited to gather in the abbey, which can hold around 2,000 people.
In the evening, the Queen will be interred in the King George VI chapel at Windsor Castle, where her mother and father were buried, along with the ashes of her sister, Princess Margaret. Her husband Prince Philip’s coffin will be moved from the Royal Vault, located underneath King George VI memorial chapel, to join that of the Queen.
Although Westminster Abbey was for centuries the usual burial place for kings and queens, more sovereigns over the past 300 years have been interred in at Windsor Castle.
Her son Charles, now Charles III became King the moment Queen Elizabeth II died, under the rather quaint old common law rule - Rex nunquam moritur - which means “The king never dies.”
Despite automatically becoming sovereign, Charles will not be crowned for some time, just as his mother had to wait a year for her coronation.
Note 1. Louis XIV of France remains the longest-reigning monarch, with a 72-year and 110-day reign from 1643 until 1715.
Note 2. The Queen’s father, George VI, was preceded by his elder brother Edward VIII who abdicated the throne after less than a year so he could marry the divorced Wallis Simpson. Edward is the shortest-reigning British monarch. It is well documented that Edward had close ties with Hitler before the war and there is a picture of this meeting.
The full historical documents have never been released but Edward is widely thought to have been a Nazi sympathiser and suspected to have been at the centre of an alleged plot to overthrow Winston Churchill’s wartime government in favour of a pro-Nazi one.
Note 3. This operation is so called after a children’s nursery rhyme “London Bridge is falling down, Falling down, falling down…London Bridge is falling down, My fair lady.”
London Bridge has fallen down many times since it was first built by the Romans in 43 AD, but the most notable was the 1281 collapse that happened when expanding ice from the frozen River Thames crushed five of its arches. The unpopular Queen Eleanor at the time was blamed for misappropriating bridge revenues and failing to use them for repairs.
Tinkerty Tonk...
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