QEII

 

   I was visiting my parents when I got a text from C. Queen Elizabeth II passed away in Scotland. I paused for a minute in disbelief. I didn't realise that she was ill or significantly more frail. She just met with the most recent Prime Minister (a woman). 

   Even though I live in the United States, a country that fought a war in order to be free of things like monarchy, I felt a little sad. To be honest, I liked the Queen. Even though she had no role when it came to actual governing, I liked seeing a woman in a position of power, even if it was because of birth. I was hoping that she would live to be 100 like her mother and husband. 

   One thing I do like about the monarchy is the ceremonial role that they play and that that role is stable. I sometimes wish we had an equivalent here. We have a President, but that changes every four to eight years and at any given time there is a portion of the population that does not support him and sometimes actively works against him. The monarchy, on the other hand does not change and can be a unifying position in a country.  To be fair, I'm sure it is hard especially during times of economic hardship,to see a group of people who don't seem to do much living in luxury while others have difficulty making ends meet. Maybe what I'm reading is a little romanticised, but I think of World War II and how King George VI, stayed firm and in London despite the bombing and did what he could to keep up the morale of his people and stand firm in the fight against fascism.  

   I also think about how much history she saw, sometimes first hand, in her 96 years. Things were very different in 1926 when she was born. We went from paper letters in the mail to faxes to email to texts and tweets. News travels faster now than it did then. Her uncle the Duke of Windsor had to give up his throne in order to marry a divorced woman. Now her son and her daughter have divorced and remarried. Her grandson Harry has married a divorced woman. Camilla, the Queen Consort, is divorced. I'm guessing Queen Elizabeth could not have imagined this when she was much younger.

   There are some that were happy about her death and talking about how they hope she is suffering in hell. To them I would ask them to have a little grace. No one is perfect and leaders are just as capable of making poor choices as anyone else. The problem is that those poor choice have a larger effect. Apart from her status as a queen, she was also a mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She has family that love her and will miss her. To those hoisting bottles of champagne and hoping that her passing was long and painful, I ask you, would you want someone to say this about someone you love? If the answer is no then perhaps keep you criticisms to yourself for a bit.

   Some of the criticism may stem from her devotion to duty as she saw it. It seems kind of outdated and out of touch now, but that was how she was brought up. There are also some who would see her actions as unfeeling and uncaring. Part of this stems from the fact that she was a constitutional monarch and had to keep her opinions and feeling on everything things to herself. In order to effectively represent her country and commonwealth, she could not identify with any one group. She had to transcend the divisions in her society. (or at least try) 

   It's a little odd to think that there is now King Charles III. I imagine that this might have been like in 121 years ago when Queen Victoria, another long lived queen, died and left her son King Edward VII to rule. It will be interesting to see what kind of king he will be.

   In the meantime, there will be all kinds of pageantry to watch. There will be a state funeral. Next year there will be a coronation and I'm guessing all will be televised. I enjoy watching these ceremonies. No one does pageantry better that the United Kingdom.

Requiescat in pace Regina Elizabeth II

I hope you are having a joyous reunion with you parents, sister and all your corgis.