I think it is fair to say that the last fifteen months have left us all feeling a little insecure. The usual checks and balances of life, the things that make us feel safe, have been frayed about the edges. It has made me think about the things that make us feel anchored and, for me, I realize that one of those things is rather unexpected. It is not part of my immediate life but has been part of my life for as long as I have existed. It has prevailed when many things have fallen away. It is a person and one who stands, in this day and age, for what is good and constant in the world. It is a she: the Queen of Great Britain and the Commonwealth.
Yes, I know she is mostly now a symbol but she is a beacon of moderation, a set of standards and of a system of democratic government that has been adopted in countries throughout the world: a Parliament elected by the people with a symbolic head of state who has the power of veto in only the most extraordinary situations.
It wasn't always so, of course, but the monarchy, in order to survive, gradually relinquished power to the people. The citizens of Great Britain, however, remembering their glorious past as an Empire, have retained the monarchy that reminds it of its former greatness and for which it holds great deference. This is probably because the monarchy has, like an aging parent, stepped into the background and, from there, reminds people of the standards they should uphold and retain. It is one thing to lose an Empire, but it is another to lose one's sense of worth and self. Somehow Great Britain has managed to fade as a world power while retaining its status as a place of culture, history and comme il faut.
Do the people of India, for instance, love cricket because it is a great game? Somehow I think not. I think that it is because the British colonists of the time, with their sense of superiority, arrogance and military know how, simply impressed the people of India so much that they adopted this sport of its upper classes. India may have wanted the British to leave but they wanted to keep some of the trimmings of this superbly self centered people. Give the British their due, however, they learn, in recent history especially. As their power faded they had to adapt and become more accepting
There is also something to be said about having an upper class that won't let people in. It makes people want in and, to achieve this, they must raise their standards and emulate the behavior and manners of the status to which they aspire. This is where the Queen comes in. She maintains the standard. It must be a hell of a job being perfect all the time: perfectly groomed, perfectly mannered, unable to make a single contentious remark and attend hundreds of public engagements every year. People think: Oh but she's got so many people to help her. No, she's the one who has to remain standing, healthy and I admire her ability. My toilet habits would never allow me to maintain her poise and unflappability. The woman is as healthy as a horse. She is also stoic. It can't have been an easy life, no matter the perks, and it has been one of service.
Elizabeth was Queen when I was born and she is still the Queen. She is now ninety four and looks more at ease and comfortable in her role than she ever has. I believe it is because she knows that she has done the duty that was expected of her. Some wayward members of the family have let the team down, albeit adding a little colour to keep the public amused. If the Queen hadn't been at the helm, the monarchy may not have survived them, but she has not wavered. The Queen is now an institution. In fact she practically doesn't need a country. She is, in and of herself, what matters.
While this last year has ground me down, along with everyone else, I tell myself that I am, relative to the Queen's age, moderately young. She has lasted this long and so I must not give up hope. I don't even dress properly to leave the house anymore but the other day the Queen stepped out in a delightful lime coloured ensemble to celebrate one hundred years of the Australian Air Force at a memorial in Britain. It was her first outing in all these months and made me realize that I must pull up my socks, even if I don't have a chauffeur driven Bentley to take me where I need to go. It's about maintaining standards. It's about keeping our chins up. It's about hope. If people wonder why the Queen is there, let them remember that it's to set an example of what civilization expects of us.
There are refugees pouring out of Ethiopia, out of Syria and now out of Mozambique. There are refugees trying to get into the USA through Mexico. Everyone is hoping for something better. Covid is decimating us, little wars are destroying lives in various places throughout the world and we need to imagine a world where things still run smoothly and life isn't tattered around the edges. We all need to see that world still exists somewhere, even if it's a bit out of reach. It's like the cinema. Sometimes we need to live vicariously through other people's lives. That may seem petty to some, but without hope, there is nothing.
The Queen won't get to take her wealth with her when she goes and I know many people denigrate the monarchy, but it's what she will leave behind that matters and that is an ideal. She represents the civilization that I was born into and that appears to be falling apart at the seams. I will be sad to see her go because she has been part of the more stable world that followed the two world wars. Climate change, Covid and a very unsettled world is our next era and we need to keep our hands very steady on the helm and hope in our hearts, no matter how hard that proves to be.
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