The death of Queen Elizabeth II has impacted many lives, most of whom never knew her personally. For most of us, we only ever saw the public face of the Queen. Yet her passing has more impact than that of a mere celebrity or aloof head of state. The Queen was one of the last links to an era that put duty and the good of others over the good of self and the expression of the individual. She was a tangible link to our culture and heritage in a world that runs madly through a 24-hour news cycle and 52 micro fashion seasons.
The loss we feel of our late sovereign lady is that we have lost this link to a time of graciousness, generosity and ritual. We crave these things in our lives, and she embodied them for us. Beauty and tradition are so crucial to our lives, giving us joy and direction amidst difficulty and uncertainty. Putting the good of others before our own is severely lacking in our society today. Queen Elizabeth was a living example of the need and the benefit of sacrificing our own personal desires to forward the good of those around us.
Within reason, of course. She stuck by her guns when it came to marrying the love of her life, the late Prince Philip, despite pressure to the contrary. The Queen was a master of personal boundaries, never giving interviews and protecting herself and her family from the maelstrom of the press. These boundaries allowed her to graciously greet, meet and be present to thousands of people over the course of her 70-year reign.
Queen Elizabeth II did not expect to be queen. It was through the more self-centred actions of her uncle, then King Edward VIII, that the crown came to her. But despite the pressures this placed on herself and her family, she took on the role with true devotion. This was her vocation, not a job. This was a responsibility which she embraced to help and guide a nation she loved and a commonwealth she cherished. Her bright hats and beaming smile made her instantly recognisable and accessible to so many. At the start of her reign, she was everyone’s sweetheart. At the end, she was everyone’s beloved grandmother.
I am struck by the power of her quiet life. In a world that encourages women to be aggressively outspoken, to break convention and demand what they want, Queen Elizabeth could not have been more different. The most powerful woman in the world said only what was necessary, and always with grace and humour. She did not seek attention, but accepted it as part of the job. Her embrace of tradition, convention and religion gave her a firm foundation on which to base decisions throughout the 96 years of her life.
May Queen Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, of happy memory, rest in peace. And may we all seek to emulate her example of gracious self-giving in our own lives.
