A Tribute to Queen Elizabeth II

The 8th of September 2022. Not a memorable date by itself, but it will now be ingrained in our memory forever - Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom departed this Earth.

It was a solemn day for us all, even for those without a personal connection to Britain. The monarch who had long reigned over Britain had now been laid to eternal rest. Thousands came to watch the procession of her coffin down the Royal Mile, thousands more to watch her final procession down the streets of London. It marked the first time a Sovereign had passed away since her father George VI passed away in 1952, and the first time a monarch had died in Scotland since James V in 1542.

She ascended the throne in 1952 and was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom on the 24th of March 1953. It was a momentous occasion, being the first coronation to be televised, bringing royal and religious ceremony into people’s drawing rooms for the first time.

Her late Majesty reigned over some of the most difficult times in British history. From the Suez Crisis in 1956, to the decolonisation of British Africa, and more recently the Covid-19 pandemic, the Queen was a constant presence throughout these chaotic decades. She was a paragon of restrained virtue in a time where political manoeuvring was emphasised, where scandals enveloped her dominions, and revolutionaries threatened to bring down the very institution she symbolised.

Many will remember her not as monarch, but as a public figure who all seemed to respect, despite her political views. There will naturally be a difference of opinion on any public figure, but her life was dedicated to the service of the people, and she fulfilled this role to the best she could. By her own admission, she did not understand much of the day-to-day business of government, but allowed herself to be guided by her advisors, but most of all by her conscience. The morals she inherited from her family and her education, as well as her own religious views. As Supreme Head of the Church of England, she found solace in her faith, and quoted often from the Scriptures in her speeches.

It can be said her reign was a balancing act – accepting the loss of prestige of Britain after the Second World War, while maintaining the mystical aspect that surrounds the monarchy, the otherworldly character they seem to be imbued with by virtue of their coronation. The later era of her reign was marked by a desire to continue in her role, while her health declined. In the months before her death, she attended the celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of her reign, including a rock performance by Brian May, and a solemn service of thanksgiving at St. Paul’s Cathedral. To find words to describe the cultural change her reign illustrated would be impossible – from the wireless radio to the telephone, her life spanned such a broad number of changes it would be banal to mention them. I will end this short obituary with two quotes used in the period after her death, one from Shakespeare, and the other from the great mystic Thomas a Kempis:

“May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest” – Hamlet, Act 5, Scene 2

““O quam cito transit gloria mundi/O how quickly the glory of the world passes away “ – Thomas a Kempis

May she rest in eternal peace.

Written by Rudy (N13)