8th September 2022
While we wait for news from Balmoral – from which the last reports were of the Queen’s ill-health – it is good to remind ourselves of what an extraordinary thing she achieved in securing the future of the monarchy.
It was not inevitable that the United Kingdom would stay, well, a kingdom.
When she was young the Crown was weak.
The United Kingdom over which her grandfather ruled – that of Great Britain and Ireland – had already been re-confingured in the years before her birth.
Her uncle had been forced from the throne in circumstances which showed the relative weakness of the king to the political class.
Monarchies and royal families throughout Europe were being removed and exiled.
The Empire was being decolonised and it was not certain the “Commonwealth” would take off as an idea.
The politics of the 1930s and 1940s in Europe and elsewhere often pushed in radical and extreme directions.
Any young royal in the Europe of the 1930s and 1940s would have seen the monarchy as precarious.
Even by her coronation in 1953, it was not obvious that the Crown would survive.
Yes, with hindsight, it looks as if it would not have been any other way.
But the devices of what became known as “the Firm” – the use of the extended royal family and the “balcony” royals, and the clever use of the media and imagery – were not as familiar as they once were.
Looking at the challenge before her in 1952/3 must have been daunting.
The monarchy now seems secure for at least another generation or two.
It will slim down, with more empty space on the balcony, but there seems no prospect of there being a republic in the next twenty or so years.
Even if her successors are unimpressive (or worse) the consequences will be likely to be dealt with within a monarchical framework, rather than a huge constitutional upheaval that would make Brexit seem like a jubilee street party.
Of course, the kingdom itself may be reconfigured further – with Irish unification and Scottish independence.
But something called a United Kingdom will survive – even if it will be akin to a pop band on the nostalgia circuit with only two of its original members.
A wise historian friend once said that while the Queen survives the twentieth century has not yet fully ended.
Such has been her longevity – and how with hindsight the period since 1952 seems all as one coherent piece – the sheer amount of change (and lack of change) can be overlooked.
She took a monarchy that was not in good form in the inter-war years and ensured that it has lasted to deal with the problems of the mid twenty-first century.
Even liberal republicans (of which I am one) can respect what she has achieved, even if a different model of state still would be preferred.
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The Queen has indeed done all you say. As an individual she has exemplified duty, good humour, interest in other people, and compassion. The world will seem very strange without her.
Quite
I think you mean ‘liberal republican’ BTW?
Is it not fitting that her penultimate act (to date) as Queen has been to accept the resignation of ABDP Johnson Esq. ?
Yes, corrected
Given the general drift towards autocracy, there is a governance benefit in requiring power-hungry populist PMs to go and ask permission from a little old lady, even if it is ceremonial. Speaking as an N Irish bloke from a perceived seditious background lol, everyone in the Irish nat community has the utmost respect and liking for the Queen. Her visit to Ireland a few years ago was a masterclass in bridge-building and charm. Very well received. Discretion, duty, common-sense. Fading ideals nowadays, regrettably. Would that we had more leaders like her, frankly.
Hear, hear. All qualities that are in far too short supply in a world of sound-bites rather than considered policies and fully articulated arguments.
Agree !
I remember very well the King’s death in 1952 and there was general grief at this. The coronation was greeted with great celebrations throughout the country. Most people, as I remember, either got a television or had a street party or both. Loyalty, call it old fashioned , was very high. The King and Queen had stayed at at the palace during the war And this gesture was much appreciated. They were very popular.
Surprisingly this loyalty has remained, even though things have changed considerably and it’s hard to imagine a coronation like the coronation of the Queen with all its pomp, ceremony and religious customs.
I concur. There were my memories and experiences as a child in 1952. A day of mourning in school when we had to read serious books. The coronation was a time of joy and celebration with lots fun and parties.
Onebof my standard lines is about respecting the office rather than the person.
In the case of the Queen I respect the person rather than the office.
Yes, exactly. The quintessentially British institution she helped preserve is much admired here in Estonia, unthinkable though it would admittedly be for Estonia itself (or, equally, for Finland) to deck itself in Anglosphere plumage by acquiring a hereditary monarchy.
TK
toomaskarmo[dot]blogspot[dot]com
i seem to remember there was a joke royalist party in estonia back in the 1990s who wrote to the queen asking if prince edward wouldn’t like to be king of estonia?
Also, notably, the Queen has never been self-seeking.
After he and his fellow members of The Who concluded their set by smashing their instruments Pete Townshend came off stage and said to Jimi Hendrix, “Follow that!”
I wonder what King Charles* will produce that corresponds to Hendrix’ bottle of lighter-fuel.
* ” Great God! ” he cries, ” but it chokes me; for this is the day she died! ” — (George R. Sims, “Christmas Day in the Work-House”)
Correct title: “In The Workhouse: Christmas Day”.
French TV has been wall to wall the Queen since last night.
Do not complain do not explain, is a phrase which has been regularly repeated here to explain her popularity.
I have been collecting nouns about the Queen since yesterday. In no particular order: grace, humanity, fortitude, duty, kindness, compassion, steadiness, commitment, constantcy, courage, humour, thoughtfulness, wisdom, curiousity, helpfulness, devotion, perspective, dedication, warmth, decency, calmness, tirelessnes, work ethic, charm, wit, hard work, stability, responsibility, and more. I doubt there are many who could gather that array of compliments.
Btw I am neither a monarchist nor an anti-monarchist but I did really like and respect our Queen.