A Fitting Legacy? In Memoriam
Over the past week, like many I have found it hard to peel myself from watching the rituals of royal death that are being broadcast around the clock. I’ve been particularly mesmerised by the five mile queue to witness the Queen’s lying in state as it snaked its way along the river Thames; a diverse collection of individual and families willing to shuffle their way through the cold autumn nights, inching slowly forward until, at last, they make their way into Westminster Hall and have their moment before Her Majesty’s coffin.
The emotion has been evident. The death of the Queen seems to have had a profound effect on individuals from every part of British society and further afield. There are, of course, some who would prefer an end to the institution of the monarchy but even those who would not have called themselves royalists seem to be moved by the passing of Lilibet, the girl who didn’t want to be Queen and went on to become the most respected head of state in the world. There’s a sense that we are participating in the making of history - the end of the Elizabethan era – and the acres of flowers, stuffed bears and scribbled notes placed around Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle testify to a sense of personal grief that many seem to feel.
Most of us did not really know the Queen - she was an intensely private woman who rarely wore her heart on sleeve - but her dignity and her commitment to serve were evident and widely admired. Tributes have poured in from world leaders including those with whom our government currently has rather frosty relations. Emmanuel Macron for example wrote ‘Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II embodied the British nation’s continuity and unity for over 70 years. I remember her as a friend of France, a kind-hearted queen who has left a lasting impression on her country and her century’. Even Vladimir Putin sent his condolences to Charles III saying that Queen had ‘rightfully enjoyed the love and respect of her subjects, as well as authority on the world stage’.
I have never been an ardent royalist but in recent days I have come to see how in these turbulent times the Queen has provided a much needed sense of continuity. Over the seventy years of her reign, the Queen has seen fifteen different prime ministers come and go. She also witnessed six different wars and disputes during her lifetime including World War II, the Suez Crisis, the Troubles in Ireland, the Falklands War and the current situation in Ukraine. Throughout as monarch she has provided an ever fixed mark in the midst of changing tides.
In this post-modern world, many believe that there is no objective truth, values or reason to which we can cling onto - an idea that in the midst of chaos leaves us with nowhere to turn – but the public reaction to the Queen’s death seem to point to a yearning for something perpetual and enduring. As one BBC presenter put it ‘we have political turbulence all the time and [with the Queen] there is a sense that something above is holding it all together.’ For many it seems the Queen symbolised this continuity that seems to transcend the vacillating tides of human affairs. Liz Truss referred to the Queen as ‘the rock on which modern Britain was built’ -a rock being a symbol of stability, permanence, strength, dependability, and steadfastness.
She, in turn, has pointed to Jesus as the source of her strength and the model for her life. In her 2014 Christmas address she spoke of Jesus as ‘the bedrock of her faith’, and ‘an inspiration and an anchor’ for her life. She was not only Sovereign of the realm but also the ‘Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England’ and her throughout her life she has pointed to a higher power as the only true source of constancy and stability in our lives; always steadfast, always dependable and eternal.
Could it be that, in the midst of these turbulent times, the pilgrimage to pay homage to our earthly monarch masks a deeper yearning for something truly perpetual that lies above the chaos of our world? If so, it would indeed be a fitting legacy for our Queen.
Kate Nicholas