I’m aware that the British monarchy is subject to differing interpretations, particularly to those with no palaces and Corgis, and to peoples with experience on the business end of British imperialism. I wouldn’t want to live under monarchy, The PM/Parliament is more dysfunctional than our President/Congress, a tragically pathetic statement. I do think there’s an argument to be made for constitutional monarchy, although the results are something of a genetic die roll, the current transition being Exhibit “A.” I’m arguing more of the late Queen personally, individually, and what she lent to the institution. What one American and recently nationalized Brit called:
"a mystical form of mutual affection binding sovereign and people. Queen Elizabeth’s great gift was her ability to maintain that affection over so many decades, many of them very difficult for her country. She did this by being constantly present in the nation’s life without ever seeming overbearing, and by taking care to stay out of politics. This allowed her to ask for, and receive, the love of her people without demanding of them the impossible—toleration for a suffocating presence or assent to political positions they might not share."
She was uniquely unifying in a polarized world. In Charles’ words, she embodied an:
"abiding love of tradition, together with that fearless embrace of progress, which make us great as nations. The affection, admiration and respect she inspired became the hallmark of her reign. And, as every member of my family can testify, she combined these qualities with warmth, humour and an unerring ability always to see the best in people."
That ability to see the best in people, over 70 decades in dealing with many in whom there was precious little “best” to be found, is something sorely lacking in the politics of our modern age, when ideology supersedes issues. Rancor in politics is nothing new, nor genuine humanity in politicians: the decades before the U. S. Civil War and Abraham Lincoln immediately come to mind.
But of Elizabeth II Regina I asserted, and maintain, that there is not her equal at any prominent level of government in any regime extant. More’s the pity. I don’t envy Charles. How could he but fail?
A darkening world just got a little darker.
“Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
Requiescat in pace, EIIR
