Even the anti-monarchists admire Queen Elizabeth II.
She embodies some of the qualities of the ‘Old World’ that defy time and age.
Duty. Grace. Stoicism. Humour. Wisdom. Family.
Elder daughter
Elizabeth wasn’t even meant to be queen. She was the elder daughter of the second-in-line to the throne and enjoyed a charmed life in interwar Britain.
This weekend it will be 70 years since her accession. It is the saddest day for the queen who has known a lot of sadness in her life. February 6, 1952 is when her beloved father George VI died while she was in Kenya on a royal tour with husband, Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.
She was one of the last people in the world to find out about her father’s death and hurried back to a cold and rainy Britain to begin one of the most important eras in modern history: the second Elizabethan period.
Constitutional crisis
Just before Christmas in 1936 her uncle Edward VIII abdicated for the love of an American divorcee creating a constitutional crisis.
Her father George then took on the role he never wanted and as monarch took Britain into the post-colonial era.
Unlike her father George VI who died aged 56, who as well as being the king of the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth was the last Emperor of India until August 1947 when the British Raj was dissolved, the queen has lived a long life and enjoyed good health.
Rock band
What can you say about the queen who is probably the most famous woman of the last century?
She has a rock band and a ketchup named after her though she’s outlived them all.
She has met 13 of the last 14 U.S. presidents from Harry Truman to Joe Biden, with the exception of Lyndon Johnson.
Even at 95 and well into old age, she doesn’t have much peace. Her family, the government and the monarchy. They’re all trouble.
Queen Elizabeth has a magical almost otherworldly quality about her. Yet she’s a down-to-earth woman who loves her horses, her corgis and a glass of Dubonnet and gin (she doesn’t quaff copious glasses of Romanian wine as has been erroneously reported).
Her eldest son Prince Charles has found peace and solace in Romania and I’m sure has shared the wonders of the country with her. But the queen has never visited.
Duty
Her whole life has been about duty as I said, the kind I fear will die when she passes.
When she ascended to the throne she swore an oath to her subjects.
“I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service… But I shall not have strength to carry out this resolution alone unless you join in it with me, as I now invite you to do: I know that your support will be unfailingly given. God help me to make good my vow, and God bless all of you who are willing to share in it.”
As traditional as the British monarchy is _ and by European standards it’s traditional_ Elizabeth II will go down as a great modernizer. She has moved with the times, listened to her subjects, yet has managed to keep the mystique of royalty alive.
Monarch
Since 1534 when King Henry VII created the Church of England, the monarch has been the temporal head of the church.
She is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, a position that all British monarchs have held since it was founded.
Henry created the church as the Catholic Church wouldn’t let him divorce.
We have a portrait of her in the Anglican Church in Bucharest which was built in 1920 thanks to Queen Marie, herself the granddaughter of Queen Victoria.
Coronation
In May 2015, the queen surpassed Queen Victoria to become the world’s longest-serving monarch.
I asked my parents about her coronation which took place in June 1953.
My mother joined the crowds with her mother and brother and had a good view at Marble Arch. She said the Queen of Tonga was the talking point of the day.
“She was very joyous and made a big impression. Even though it was raining, she was happy,” my mother said.
Anchor
The queen is simply “an anchor,” she said. “She is dignified and has integrity. She is interested in the people she meets and has a special interest in the Commonwealth.”
“She’s a committed Christian. She never lets events even big events throw her off course whether they’re political or personal. It’s who she is.”
As a teenager, my father worked for Wallace Heaton which supplied the British Royal family with all their cameras.
“They gave us a week’s wages as a bonus,” he remembered, still sounding pleased 70 years later.
My grandfather wasn’t a monarchist.
“He said he wasn’t going to come and watch the coronation,” my mother said. „He didn’t like the fuss.”
Trafalgar Square
Later that night, he sheepishly told the family he’d come into London after all and stayed most of the day at Trafalgar Square, one of the best vantage points.
There’s something about Queen Elizabeth II that touches even the anti-monarchists.
