As of today, Queen Elizabeth II is the longest-serving monarch in British history, surpassing the reign of her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, who held the throne for 63 years, seven months and two days. It is a milestone worth noting, not so much for the length of Elizabeth’s reign, but for its quality.
Regardless of where one stands on the monarchy, the Queen is worthy of admiration. She has not merely endured, she has served with distinction, integrity and wisdom, guided by a strong sense of duty and service.
She has lived up to the words of her coronation speech in 1953: “I have in sincerity pledged myself to your service, as so many of you are pledged to mine. Throughout all my life and with all my heart, I shall strive to be worthy of your trust.”
Her achievements have little to do with “royal blood.” Although she inherited her title, it is the person, not the pedigree, who has made the difference. Examples abound, in history and today, to prove that no amount of royal ancestry can prevent someone from doing stupid, classless things.
Granted, the Queen was schooled from an early age about conduct, traditions and her duty as a member of the Royal Family, but she chose to make those lessons an integral part of her life. Public service has always come first for her.
That does not mean she has always been completely in tune with the public, though. In her efforts to protect personal and family privacy, and in attempting to avoid the glare of cheap publicity, she has come across as aloof, especially after Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997.
The Queen shielded her grandsons — Diana’s sons — from the media by keeping them with her at Balmoral Castle so they could grieve in private, but the Royal Family’s seclusion and the failure to fly the flag at half-mast over Buckingham Palace created much public hostility. Negative sentiment largely evaporated when she returned to London for a public broadcast in which she paid tribute to Diana.
Although the Queen has little real power, she wields tremendous influence, not with fanfare, but quietly and circumspectly. At a time when statesmanship is in woefully short supply, she has it in spades. It is doubtful any other world leader has her grasp of global affairs.
As the head of state for the United Kingdom, she must remain politically neutral, but she meets weekly with the prime minister. As Canada’s ceremonial head of state, she has much less to do with the day-to-day affairs of our country, but has always shown an interest in what happens here.
Canadian politicians travelling to London in 1980 to discuss the patriation of the Canadian constitution found the Queen “better informed … than any of the British politicians or bureaucrats.” It has been reported that she was not terribly fond of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, noted for his irreverent pirouette behind her back at Buckingham Palace.
But in his memoirs, Trudeau said the Queen was in favour of his desire to reform the constitution and wrote that he was impressed by “the grace she displayed in public” and “the wisdom she showed in private.”
The royal anthem contains the words “gracious” and “noble.” Not all monarchs have lived up to those terms, but the current monarch embodies them. Long may she reign.
