Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland and The Commonwealth 1926-2022; 1952-2022
Everyone is shocked over the news on Thursday. You can a 96-year-old dying is not a much of a shock, however, we are not talking about just any 96-year-old; we are talking about The Queen – someone who we all thought would be here for many more years to come. I know I did. I genuinely thought The Queen would reach 80 years; never did I think she would go so soon.
Her Majesty has brought the country together, during times when the monarchy is deemed an outdated institution and she has been a symbol for Britain. The monarchy may no longer have any power, politically, yet despite the clowns and children in Parliament arguing with each other over nothing, The Queen has kept in the background but when she spoke, we took notice. Seeing The Queen talk felt important as it was only few times a year. Those rare occasions really made a difference. She was the leader we never had. Britain missed an opportunity to have an intelligent, elegant leader who, up until her death, had more dignity, integrity and respect for the nation than the three years he was Prime Minister (or his entire life, for that matter!).
We experimented going without a monarch with Cromwell and look what happened there – we basically got an uglier version of Adolf Hitler! Previous monarchs have abused their power, but they had the power – like Henry VIII, who took on the Catholic Church and won, changing the face of Britain’s religious/political stance forever! Despite previous monarchs, Queen Elizabeth was the monarch to have that power restored. She would have made the perfect leader. I mean she didn’t have that power, but she was someone who we all looked up to and were inspired by. In losing The Queen, we have lost a true, Great Briton!
Queen Elizabeth II took over from her father who helped British public during the war by remaining in London rather than evacuate, while The Queen helped contribute with the war effort – something previous Royal families may not have done. From her father George VII, The Queen was brought up in a modern Royal Family, one which the British public could truly be proud of.
Back in 1952, upon taking up the throne Her Majesty promised to serve her people no matter how long her reign was, and she definitely fulfilled her promise. Continuing her duties, quite literally, right up until her death; Queen Elizabeth II carried out her duties without fuss and complaints. She knew her role and she remained politically neutral even at times she probably shouldn’t – **Boris Johnson**, **leaving the EU**.
Unfortunately, there are calls to abandon the monarchy, but I feel Queen Elizabeth has toned down the main-stream republicanism and the Royal Family has become stronger with Prince William and Kate, the death of Prince Philip and now The Queen. Even Prince Charles (Sorry, if feels too weird to call him King) because 20 years’ ago he and Camilla were nationally hated and yet today they are loved. Public perception has changed and that can only be down to one individual – The Queen! She may never have liked Camilla and she may never have wanted her to eventually be Queen, but she changed her stance because that was tradition and the next step for the British monarchy.
Her Majesty The Queen, devoted her life to her country, her people and her family. We can never know what it’s like to be in the spotlight twenty-four seven and still find time to have a private life with just family members, but The Queen managed it. People can say she never worked; however, she was still travelling carrying out her duties – even at 96 years’ old! Everyone who travels a lot knows how tiring it is – even for a young person but she was doing it into retirement age and with a smile on her face. Even if she was suffering health issues, Her Majesty never showed it and had a smile on her face.
Only grandparents and great-grandparents have experienced more than one monarch. Parents and children have only known The Queen. She represented the whole country. People have visited the Royal landmarks and estate just for The Queen – hoping to get a glimpse of her (and, if lucky enough, actually meet her!). If she met people during her estate walks, she was humble and down-to-Earth. She knew her wealth and status, but no-one was beneath her. She treated people equally and had a sense of humour – similar to Prince Philip! (Which is why the jokes I made on Twitter on hearing both the Duke of Edinburgh’s and The Queen’s deaths acceptable – as they would have found them funny. People respond to grief differently and for me it’s jokes).
Regardless how you feel over the shocking death of Queen Elizabeth II, you cannot argue the legacy she has left behind. A legacy that will be hard, and quite possibly never beaten. Not only was she matriarch of the Royal Family, but she was also the mother/Godmother of the whole country. We took solace in the fact she was always there no matter what the issue and she loved animals – especially her dogs!
Queen Elizabeth II will be missed, and her death will, legitimately cause a genuine sadness across the nation. Unlike, Margaret Thatcher – whom upon hearing of her death, about an hour before I was leaving for work, I searched for “Ding Dong The Witch is Dead”; only to find some smartarse to beat me to writing THAT comment – it is hard to find anything wrong with Her Majesty.
I realise it is a sad occasion and I do not wish to make jokes, as Royalist, but I think we can all take something from the fact that Boris Johnson wasn’t the last Prime Minister under The Queen. I feel she hung on in-spite of him, although it would be fitting that her last Prime Minister was a completely over-rated like her first.
Of all the things that have happened to Britain over the last three years’, The Queen dying is the upmost shocking of them all. The last time I was this shocked was when I heard Sir Christopher Lee – possibly the greatest actor to grace the silver screen – had died as, like The Queen, I thought he would have lived until he was 100 – in fact I truly knew he would. I truly believed that The Queen would reach her 80th anniversary. I know before her Jubilee; she had reported health problem but during the Summer she has reportedly been fine.
One of the more memorable photographs of Queen Elizabeth II was in 2021, during the COVID lockdown, during the funeral of her husband Prince Philip – The Duke of Edinburgh (fantastic city, sorry) – were she sat alone, following the government, suppose, guidelines. Then after the funeral, it was discovered that the Government abused their own rules and hosted a bunch of parties – some of which the Prime Minister attended and hosted! And acknowledging COVID, The Queen caught the illness in early 2022 and there was no reports of a then 95-year-old going into intensive care – unlike Boris Johnson who caught it two years previous despite being a match for anyone on a tennis court!
Was COVID – or long COVID – responsible or did Boris Johnson, or Liz Truss slip her something? It does seem weird how The Queen has been fine all of these years then within the space of two days of meeting Johnson and Truss she’s dead. Johnson, because he craves attention and Truss because she may have thought that there can be only one Elizabeth. Who knows? I know this sounds awful, but I wouldn’t put it past either one of them.
Nevertheless, however, unfortunate it is, The Queen is no longer. It is a shock. Yet, sadly, life must move on and now we must accept her son and heir Prince Charles. Will he make a good king? Time will tell!
Now as difficult it may seem to accept Charles as King – me included – we have to accept it and maybe he will be a decent King, someone who won’t be so neutral (which was the only wrong thing Her Majesty ever did) and will take a stance with parliament like both his previous namesakes! The two previous King Charles’ have both disbanded Parliament – the first was the one responsible for the lack power the monarch has and the second didn’t do much to stop that.
Even thought the previous King Charles’ were Parliamentary controversial maybe that’s what we need today? Think about it. Parliament – in-particular The House of Commons – elected MP’s behave like a bunch of children yet if **King Charles III*** did disband Parliament, then perhaps that would give the Government the shake-up it truly deserves and needs! Hopefully, King Charles III (still feels wrong) has the balls to stand up to Parliament and gives Britain the proper shake-up it really needs! For too long politicians have taken the piss (excuse me for the language, if you find it inappropriate) and I feel it’s about time the monarch took back control. Charles won’t rule like Her Majesty – despite what he says – as he will rule in the way he wishes, and I feel he will stand up to Parliament).
I think that we should have at least hold a “referendum” on whether we should restore power back to the monarchy in-light of the legacy Queen Elizabeth II has left. Afterall, she has proven the monarch can be a decent, trusting, respectful individual who wants the best for her country or do we want to continue with the piss-taking of the current establishment? We could abolish the monarchy and have an elected leader – which is basically what we have now and look at how that turns out! – or we could enforce the trust Queen Elizabeth II has restored within us and we can restore our faith and trust in the future of the British monarchy to do what’s right for Britain and The Commonwealth!
She may have been a Royal, a Queen, but Queen Elizabeth II was more like a common-person. She kept in-touch with HER public from when she took the title Queen until the day she died. Queen Elizabeth deserves the respect and, I know it may seem weird, the loyalty of her public. The British public realise how much The Queen meant to this country and our believe in monarchy.
We must move on, and we must accept King Charles as the new King of Great Britain. It is difficult as The Queen is, unfortunately, gone and hopefully Charles will continue to reign like The Queen and it would be nice if the new notes and stamps were different colours for the King.
This has been (or tried to be) a tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizbeth II. She was not only the Queen of the UK but she was a world Queen – people from across the globe are sending tributes to her, even the USA. She may be gone but she will never be forgotten. May Queen Elizabeth II finally rest in peace. May God Save The Queen.
That is, it for this special tribute GraveTalk. This is just something Her Majesty deserves. I am not sure what the next GraveTalk will be but there are a couple that I have already started, so there could be two at once. Thank you for reading.
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