This long Jubilee weekend, peoples all around the world are celebrating the 60 glorious years that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has reigned over the United Kingdom and indeed the Commonwealth. But it is not only a celebration, but also an opportunity for us to give voice to our thanks for the great service HM has so graciously performed.
Throughout her reign, support for the Royal Family has remained at the steady level that politicians around the world can only dream of. The British public have stood in support of this institution, unwaveringly, even in the darkest of days. But why should this be? On her 21st birthday, Princess Elizabeth made a vow to all of the people over whom she would one-day rule:
“I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family, to which we all belong.”
It is a vow that she has, with great poise and sense of duty, maintained with impeccable assiduity. She has never abandoned us, and indeed, at moments of great strife for this nation, has helped carry us through. Surely it is this devotion to her people that so very well elicits the feelings of unbounded admiration and love for so many of us.
There are those who, without fail, complain bitterly at it all. They moan and whinge that this is nothing more than an outmoded concept of privilege and the supreme anachronism. They trot out bloated figures, skewed out of all recognition from reality and lean heavily on them from their arguments. What they fail to realise, is that the Royal Family and its Matriarch is not about money. A cost-benefit analysis of ‘The Firm’, although of interest to some, is entirely useless in expressing its value to the UK.
It isn’t about the tourists and the money they bring in. It isn’t the sparkly ceremonies (although I must say they are very nice). It is more of an ethereal notion. A thread that binds us together, and links us with out past. A column in The Telegraph the other day recounted a story of a 14 year old boy being asked why he thought that The Queen was cool. “She’s a lovely old granny…” well indeed. But his response extended a mote further: “…and she reminds me of old Britain.” It is this. A connection to our past, a tangible connection and sight of our future, a focal point for us to gather and a protector of our country. To lose the Royal Family would be a loss of a substantial part of this country’s very DNA, a part of the very essence of what Britain is. Without them, this country would be poorer for their loss, made incomplete in a way that electing yet another mendaciously pandering politician could never rectify.
And so, while the odd person may grumble into their tea, with their resentment bubbling over, I am happy to stand up and say loudly and from the bottom of my heart:
Thank you Ma’am, for all you have done, all you have given us, and all you do for us. We’re lucky to have you. God Save The Queen! Long Live The Queen!
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