HM Queen Elizbeth II
It was a cold wintery day at work and we got talking about the Royal Family.
“How do you feel about having a Royal Family?” My colleague who was from Eastern Europe asked me.
“I don’t hate them or love them,” I responded.
That has been my attitude towards the Royal Family. I’ve always been rather neutral about them. When I first heard that Queen Elizabeth II I wasn’t happy or sad about it, for me, it was just a shrug of the shoulders because people die, even the Queen of England. It was only when I began listening to some podcasts about her life that my attitude started to change.
Listening to these podcasts I was in awe of how long she had served and how she had conducted. I had never considered it before but when you think about it it’s quite remarkable that the first prime minister she ever met with was Winston Churchill and the last was Liz Trust.
On Dan Snow’s History Hit podcast historian, Kate Williams talked about how The Queen was born into a world before television, aeroplanes and the internet. She wasn’t expected to become queen and only became in line for the throne due to her uncle’s abdication. What her uncle did was something that would have a great impact on her. Seeing how it impacted her family she knew it was that she could not even consider doing even if she wanted to. And while it’s impossible to know for sure what this woman thought I think there was a part of her that wished she lived a different life. As a girl, she wanted to marry a farmer, and live in a big house with lots of dogs and horses. She spoke of looking out of the window at Buckingham Palace wondering what the people out there were doing, where they were going and what they were thinking. One of the greatest nights of her life was during VE Day when she joined the people in the celebration. These snapshots of her thoughts that she’s allowed people to see, make me think that if it was possible she would have chosen the option of not being queen.
But her life experiences didn’t allow her to have that option. Growing up monarchs were being overthrown so she had to forget about her childhood dreams of being a farmer’s wife and having a house. She saw the criticism of monarchy so it would be a mistake for her to take the position she was in for granted. The revolutions in other countries weren’t the only things that would shape her. World War II would also be something that would have a great impact. Living in England during the Blitz taught her the importance of frugality, restraint and self-sacrifice. While during this time she was more privileged than other British citizens she still suffered. There were lines on her bathtub indicating how much water she was allowed to use and she had the siren suit that she had to wear during an air raid. There was the never-ending threat that her parents could be killed, she believed there was a real possibility that a Nazi invasion of the country could take place so she had her gun and wasn’t afraid of using it. Elizabeth wasn’t content with just sitting in a castle hoping for the war to be over, she wanted to serve. While at first, her father refused to let her do it he gave into his daughter’s constant request and let her join the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) where she learnt to drive and repair an ambulance. Gwen Evans who trained alongside the Queen said, “ The only difference was when we finished work at five o’clock we went back to our barracks, whereas Elizabeth was picked up and taken to Windsor Castle”.
What I admire about Elizabeth II during World War II was how willing she was to serve. It would have been easy for her to hide away in her castle or forget about serving when her Father originally said no but she didn’t. Sure her signing up to serve was a great piece of propaganda for Britain and her escaping service wouldn’t have been a good look for the Royal Family, but she got out of her comfort zone and did what she could. It is also a reminder to me how terrible life was during the war, and how privileged we are British citizens to not lived through a conflict as she did. I think sometimes we take for granted what people went through during World War II, I know I do. At times we hear so much about the war that it can be easy to forget what people went through, even those who were born into royalty.
Another thing I admire about the Queen is how she was slow to speak. Nowadays that seems to be a trait that many are lacking. Too often people are on social media ranting and raving about what they think but Elizabeth II kept her thoughts to herself. Kate Williams said in the Queen’s monarchy lesions that she was taught it was best to not voice her political views and on the Royal Family website that, ‘The Monarch has to remain strictly neutral with respect to political matters’. A user on Political Stack Exchange pointed out that ‘the British monarchy is somewhat dependent on government subsidies… So criticizing the government might risk financial retaliation’. No matter what the reason for the Queen not speaking out I find it refreshing that she showed restraint. I’m sure she had opinions on many issues and some of her thoughts came out during her Christmas broadcast, but what’s more admirable someone who goes off on unfiltered rants on social media or someone who thinks long and hard before they speak? I say the latter.
Not everyone has expressed admiration for Queen Elizabeth II. There have been some critical voices. I feel at times some people have been unfair and while others have been downright cruel. Words like colonialism and racism have been thrown around in such criticism. I find this criticism simplifies issues and doesn’t consider the whole picture. It’s true to say that the Royal Family has played its part in colonialism and some members may have been racist but as far as I can see that wasn’t Queen Elizabeth II. She didn’t stand in the way of nations who wanted independence. She worked behind the scenes to end apartheid in South Africa and danced with Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana. When Harry made accusations of racism within the family he made sure that people knew he wasn’t talking about his grandmother. Now maybe the Queen could have done more. How nations deal with their past wrongs can be a complex thing as pointed out in this article by Tom Bentley. I think the Queen did the best she could in the circumstances she was in. Some may scoff at me for saying this but it’s so easy to judge others and make assumptions about their behaviour. Just like it’s easy for me to judge those who have said some unkind things about the Queen upon her death.
It’s a mistake to put a people on a pedestal and the Queen shouldn’t be put on one. I’ve heard many stories of people who’ve met the Queen and they’ve been very positive but one story wasn’t so. It was in Zadie Smith’s article in Vogue where she writes about when she met the Queen. Upon meeting her she forgot the instruction on what to say when meeting the Queen and blurted out “How’s it going”? when it was her turn to meet Her Majesty. The Queen walked right past her without acknowledging her. To give Zadie Smith credit she doesn’t seem to resent the Queen for treating her like that. The article is quite complementary to Her Majesty but in all honesty I find the story rather disappointing. I would have hoped the Queen still would have greeted her back despite the unproper way of being spoken to but maybe I’m naïve to hope that. I think it’s possible others may have had similar encounters. Not every meeting could have gone perfect.
I believe that people aren’t all good or all bad. People are complicated and full of contradictions and that includes HM Queen Elizabeth II. And she was probably even more complicated to those who knew her well. All in all, I’m glad she was the queen for the first part of my life and did a splendid job as the monarch. I’m not sad she died because she lived a full life but it’s sad she may have not lived the life she truly wanted. Then again maybe she died without having any regrets.
