If I were asked to give an example of a perfect woman Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II would immediately spring to mind. Not only is she charming and intelligent, since her crowning on June 2, 1953 she has dutifully served her nation and 15 other Commonwealth realms – including Canada, Australia and New Zealand - without once putting a foot wrong.
I consider myself privileged to have met Queen Elizabeth on numerous occasions throughout the years at charity dinners and, most notably, during the annual Al Habtoor Royal Windsor Cup polo challenge that takes place at the Guards Polo Club in Windsor Great Park.
On each occasion, she never fails to amaze me with her graciousness and wit as well as her incisive knowledge of the sport. I admire the way she shows an enthusiastic interest in everything that’s happening while putting everyone around her at ease. She has an unusual knack of looking someone in the eyes and making them feel momentarily that they are the most important person in the world. Her very presence generates a mesmerising aura while she never fails to dominate an occasion with the warmth of her smile.
Quite honestly, I don’t think the majority of the British people realise how lucky they are to have such an internationally well-respected and dedicated monarch, who has always put duty before personal aspirations. I find it sad that she has been hounded by a succession of governments to pay taxes, cut down household expense and relinquish her royal yacht Britannia. Remove the glamour and mystique that surrounds royalty and it will not survive.
Most of my British friends are genuinely fond of their Queen but there are some who say the monarchy is an antiquated burden on state coffers. That is a misguided view in my opinion as the Royal Family gives Britain added international stature and attracts tourists from all over the world, eager to catch a glimpse of Her Majesty or who are keen to see one of the royal homes for themselves.
Who, for example, has ever visited London for the first time and not gravitated with a camera towards Buckingham Palace? And which president or politician isn’t flattered – and sometimes flustered - to be invited to take afternoon tea with the Queen?
In an essay written by Katherine Whitehorn for The Observer the author quotes an historian who was asked why Americans are so besotted with the British Royal Family after all their efforts to rid themselves of George III. “It’s the fairy stories that keep it going,” he said. “Whoever heard of a girl kissing a frog and it turning into a handsome senator?”
If anyone imagines that Her Majesty enjoys an idle life of privilege, they should think again. Every day of her existence - with the exception of family holidays at Balmoral or Sandringham - is mapped out with precision. Her busy schedule is enough to make strong men weep. There isn’t a minute of any day when she stops being a queen which, for her, isn’t so much her birthright but a serious job.
Elizabeth II is a very private person who doesn’t disclose her personal thoughts, so no one can truly know her feelings when she was proclaimed Queen following the unexpected death of her father King George VI. As a child she was unprepared for this duty that came about due to twist of fate. When her uncle King Edward VIII abdicated the throne to marry Mrs Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee, the role of Monarch was thrust upon her shy father who detested public speaking and was known to be a reluctant king.
Until her father’s crowning, Princess Elizabeth and her sister Margaret lived fairly sheltered lives surrounded by nannies, governesses, private tutors, dogs and horses. When Elizabeth was just two-years-old, Winston Churchill described her as “a character” with an “air of authority” that is “astonishing in an infant”. When she was older she did get the opportunity of socialising with girls of her own age in the Girl Guides.
When she was just 16, the Princess watched her mother Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon – who became the Queen Mother upon her daughter’s accession – touring the devastated East End of London that was wrecked by Nazi bombs. Determined to do something to help, Elizabeth expressed a desire to volunteer as a nurse but that was felt to be too dangerous. But with persistence she was eventually allowed to join the Auxiliary Territorial Service where she was taught how to drive and learned the basics of heavy vehicle repair. She also made radio addresses on ’Children’s Hour’ to reassure fearful youngsters, many of whom were apart from their parents.
Following the War’s outbreak, her parents had been strongly advised to leave London for the countryside but they adamantly refused because they wanted to comfort their people and share their pain. “The children won’t go without me. I won’t leave without the King and the King will never leave,” argued the Queen’s mother.
In 1947, Elizabeth married the love of her life, a distant cousin called Philip Mountbatten, who upon marriage was given the title Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. After her coronation, she was required to move to Buckingham Palace, which, by all accounts, she didn’t relish. Very much a country girl at heart who loves to go for walks with her dogs, wearing tweeds, a headscarf and Wellington boots, she has a greater affection for Windsor Castle.
Always alert to his wife’s wellbeing, while the couple toured Canada in the rain the Prince proposed that a Plexiglas hood be used to cover their open topped vehicle. When the Queen asked an equerry “How do I look?” he said she resembled “an orchid wrapped in cellophane,” or so the story goes.
The following decades witnessed the birth of their four children – Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. It’s unfortunate that three of her children were beset by broken marriages, causing the Queen great distress, but all have faithfully made a contribution to “the firm”, which is what Prince Philip calls the Royal Family.
Her Majesty has spent her entire life working for her nation and doing everything possible to preserve the dignity of the Royals. There were a few occasions that threatened her family’s standing, which she handled with aplomb. One was her sister Margaret’s intent on marrying Peter Townsend, a divorced commoner, which, if it had gone ahead, would have entailed Margaret renouncing her accession rights. Due to the Queen’s quiet insistence, she walked away from Townsend and was eventually wed to Anthony Armstrong Jones who became the 1st Earl of Snowdon.
An even greater strain on the Royal House was the death of Princess Diana, who was divorced from Prince Charles at the time. The Royals misjudged the depth of British feeling towards ‘the People’s Princess’ and strictly followed protocol by initially declining to lower the flag over Buckingham Palace to half-mast. For this, the Queen received massive public criticism, some would say unfairly, when she was advised to cut short her stay in Scotland and return to London as a mark of respect to her late former daughter-in-law. Her subsequent speech extolling Diana’s virtues and displaying compassion for her grandsons Princes William and Harry reversed the public mood.
There were also occasions when she may have been in serious danger. A few months before the wedding of Charles and Diana in 1981, shots were fired at the Queen while she was on horseback during a Trooping of the Colour Ceremony, which turned out to be blanks. Then, a year later, an intruder entered her bedroom in Buckingham Palace but rather than panic she spoke to him calmly and used the telephone to call for help.
Without doubt, the worst year of her life was 1992 when Windsor Castle caught fire and several of her children’s marriages were on the rocks eliciting scathing newspaper attacks. In a speech, she referred to 1992 as her “annus horribilis” (Latin for ‘horrible year’).
The world is unrecognisable since Elizabeth II Queen of Britain and the Commonwealth and Supreme Governor of the Church of England was born, at a time when the Empire was still going strong. Everything has changed, from politics to social mores, music and fashion. Yet, throughout, she has remained the same; a steadfast rock in a swirling, volatile ocean.
During her reign she has travelled millions of miles during almost 80 official tours, conferred almost 400,000 awards and honours, given almost 100 state banquets and is the patron of over 620 charitable organisations.
On almost every Tuesday evening since 1953, she has given an audience to the Prime Minister of the Day from Sir Winston Churchill to Sir Anthony Eden, Harold Macmillan, Sir Alec Douglas-Home, Harold Wilson, Edward Heath, James Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron. Her role as Monarch is largely ceremonial but she is nevertheless kept fully appraised as to affairs of state.
At times, there has been much speculation in Britain as to whether the Queen, now 84-years-old, will abdicate in favour of her eldest son Charles. According to her cousin Margaret Rhodes she never will. “The vows that she made on Coronation Day are something so deep and so special that she wouldn’t consider not continuing to fulfil those vows until she dies,” says Ms Rhodes.
Long may she live Long may she reign There is no one who can take the place of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s irreplaceable ‘Queen of Hearts’.