Although it is the most blatant symbol of colonialism and the atrocities committed by the British Empire, it is difficult to find anyone in the entire world, colonized or not, who has any major complaints against the figure of Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, or rather, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 2nd
Its popularity is such that one wonders how 232 years after Western civilization toppled the Bastille and promoted enlightenment across the globe we still have some kind of enchantment for a little lady sitting on a throne.
But what is it that Elizabeth, who died this Thursday (8), has that fascinates us so much?
In the 96 years she lived, 70 of which spent bearing the weight of the Crown on her head, the sovereign had such a formidable track record that even though she was one of the most scrutinized people in history, no one has yet been able to identify any missteps. that you have perpetrated.
One will say that her not leaving Scotland for Buckingham to be with her people when Princess Diana died was a mistake, but that is just an opinion.
There is another, mine, which maintains that whoever was wrong, of course, was each of its 67.2 million subjects, who had an overly dramatic reaction to the death of a spoiled princess who not only married the heir to the throne British, but still wanted to live a torrid passion.
Neither in Shakespeare nor in Walt Disney, damn it!
In that episode, people reacted in an excessively melodramatic and mellifluous way, but, in the end, they ended up realizing that the queen was only trying to maintain a minimum of decorum so that the nation wouldn’t turn in advance what the world has become today: a planet of people traumatized by any bullshit and mimimi — in which Elizabeth was completely right, as we came to see.
Despite being anachronistic and not always appearing in public with a smile on her lips, with each passing day the impression is that Elizabeth gains more admirers. Yes, the Netflix series “The Crown” may have helped a lot of people get to know this singular figure better.
Think of waking up one day and verifying that your name has become the name of a train station, a street, a church, a ship, a school, a housing project and that, amazingly, your profile is stamped on all banknotes and coins, all the seals and stamps of your kingdom.
Now imagine this one more. All soldiers, nurses, firefighters, sailors, airmen, civil servants, sportsmen or any Brits who are officially serving Great Britain will be in Her Majesty’s service, as will any secret MI6 or Scotland Yard agents or even fictional agents such as James Bond and Austin Powers. When we think the queen is cool, it’s because we’re admiring what we lack in her. Ironic, no?
She is so distant. But she manages to maintain a certain proximity in this dichotomy of superiority and inferiority. All protocol is designed to keep her close to the people and, at the same time, unattainable, which means keeping a respectable distance and not being acclaimed like a pop star. The queen doesn’t dress to kill, doesn’t try to seduce anyone. She’s more bland than tofu, on purpose.
In the days when fascism hung over Europe like a leaden cloud, George Orwell, author of “1984”, defended constitutional monarchy as an antidote to populists and dictators: “Parliament has all the power and no glory, and the monarchy has all the glory and no power”.
And King Faruk (1920-1965) of Egypt used to say that in the future there would only be five queens: “The four in the deck and Elizabeth”. Her experience doesn’t compare with anyone else’s, under any circumstances. And the sovereign’s longevity makes her a treasure of our time for the simple fact that she personally knew all the great protagonists of the last hundred years of our history.
And yet, no one outside her family’s inner circle has a clue what she thinks.
No living being, in all these years, has heard the queen give an important opinion on any subject other than the weather, horse racing, or afternoon tea. The queen is not only forbidden to express political opinions, but she doesn’t talk about emotions, after all, she is a very temperate person.
And perhaps it is this temperance that makes her so attractive in a world where the lack of cell phone signal is capable of causing suicidal thoughts in young people with impulses to publish selfies every half hour.
And to further separate her from ordinary mortals, Elizabeth is still the “Defender of the Faith and Supreme Guardian of the Church of England”, a title that, in equivalence with the Catholic Church, would place her in the condition of occupant of the throne of Saint Peter. That is, for most Britons, Canadians, New Zealanders, Australians and Tongans, as the Anglican Church is the official religion in Britain and in some of its former colonies, the Queen represents to them what Pope Francis represents. for us.
There is an act in the lengthy coronation ceremony of a British monarch, which has been performed very privately for centuries only between the Archbishop of Canterbury and the sovereign. The queen, it is known, came out of this consecration very emotional, as if she had had an epiphany. It sounds like something from King Arthur’s mythology, in that part where Merlin entrusts him with the mission to take Excalibur out of the stone…
One might think that this is something to fuel sales of souvenirs at Madame Tussaud’s wax museum on Baker Street, but it is common ground that the queen firmly believes that her mission on Earth has been entrusted to her by the Divine. In her 21st birthday radio address, Princess Elizabeth made this explicit commitment: “I declare before you that my life, whether long or short, will be devoted to the service of our great imperial family.”
Today, 75 years later, we know that the Queen told the truth. That her dedication to public service was integral and unwavering. Permanence, commitment and stability are admirable values ​​in this era where everything is fleeting, where nobody gives up anything in the name of something bigger than themselves.
She placed herself in second place. And now, who in this world will symbolize solidity, temperance and devotion to others, I don’t know. Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos who won’t be.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
