God Save the Queen

The leaders from the World War II era are gone: one ruler remains.

Elizabeth II, Queen of Great Britain (etcetera!) will be feted by her subjects for many reasons this year, especially as she is compared with so many other heads of state. Americans should be thankful for her reign as well and remember the enduring value of our relationship with Great Britain. I had an ancestor on the patriot side of Yorktown, but thank God the old quarrel has healed. Wherever an American got his genes, Britain is his Mother Country: all other influences are nothing compared to her power over our birth and ideas.

We are all former British subjects and we will never pay the debt we owe Great Britain. We have had much greater heads of government than the Queen, but few greater heads of state. Perhaps, I am merely biased. My family has been Republican for one hundred and fifty years and counting, but we are not at heart all republicans.

Many of us appreciate a nation that finds unity incarnate in a person and not abstracted to a piece of paper. Nobody is less British than I am, or more American, but I love Great Britain passionately and admire the Queen totally.

Why? Our courts can make our Constitution what the polls tell them it must be, but Elizabeth has endured, refusing to change, wielding a handbag against decay. Evangelical Christians can learn from her responses to the times in which she reigns.

Elizabeth II has not fundamentally changed.

The Sovereign still practices the values taught to her by good King George: duty, handwork, love of country, personal piety, calm. She is never “cool,” but she keeps calm knowing history does not change. She has seen the communists all the rage amongst the young people, fascists popular, and knows where politics is heading today is history tomorrow.

Elizabeth II has changed. 

The Queen is a progressive conservative. She saves what can be saved that is good and keeps the losses to a minimum when she cannot save everything. She adapts to different media, but always with dignity. She is wise enough not to become “the people’s Queen,” because she knows the fickleness of the people. Instead, she is the Sovereign for the nation and so wins the long term affection of most of her subjects.

Elizabeth II is a lady.

Pity the King of Arabia faced with the high speed driving of the Queen of England. His sexism was destroyed by a lady. The Queen practices her humanity and sovereignty with her femininity. She is whole.

Elizabeth II is strong. 

The Queen served in World War II and saw her home bombed by Nazis. Her first Prime Minister was an aging Winston Churchill. She loathed apartheid and pushed back against her government’s support for that regime. She survived the mawkish behavior of the troubled Diana and has endured to see the Heir become a better man.

Never underestimate her staying power.

Elizabeth II is beautiful.

For my parents, she was the young Queen. For me, she was the parental Queen. For my children, she is grandmotherly. At every point, she has proved that “normal” looks are lovely. She is no movie star, thank God. She has lived well, aged well, and demonstrates that inner beauty inexorably leads to outer beauty. Does anyone doubt she is more lovely today than in the 1950’s?

Great Britain should appreciate what she is because her day is passing. I refuse to wait to honor her until I am eulogizing her earthly end. And so this Republican salutes her: God save the Queen.