The sad passing of her majesty Queen Elizabeth II felt so sudden for me, one minute she’s ushering in a new Prime Minister and the next she’s gone! It caught me completely off guard. True we knew she was aging and that she was unwell, but I guess like so many others, I just thought she’d go on forever!
I received the news of her passing whilst abroad and we had just gone out, I was so overwhelmed with grief that I had to return to the hotel. I couldn’t just carry on as if nothing had happened. As for so many of us she has always been there a strong, guiding and often uplifting presence. Anyone who knows me well will know that I am a royalist, I also think this becomes heightened when you live abroad, it’s that sense of patriotism and she had such strong links with Malta too.
I think the overwhelming feeling of grief for many of us is because it reminds us that life is fragile, the fact that we are slowly losing our loved ones of that generation and of course, is a reminder of our own mortality. Of one thing I am certain, we will never see her like again. As well as facing our own mortality, it can also trigger feelings of grief that we have long since buried. Old wounds, the pain and sorrows from our own previous losses can resurface since it is so prominent on all the news channels and social media, and rightly so, but because of this we need to be mindful of how it affects not only us but others around us. Clearly something that many on social media have forgotten or just don’t care about.
I can vividly remember the first time I knew that we had a Queen, I was probably around 5 or 6 and my best friend, Janet, had a book all about the Queen with a beautiful picture of her at her coronation on the front cover. Janet showed me the book, at the time I think it was a prized possession, Janet let me look through the book and it made a lasting impression on me, she was incredibly beautiful.
Looking back at her life, it needs to be remembered that it wasn’t the role she was expected to play at birth, she was never actually meant to take the crown, however I do believe it was her destiny, and it was to come to her earlier than expected. We have to remember that she took on a role that completely ruled her life. Queen Elizabeth then carried out her duties with grace and sincerity; on her 21st birthday she made a declaration to the commonwealth:
“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.” - I think we can agree that this she did and went above and beyond.
I think her devotion and service to the country was evident from a very early age, When World War II broke out in 1939, Princess Elizabeth was just 13 years old. Throughout her teenage years, she contributed to the war effort in any way she could. Eager to contribute, the future queen made her first BBC radio broadcast in 1940 at age 14. During the broadcast, Elizabeth spoke directly to Britain’s children. She had even enlisted in the British Army by war’s end, Princess Elizabeth was the first woman in the British royal family to join the military. In her role as a mechanic, the future queen took apart engines, changed tyres, and learned to drive trucks and ambulances. The Queen later acted as Head of the Armed Forces and was the namesake for the Elizabeth Cross.
The press dubbed her “Princess Auto Mechanic,” and Princess Elizabeth reportedly enjoyed getting her hands dirty and showing her hard work off to her family and friends. After the war, she could often be seen driving her cars around her estates. She was even known to diagnose and repair the engines in her own vehicles at times. Though she was royalty, there wasn’t always special treatment for Princess Elizabeth during World War II but she was determined to serve her country the same way others were required to. And when the Allies emerged victorious in the end, so the story goes, she slipped out of Buckingham Palace with her sister Princess Margaret and partied in the streets of London — just like everyone else. This is the story of the soon-to-be Queen Elizabeth’s service in World War II.
The Queen first met Prince Philip when she was eight and he was 13 in 1934 at a wedding. When they met a few years later she apparently fell head over heels in love with him at first sight. Following her marriage to Prince Phillip in 1947, the Queen made her home in Malta between 1949 and 1951, when he was stationed here as a Naval Officer serving in the Mediterranean Fleet - the only other place apart from the UK that Queen Elizabeth ever called home, it has been noted that it is here where she felt that she could live a “normal” life, going to the hairdressers and out to dinner and parties just like anyone else.
Queen Elizabeth visited Malta six times after her sudden ascension to the throne. In May of 1954, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip flew to Malta as part of their world tour of the Commonwealth. The royal couple visited again in November of 1967. Malta was by then an independent state. This was her second State visit as a Queen - a landmark in the island’s history, as this was the first-time independent Malta welcomed the Queen.
Her next trip to Malta wasn't until 1992, by this time I was living in Malta myself, having moved here with my husband in 1988. I actually saw them on this trip! The only time I have ever seen her Majesty. I was visiting a friend and the police came to ask me to move my car, I was quite belligerent (me, belligerent – I know who’d have thought?) and asked why I had to move it and he very politely told me because this is the route the Queen is taking, and the roads have to be clear! We asked him what time she would be passing; he gave us a rough idea. I moved my car, and we waited outside with our two toddlers so that we could wave, there were no crowds, just us and as they drove past, we waved excitedly, and they waved back in a less fervent manner!!
The Queen’s last trip to Malta was in 2015, it was her last official visit overseas, quite fitting really.
Queen Elizabeth was committed to service and duty and was respected around the World, often the only woman in a man’s world. One of the most inspiring women of our times, a strong role model and as a feminist myself I’d like to take a look at her role as a ‘quiet feminist’ these of course are the things that we know about, there are probably many other incidences of which we are unaware, and despite hardly ever discussing women’s rights, she had a watershed impact on empowering women everywhere throughout her reign. I doubt very much that she saw herself as a feminist due to the era in which she grew up, but simply by being The Queen she was a role model to young girls and women, I know because I was one of those young girls once.
Back in 2003, when Abdullah, the-then Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia (a country where, at the time, women where not permitted to drive) visited her in Balmoral, Her Majesty asked if he would like a tour of the estate and then promptly hopped behind the wheel and insisted on driving him in her Land Rover. It's said that he was incredibly nervous about all this, likely having never been driven by a woman before, and via his interpreter begged her to "slow down and concentrate on the road".
Perhaps the closest the queen came to a public statement about women’s rights or gender equality was at a 2011 British Commonwealth summit in Australia, where the theme was “Women as Agents of Change.” The Queen said: “It reminds us of the potential in our societies that is yet to be fully unlocked and encourages us to find ways to allow girls and women to play their full part.”
Then also in 2011, the Queen oversaw a major change to succession laws as agreed by the leaders of the 16 Commonwealth countries that meant sons and daughters of any future British monarch would have equal rights to the throne. Up until that point, the laws of succession dictated that the heir to the throne is always the first-born son of the monarch. But according to the new rules, had the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (now Prince and Princess of Wales) had a daughter first, she would have taken precedence to the throne over her younger brothers. As it so happens, the couple had a boy first, Prince George.
The Queen also periodically dispatched congratulatory comments about women breaking barriers in realms such as sports. Over the summer, when England’s women soccer team won the Euro championship — achieving what no male English team had done before — the Queen praised the Lionesses for having “set an example that will be an inspiration for girls and women today, and for future generations inspiration for girls and women.”
Not forgetting of course, as previously mentioned, when she became the first female member of the Royal Family to join the Armed Services full-time, she was no shrinking violet!
Whether you are a royalist or not, you have to admire the sheer stoicism and stamina of this remarkable and outstanding woman who made a great sacrifice to serve her country, some might say the ultimate sacrifice. It needs to be remembered that she was a working mother and she worked hard, this is well documented. The world changed so much during her life and reign, she embraced those changes and continued to move forward with them, even quite recently taking part in a zoom meeting! I think one of the things I loved about her most was her love for animals, for her dogs and horses and for all animals. With a keen wit and sense of humour, thinking here of her sketch with 007 and earlier this year with Paddington (have to say that will always be my favourite.) I also love to think of her watching Coronation Street – just like me – one of my all-time favourites!
I think Charles will be a great King after all he was campaigning for the environment back in the 1970’s long before it was trendy, His foresight together with his training augurs well and will, I believe, stand him in good stead. For those criticizing him at the moment, cut him some slack, he has just lost his mother!
I believe that our Queen never really recovered from the death of her husband and was never the same without her rock. Now she is reunited with her beloved Prince Philip – ‘Grief is the price we pay for love.’ How true these words are, few of us have not felt the pain of loss.
I’d like to leave you with a poem about grief from Donna Ashworth, an author that I have recently discovered who I think is amazing, you can find her on social media and her books are available on Amazon, this is from one of her new books, ‘LOSS’ also available at Waterstones.
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