What a Queen we have!
What a Queen we have! How amazing that she can have been on the throne for 60 years and still be going strong! There are not many people who work for 50 years, let alone 60 and she is still at it, serving us all, her “subjects”. That may seem back to front that she serves us and the nation, but she does, even if in a rather different way from the way we “serve” her and one another. She is out and about meeting people, making special events all the more special by her presence. As Monarch, she fulfils the crucial role in our Constitution that enables the elected Government, “her Government”, to function with all the checks and balances that our history has enabled us to have in our democracy. She has regular meetings with the Prime Minister and other leaders within our own as well as other countries.
The quality that Queen Elizabeth II shows more than any other is, I think, that of duty. She has a remarkable sense of doing what is needed to fulfil the role that she has had thrust upon her, and doing so in such a wonderful manner, come rain or shine, whether she is feeling like it or not! All those years ago, in a Royal Broadcast to mark the occasion of her 21st birthday, five years before she came to the throne, she said, “I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service.” And that is what she has done, dutifully, faithfully and lovingly. As a result, she has become an extraordinary focus for the continuity of what is best in our society, as well as for the unity of our United Kingdom and Commonwealth.
Furthermore, Queen Elizabeth’s sense of duty, like all the other parts of her life, she sees as coming out of her faith, a faith which has not only seemed to grow stronger over the years, but which she speaks about ever more openly and clearly, year by year. She understands the importance of Christian faith in our history as well as the on-going fabric of our society. She understands the importance of Christian faith in her own personal life too, and that of her family, which matters so very much to her. She certainly seems to be someone who prays and knows the central importance of worship and time focussed on God. She is a fine example to us all.
Perhaps a key part of her faith was her Coronation when the Archbishop of Canterbury put the Crown on her head and anointed her Queen, expressing the abiding truth that all authority comes from God and is to be used, therefore, to build up the world in His way, not just our own.
Queen Elizabeth has worked for that inspirationally. We are greatly blessed by having her as our Monarch. God Save the Queen!