Whether you believe in an immortal soul, what Gilbert Ryle called the ghost in the machine, or not, the spirit of Queen Elizabeth II lives on. It lives on through King Charles, Prince William and Prince George. I’m not thinking of genetics, or line of succession, rather her example of devotion to duty and service to the country and the commonwealth. It was abundantly clear in the broadcast that King Charles made after her death, that he has absorbed her example over the years very well indeed.
We remember Winston Churchill for his indomitable spirit, his cigars, his sense of humour, and perhaps most of all, his speeches. I have already paid tribute to our late queen’s wicked wit, in readers club. Her sense of humour was part of her spirit too. As a student of modern languages, I can only marvel at her linguistic ability. When she spoke in Dublin Castle in 2011, she opened her speech in Gaelic. The wow which followed says it all. The speculation before her visit revolved around a meeting she would have with Martin McGuinness, given that Earl Mountbatten, Prince Phillip’s uncle, had been assassinated by the IRA. There is another YouTube video of an RTE interview with McGuinness, where he is asked about that meeting. He clearly liked and respected her.
I have read that she might be given the title of “Queen Elizabeth The Great”. Certainly from my research for The Spy who Sank the Armada, of the two Queen Elizabeths, I think there’s no contest. Queen Elizabeth I is probably best known for her speech at Tilbury in 1588. “I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm; to which rather than any dishonour shall grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field.” A fine speech, well written and delivered. But did she personally take up arms? Of course not. In my opinion Queen Elizabeth II wins hands down. I would be very happy with Queen Elizabeth The Great, but in the spirit of kicking ideas around, I have an alternative. How about “Queen Elizabeth The Exemplar”. She has been an example to all of us, in so many ways.