God Save…ALL OF US!
Elizabeth R. I always love seeing her signature like that.
The ultimate monarch has gone on to what, I am confident, is her Great Reward. Queen Elizabeth II, you undoubtedly know, has died, marking the beginning of a new sovereign, King Charles III. Wowza. It finally happened for ole Chuckles.
I have been consumed with the coverage, obsessing over the protocols, and paying closer attention to the details than any modern American needs to concern herself with. But so many of you have, as well! It clearly is not just me! I would love to spend time writing about how fabulous she was (oh, she was!) and how magnificent Catherine is (there are no words) and all of my feelings from seeing the next generation move up a notch. But I think what is most fascinating about all of this is why it’s, well, so fascinating to the whole world!
The monarchy, as an institution, is really something to behold. I recently was in Scotland (!) and drove through the U.K., and man, anytime I am there I am struck by just how old that country is. When you go down into the London Tube, it’s like oooooooookay…y’all been here a while. The monarchy’s mere existence, like anything that remains mostly unchanged for an extended period of time, is so very comforting. She was just always there! Steady, committed, the Queen just showed up. No fuss, no muss. We expected to see certain things from her, and she unfailingly delivered. Sometimes we didn’t even know what we wanted! But she still gave us something every time.
The grief that she is not around anymore, I think, stems from the universal acknowledgment that really, there won’t be another leader like her again. There will be Kings, no doubt. Queens, even! I do think there will be. But she was from another era, the last hold-out of a completely different period of history that most of us today don’t remember much of, though we knew and loved folks who did remember it. It reminds me of how people feel about Mason’s late maternal grandfather. They love talking about him, remembering their time with him, regaling people with his tales. To have experienced him, or the Queen even, is to have shared in a piece of history that has slipped away now. It is an expression of fondness for a person, surely, but also for a moment in time that will never again be repeated. And when a life represents something that big, it’s a different type of grieving, I think.
It has been touching to see the amount of collective attention paid to the Church in all of this! It was a huge part of the Queen’s life, and every note of the mourning and funeral process has been processed through a lens of her faith. These days there are few things that put the church at the center on such a grand scale. For my sister and me, raised to know the prayers and hymns recited in Westminster Abbey today, it strikes a chord. Like Her Majesty, we have been comforted by the Church in some of our happiest moments and darkest days. I have loved listening and following along. (And texting about the outfits with my sister, natch.)
I was most moved today by the final rendition of God Save the King in the chapel of St. George’s at Windsor. It was so powerful. Charles was clearly overwhelmed by the gravity, and grief, brought by her death and his ascension all encapsulated at once, as she was lowered. I was blown away by it. And I’m also proud to admit I now know the first stanza by heart. Music brings everything home, doesn’t it?
While I know we have moved on to the new guy, I will depart with the words that were sung to the Queen, Elizabeth R, Her Majesty, Lillibet, Grannie, and Mother:
Send her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us,
God save the Queen!
And to my husband, in the event he makes it to the end of this post, should I predecease you, just know there will be a guidebook provided. 😘