The Queen Is Dead. Long Live The King.
When Elizabeth ascended the throne, the words that rang out were, The King Is Dead. Long Live The Queen.
Now that Charles III has ascended the throne, the words that will be officially acclaimed sometime soon will be, The Queen Is Dead. Long Live The King.
Britons will have to get used to changes to the words in their National Anthem. The title will be God Save The King.
Spanning Three Monarchs
When I was born in India, that country was a part of the British Empire. King George VI reigned. In1952 after his death, Queen Elizabeth II became the monarch. Now King Charles III is the new monarch.
It is hard to think that my life has spanned three British monarchs. You have to be at least 70 years old to claim this.
The Shrinking Of The British Empire
When Queen Elizabeth ascended the throne, she ruled countries that stretched all around the globe that coined the term, the sun never set on the British Empire.
According to the History Channel, it was estimated that at the height of the British Empire between the World Wars, one out of four people was a British Subject spread over 70 territories worldwide.
As a kid growing up in India, this state of affairs started to change. Britain found itself ruling an empire in crisis. In oorder to survive, it had to divest itself of these colonies.
Little by little, these countries were granted their independence, starting with India, Pakistan, and Burma in 1948. Most of the colonies became independent in the 1960s. The last significant colony was Hong Kong. It was returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.
The Transformation
The Queen oversaw the transformation of the British Empire into the Commonwealth Of Nations, where most of these countries remained. This idea appealed to her.
A few countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Jamaica among a total of 14 besides the UK continued to recognize the Queen as the Head Of State of their countries.
The rest became republics, like India, and instituted their heads of state.
You can learn more about the British Empire through this link: https://www.britannica.com/place/British-Empire
Focus And Hard Work
We can all learn several lessons from Queen Elizabeth. She was committed to her role as The Head Of State. Her work ethic was legendary. She was super focused on what her responsibilities were.
However, she also had a sense of humor. And when changes were necessary to maintain her connection with her subjects, she made them.
Every day the Queen was given a box covered in red leather that was filled with Government papers for her attention. Yes, EVERY DAY during the year except for Christmas and Easter.
Without fail, when the couriers came to collect this box the next day, she had completed all the tasks that needed her attention.
How many of us work at our business 363 days a year? Fortunately, we don't have to in order to become successful in our business.
But we do need to stay focused and work hard consistently to achieve the success we want.
My Thoughts
Although I lived in England for over two decades, I never saw the Queen there. Instead, the only time I saw Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip live was when they visited India in 1961.
Our whole family joined hundreds of thousands that lined the streets during her journey from the Airport to the Governor's Mansion.
Her cavalcade moved slow enough for her to stand up. So we got a good view of the Queen as she passed by close to where we were standing.
When I left England for Canada, I had a feeling of sadness that the Queen would not be close to home compared to England.
I loved the pomp and circumstance associated with the Queen. The one I remember most vividly was The Evening News Thames Pageant in the mid-1960s where a flotilla of decorated boats sailed down the river Thames. I stood on one of the bridges to get a good view.
There was an amazing firework display at the end. I can't remember what Royal occasion that celebrated but it was fun.
The Royal Funeral & Coronation
I now anticipate the funeral of The Queen which will be quite an amazing spectacle. The Queen was not crowned until a year after she became Queen. Hence, the coronation of King Charles will take place in the latter part of 2023.
As a kid in India, our family went to the movies to see a lavish documentary called A Queen Is Crowned. It was held at the Globe Theater in Calcutta. There was a huge golden crown over the entrance.
In honor of Queen Elizabeth, I will leave you with this link to the video where you can see excerpts of this incredible documentary in technicolor narrated by Sir Laurence Olivier.
A Queen Is Crowned
The original lo-fi documentary can be seen on YouTube here.
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Recent Comments
47
Edwin, that was a wonderful history you brought us through.
Even though I am not English, about half of my ancestry is English and Scottish. I traced my Scottish ancestry all the way back to 975 a.d.
During World War II and the Blitz over London, I listened to every broadcast I could and marveled at the courage of the British people and I remember, somewhat vaguely, when the news would report that the Royalty would walk the streets and talk to the people that mostly had no place to stay but the air raid shelters.
I was only about 7 or 8, but the Princess and later, the Queen was my most favorite person. She was an extraordinary woman. There will be no one else like her.
Hello Barbara,
Your childhood experience listening to those broadcasts helps to connect me to the most consequential periods in our modern history. Did you listen to any of Churchill's speeches? Or that of King George VI?
Thanks for commenting.
Edwin
Yes,Edwin, we listened to Churchill .I don't recall much about King George. In those days, we had news briefs in the movie theatres, which were really great keeping us up with news from all over the world. This was before the days of television. The movie shorts were the best things to keep us up on what was happening.
There is only 6 years difference between my age and Queen Elizabeth, so a lot of my memories are the memories of a child.
In the 60s we used to get Pathe News in the cinema that gave snippets of the news in very dramatic fashion.
I never understood how the leadership works in Britain, Edwin. I remember reading about Winston Churchill and how he would need to meet with the king to discuss current events and the war. I read somewhere that Elizabeth dealt with fifteen of them while she was on the throne.
I heard someone mention the currency. Will the current banknotes still be is use since her image is still on them? We still print out dollars over here with Jefferson, Lincoln and Washington on them.
Appreciate the post!
Isaiah 😊
Hello Isaiah,
The existing currency will still be valid. Except when the new notes and coins are produced, they will have Charles's portrait on them. Unlike the US, the UK only uses its monarchs.
As the Head of State, the British Monarch is only a figurehead. They have to sign the documents of the State that are presented to them before they can become law. They can't refuse, but they could ask to discuss them if they have any concerns. And that would help\ the Prime Minister think that through.
In days of old, the monarch had absolute power. In Britain, that went by the way of the wayside when Parliament was instituted. The COronation OAth Act of 1688 took away these absolute powers from the Monarch and gave those to the Parliament which was comprised of citizens of the land.
Britain started their journey to full democracy through the Reform Act of 1832. But it wasn't until 1928 that women over 21 got the right to vote. that was previously only given to men.
Cheers.
Edwin
I remember seeing her once in NewZealand. I must have been about 10 years old. We were all ( my class) standing alongside the Main Street of Auckland and waving our flags. And then a very regal looking lady waved to all the children and adults as she and her entourage drove down the road.
It is amazing to think she has been queen for so long..70 years..amazing.
Whether you believe in the idea of monarchy or not, she was a great spokesperson for England and I hope she has passed on to a better place.
Stephen
Hi Stephen,
You must have seen the Queen on one of her tours of the Commonwealth. NEw Zealand gained its independence from the British in 1947. So before India. But it kept the Queen as its head of state. IN wonder now that the Queen has gone whether those countries where the British monarch is the head of state will vote to become Repunlics.
Cheers.
Edwin
Interesting times indeed. Charles will be nervous, nobody would want the stigma as “ the last King of the Empire” …or even England, however good it is for tourism.
Stephen
Sadly, she will be missed by trillions and especially for those that were closest.
Myra
Hi Myra,
Hard to believe the Queen is no more. With Charles being 72, and William being 40, it will be a long time before Britain will have a monarch ascend to the throne as young as Elizabeth was in1952.
This coming year is going to be very intriguing.
Edwin
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Thank you, Edwin, for giving us a view of the Queen from your point of view as one who lived in her world/s. My daughter was born on the day of Princess Diana’s wedding. Of course, we named her Diana. What a tragedy, her death. I can’t quite get over it.
You're most welcome. We watched a documentary on Charles and Diana and saw it was doomed. It's serendipity that despite the false starts and bad decisions, the Queen passed away knowing that the future of the Royal Family is in good hands.
Glad to hear your daughter was named Diana.our son named his daughter Diana and his son William.
It is devastating the Queen is Dead but life proceeds to a string of future Kings.
Cheers
Edwin