London Bridge has fallen down.
The Queen is dead. Long live the King.
The greatest leader of a country in crisis was Lincoln. The two greatest leaders of the 20th century were British- Churchill and Queen Elizabeth II. Britan's two most influential Monarchs were Queen Victoria who ushered in and oversaw the last great expansion of the United Kingdom as it entered the industrial age, and Queen Elizabeth II, who guided England as it receded from dominating the world stage after World War II.
Queen Elizabeth II is remarkable for her longevity and her gentle touch on the throttle. She kept her feelings to herself and inspired her subjects and the world without imposing her views. When needed, she was there, as when she said "We will meet again" in her address to England at the start of Covid. She reassured the Commonwealth and neigh the world that this too shall pass. Keep Calm and Carry On. She oversaw England's unsteady emergence from World War II while preserving the British Commonwealth. Countries gained their independence from English imperialism, but many kept their ties to the Queen who at age 21 famously devoted and pledged her life to the Commonwealth (see below at 2:21 in the video). England got its money's worth.
She was gracious, wise, courageous, steady, inspiring and damn near everlasting. She gave the world more than she took and we are lost without her in this troubling times.
God Save The Queen.
A few practical thoughts. Every coin in the UK has the Monarch on it. QEII faced right. King Charles will face left because the tradition is every new Monarch faces the opposite way of their predecessor except for the brief reign of Edward VIII who abdicated after a year and faced left although his father King George V faced left. Edward's brother King George VI (Bertie and Elizabeth's father) renewed the tradition and faced left -under the assumption George V should have faced right. Elizabeth faced right and King Charles III will face left.
QC will become KC. Barristers who took silk and have for 70 years become Queen's Counsel will now become King's Counsel. Lots of sewing to be done to the robes to change QC to KC.
The Ascension Counsel that formally proclaimed Charles a King was the first one ever to be televised.
The Monarchy will be changed. Charles wants a streamlined royal family. His job, and not an easy one at that, is to preserve all the goodwill his mother created, and shepherd England and the Commonwealth from Elizabeth II to his son William- who bring the modern touch the Crown so needs. There is no guarantee King Charles III succeeds.
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