The Queen is Dead, Long Live the King

September 22, 2022

The passing of Queen Elizabeth has got everyone thinking about royalty and our complicated relationship to it.

Maybe it is my British heritage, and the fact that my grandmother was a devoted royalist, but I realize that, like the slightly blurred background of a photo, the queen’s influence has always been present in my life. There she was staring serenely from her portrait, hung in every classroom that I entered, whether as a student or a teacher. As a child I remember that most official events would begin with singing “O Canada '' and end with “God Save the Queen”. An annual tradition for my mother was watching the queen’s Christmas message.

My memories go back to a day in July, 1981. Our family was reeling with shock and grief at the death of my older brother, Bruce, killed tragically in a car accident, only 8 days earlier. As we watched the fairy tale wedding of Charles and Diana I thought, “How lucky those royals were, living in their protected bubble. Bad things never happened to families like that.” No one suspected that that marriage would end in a very nasty and public divorce  and that a mere 16 years later, Diana, would also die in a horrific car crash. So much for happy endings…

In 2004 we visited the U.K. for our son’s wedding. During that time we took a few tours. Windsor Castle was a highlight. Suddenly, for me at least, royalty seemed to become more real and relevant as we explored the vast estate with its great halls and ornate furnishings. However, it wasn’t until we visited St. George's chapel that royalty became real, as there under the floor was buried King Henry VIII and just outside was the mausoleum of Queen Victoria. The queen mother had been laid to rest in the royal vault only 3 years prior. Strangely, it was seeing the royals in death that brought them more to life to me than they had ever been.

By now, we have all heard the discussion and debate regarding the role of the monarchy in the 21st century. In my opinion, good arguments can be made from either side however I will offer that, in spite of the fact that the monarchy and all its trappings is a medieval institution, I think we need to think carefully before discarding it. The great nation to our south, the United States, bears witness to the fact that a modern republic has issues as well.

I recently came across an interesting concept known among philosophers as Chesterton’s Fence. Coined by the philosopher, G. K. Chesterton. It's a simple concept, yet profound: “If you come across a fence blocking the road, before removing it, find out why it is there”. In other words before changing something that has no apparent function, it might be a good idea to find out why it is there.  Perhaps those who have gone before knew something that we don’t yet understand. We ignore the lessons of history at our peril.

And so we bid farewell to our dear queen, may she rest in peace.