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Queen Elizabeth II

In Memoriam: Queen Elizabeth II

and having a four second handshake with Martin McGuiness, reminding both the British and Irish people how far the two countries had come from The Troubles. McGuiness was an important figure in the IRA, which had killed her cousin, Louis Mountbatten, in 1979. Yet the Queen visibly smiled whilst shaking his hand and did not pass comment on his political affiliation. The Queen lived by one proverb: ‘Silence is Golden’. She met with American presidents, the epitomisers of freedom and democracy, and with African dictators, but passed no comment on any of them. She remained above the political fray and came to represent a continuity that was respected worldwide. As political movements ensued and empires fell, she chose not to speak out and entangle the royal family in difficulties. The Queen instead restrained herself and allowed events to play their course. The Queen became the embodiment of class and respect both at home and abroad. She was the cornerstone of British identity, and with the Scottish and Brexit referendums demonstrating that our country is in an identity crisis, the impact of her death is immeasurable. Finn Combe (U6th)

In September the School paid tribute to a most extraordinary figure: Queen Elizabeth II sat on the throne for over 70 years, overseeing life in the United Kingdom with great calm, elegance and wisdom. Her passing was marked by an assembly in the Great Hall as Reverend Fields, our school Chaplain, paid a most moving tribute to the Queen, while boys and staff also had the opportunity to sign a Book of Condolence, which will be kept as a record of the thoughts of staff and pupils. Earlier in the year, the School wrote to Old Boys asking for their memories of the passing of George VI and the accession of the late Queen Elizabeth II. Below we read the thoughts of Finn Combe (U6th) about the Queen’s lasting impact and her relevance for the Merchant Taylors’ community. Mr S. J. Everson Queen and Sovereign Queen Elizabeth II was an unlikely rebel. Many of you may never have viewed the late regent as a rebel, but it was her rule breaking tendencies which made her one of Britain’s most revolutionary monarchs. The Queen realised that the monarchy’s preservation would require a fundamental breakdown of its rigid and ‘behind-doors’ nature. In her first major event as a royal, her coronation, she made the audacious move to broadcast a once very private event to 27 million people worldwide. On her royal tour of Australia in 1970, she broke precedent by meeting the large crowds waiting to see her. Simply having the courtesy to meet supporters allowed the Queen to become a part of people’s lives in a way that previous monarchs had never been able to. These televised events and ‘walkabouts’, which soon became integral to royal life, gave the impression that although she led the people, she was also among them. That she was able to present this level of casualness whilst having such high status was truly remarkable. The large number of people who have said she ‘felt like a grandmother’ is testament to how effective her approach to royal life was.

But her role was not limited to revolutionising our monarchy. It is very easy for us to confine her achievements and prowess to our own country. Many people within the community at Merchant Taylors’ have ancestry connected to Britain’s imperial past, and thus it is important to realise her impact in places where her nation once ruled. During her 1961 tour, the Queen famously danced with Ghana’s president Kwame Nkrumah at a farewell ball in Accra, which many scholars believe was a symbolic moment in the history of the Commonwealth. Despite bombings in the capital and fears that Ghana was getting too close to the Soviet Union, the Queen insisted on embarking on the tour to make sure that Ghana did not leave the Commonwealth and remained on harmonious terms with the UK. Additionally, she will long be remembered for her 2011 state visit to the Republic of Ireland. She stunned the entire Irish nation with a simple head bow at the Garden of Remembrance in May 2011, commemorating the Irish heroes who had died at the hands of the British in their fight for independence. On this same visit, the Queen was pictured wearing all-green

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