.jpg)
I remember that at the end of dinner hour
at school we were all told to assemble in the hall and before we even got there
the rumour spread that the King had died – someone always seems to get to know
these things beforehand. Sure enough, the headmaster confirmed the news: ‘The
King has died, long live the Queen’. We had the afternoon off; simply, I
suppose, as a mark of respect. Well, the Queen has lived long and I think we
have a lot to be thankful for as we consider her reign and all the changes
through which she has lived and served the nation and Commonwealth. We may
theoretically be in favour of republicanism, but we cannot surely deny her
stabilising influence as a focal point above and beyond politics, the media and
the national and international hurly-burly. I would draw attention to two
things. First, she was still quite young when she became the heir to the throne
and from that time on she was being prepared, and preparing herself, for
service as Queen. Though that hour came much sooner than might have been
expected events have proved that she was ready to serve. Whether we like it or
not that was a benefit of the hereditary system. Second, and similarly, she did
not enter into office because she belonged to a particular political party, she
did not have to fight a presidential campaign and raise endless amounts of
money, she did not have to make friends of all the influential people she could
find. The system could, and has, put unworthy people on the throne, but no
other system could produce someone so unspoilt by the jockeying for power that
goes on endlessly and so dedicated to her task. We should thank God and pray
for her and the future of the nation.
