It was our tenth wedding anniversary this week, on September 8th, the same day that Queen Elizabeth II died. It was a strange feeling - a feeling of sadness and foreboding but also one of comfort as it seems to me quite certain that Queen Elizabeth was a genuine Christian believer and is now at rest with the Lord after a long period of faithful service.
I have to say that I find criticism of the Queen and Royal Family at this time distasteful to say the least. Those criticisms rely upon a misunderstanding of the King or Queen’s role in a constitutional monarchy like ours, which is really to be a figurehead for the nation. As I’ve heard Peter Hitchens say, the monarch is like the king in chess - she doesn’t do that much but nobody else can take that square. The point being that the pomp and ceremony is reserved for the monarch and not for the political head of the nation, thus keeping the latter role in perspective. It is not the Queen’s job to influence political decisions but to be a point of unity and connection for the nation. And our Queen carried out that role faithfully and with committed resilience for seventy years.
I look at my generation and the generations of younger people coming up after me and they are starved of good examples - of faithfulness, of commitment, of resilience, of loyalty, of dedication. I am convinced this is why people like Jordan Peterson connect so powerful particularly with young men. We are desperate, simply desperate, for somebody to come along and say to us, “This is the way. Follow my example and you’ll find something.” We’ve been left like orphans to pick out a path among millions of empty options and our souls are bereft as a result.
I am not saying that the Queen filled that need for young people - although perhaps she did for some. What I am saying is that her commitment, dedication and faithfulness stands out like a shining star in comparison to the examples of human beings who occupy spaces in public life: careerists and cynical immoralists, incompetents, clowns and fools. The Queen, whatever you think about her, was different. She committed her entire life to that narrowly prescribed role and she delivered. That is what I find inspiring about her. I want to commit myself to something meaningful and I want to deliver on it. I think we all do, at least somewhere deep down.
The Scripture that I am reminded of come from the words of St Paul to Timothy as he neared the end of his life:
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
2 Timothy 4:7
May we all be able to say the same thing when the time comes.
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