“Rule Britannia, Britannia, rule the waves, Britons never, never, shall be slaves …”
I always thought the second half of that line was one of the best sentiments ever in any of the de facto national anthems, and I take great pride that half of my ancestry in English and I can trace my British roots back to the middle of the 14th century.
We may or may not be a Christian nation, as folks on the far right like to claim, but we are first and foremost an English nation. Much of what is good about our country, from our language to our legal system, comes from Great Britain.
That’s why think what you will about the monarchy, much of America is watching as Queen Elizabeth II nears the end of her life and her 70-plus years on the throne of the United Kingdom.
Think what you will about the monarchy, and I have English friends who have no use for it at all, Elizabeth has clearly kept a promise she made on her 21st birthday all the way back in 1947.
“I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.”
The Queen turned 96 in April, and she celebrated the 70th anniversary of her reign earlier this year. She is less than two years from surpassing Louis XIV of France as the longest reigning monarch in world history, but her chances of surpassing the Sun King are very slim.
In point of fact, she may not live out the month. Buckingham Palace said the Queen was under medical supervision at her summer castle in Scotland and her family — children and grandchildren — were flying in to be by her side.
Both of those facts are somewhat ominous. Bulletins about the Queen’s health are not at all common, and her summer castle is in a remote area in northern Scotland. At least one of her grandchildren, Prince Harry, lives in California, although he and his wife Meghan were already in the UK on a visit with some of the charities he supports.
Plans are already in place for a state funeral, the first burial of a reigning monarch since the Queen’s father, King George VI, died in 1952. Her son, Prince Charles, will ascend to the throne and at age 73, becoming the oldest man ever to become a monarch.
He may rule longer than you think. After all, his mother has made it to 96 and his father, Prince Phillip, died last year at 99.
When he is finished, if Britons still want a monarchy, his son William (40 now) will become king.
Most people around the globe have never lived in a world where Elizabeth was not Queen of England. A phrase used too often when someone dies is that we will not see their like again.
In the case of Queen Elizabeth II, it is appropriate.
We will not see her like again.