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Personal recollections of Her Gracious Highness -Queen Elizabeth II
Hearing the announcement that HRH Queen Elizabeth II had died brought on such a sad feeling. But there was no surprise or sorrow. This was what I felt and to see whether there was a difference in the emotions as I thought there was, I went to Internet and got this answer “Sadness is a state of unhappiness while sorrow is a
Of course I felt more than unhappiness and the sadness continued as I watched BBC detailing all the events that surrounded the last journey from Balmoral to Scotland and then to London and the several temporary resting places. There was also gladness that Prince Charles whom I always admired and even sided with in conversations during the turbulence of his marriage to Princess Diana, is now King Charles III.
Sightings of Princess Elizabeth
Reams have been written and said about the Queen, along with day long telecasts, and it will go on till even after her funeral with immense pageantry and centuries old traditions followed on Sept. 19, the funeral day. We older people have always had an interest in the British Royal Family and special regard with admiration and affection mixed for the queen. One fact that impressed us was the refusal of her parents to leave London, move to one of their country castles or send the two daughters away, due to the constant bombing by the Luftwaffe during WW II. No, they stayed in Buckingham Palace which once had a bomb exploding away from living quarters. The entire family visited bombed areas and commiserated with the people.
We followed her romance with a Greek prince who was near-adopted by Lord Louis Mountbatten who was resident in Peradeniya during the Japanese sector of WW II, and went riding in Udawattekelle as reported by an older brother. When we were teenagers, we lapped up info on her love for Philip, marriage, having children and Princess Margaret’s love relationships. We have seen TV repeats of her wedding many times over. I well remember watching her entire coronation in the Empire Cinema in Kandy. Also remembered with wry amusement is my little niece letting out a loud cry just as the Archbishop lifted the crown to place it on Elizabeth’s young head.
Pugnacious timing of the niece and consequent hassle as my brother carried her out! Sombre but to be admired was the scene seen many times later of the women of the royal family, heavily veiled, at the funeral of George VI. There was Queen Mary, mother of the monarch, his wife Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother), his elder daughter, immediately succeeding him to be proclaimed Queen Elizabeth II, and still unmarried but flighty younger daughter, Margaret.
Incidentally, as shown on TV on Sunday September 10, the heir is proclaimed king/queen immediately at the death of the reigning British monarch. TV cameras for the first time entered St James Palace, close to Buckingham Palace for the formal pronouncement of the succession on the morning of Saturday September 10. So tradition-bound and dignified. The proclamation dates from the time of the Anglo Saxon rulers and the announcement made by the Privy Council dates from the death of Elizabeth 1 with kingship passing to James I.
The Queen’s life from the time she was post teenage was narrated in the Netflix-BBC film series The Crown. The production was approved by the Queen and claimed to be true. It revealed many incidents that the public was not privy to and traced her life from the time of Prince Philip asking King George VI for his elder daughter’s hand in marriage and the father extracting a promise that he, Philip, would always care for her and see to her well-being. Prince Philip fulfilled these promises very well; always two paces behind the Queen in public and her greatest support and only love. I tend to believe his death about a year and a half ago completely bereft her; her frailties came on after she had to live without him, though of course surrounded by carers and family.
It was said the Queen felt closest to her youngest son Edward and daughter-in-law Sophie – the Earl and Countess of Wessex, but her favourite was son Andrew who recently was relieved of all royal duties due to his shenanigans with Virginia Giuffe as accused by her, of sex when she was a teenager. However a commentator a couple of days ago mentioned that, of the second generation, Catherine – Kate, now Princess of Wales, seemed to genuinely care for her while grandson William appeared to be extra close to her.
The less said about Prince Harry and Meghan, the better. While the Queen was old and ailing, Meghan brought on a spate of gossip with her allegations against the Royal Family of colour consciousness in the interview with Oprah Winfrey. A TV announcer during this week mentioned Meghan’s ire was because their son was not permitted the title of Prince. No wonder when they forsook all duties as members of the royal family, parted from them to live in California, and even created bad blood between the brothers.
Crosses borne
Though one of the richest women (Rishi Sunak’s Indian wife – Infosys tycoon’s daughter – is said to be richer); and most respected and admired worldwide, much loved too by many from top to bottom; Queen Elizabeth had travails assailing her. She bore them well, came through triumphant but we are sure at a price. Basically a vulnerable woman though showing stoicism, she would have suffered internally and the worst of it, not able to show it. The stiff upper lip and never shed tears in public being a British rigid rule, as it were.
By her own admission in a speech made in London marking the 40th anniversary of her accession to the throne, 1992 was an ‘annus horribilis’ and “not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure.” The marriages of her two older sons and Princess Anne’s were on the rocks and gossiped about viciously, and a part of Windsor Castle she so loved, was burnt.
It is a well known fact that though she was devoted to her husband, Prince Philip, though devoted in return performing well his duties and courtesies as consort to a queen, once in a while strayed from the straight and narrow. The most infamous was depicted in the Netflix series The Crown. Philip was persuaded by his physiotherapist that he was under stress and invited for a weekend out. The Queen had planned they travel to Sandringham, but acquiesced. On Monday morning, Princess Margaret storms in with a newspaper carrying a large photograph. She said a back view was clearly Philip’s and in the picture was the infamous Christine Keeler. When Philip returned, the queen was cold and uncommunicative. He knelt beside her as she sat on a window sill and reminded her that he had kept the promise he made to her father. He held her hand and was reciprocated. Thus her greatness and considering duty first and family before personal emotions and disappointments.
The Queen in Sri Lanka
I well remember seeing her in Kandy during her 1953 visit when she resumed the tour to many countries interrupted by her father’s passing and her coronation in 1952. She traveled in an open car to the Maligawa and Assembly Hall; wonderfully beautiful in a bright yellow dress and a hat with yellow flowers. Also remember noticing how long Sir John Kotelawala, the PM, held her hand as she descended from her royal ship Britannica to the quay at the newly expanded Colombo Port.
I felt she felt she needed no helping hand to step on land and being held too long!
A tale told by a reliable source is that on that 1953 visit, the Queen, after her stay in the Polonnaruwa Resthouse was invited to climb Sigiriya. Going up to the frescoes, the wind was strong. The Queen never wore trousers in public, thus her skirt was blown by the wind. Sir John Kots who was directly behind the Queen shouted to official photographer Rienzie Wijeratne “Ganing bung pinthurayak!”
None of those, unfortunately and sadly, are alive today to contest that story. But many Sri Lankans have met and chatted to her. Leelananda and Rukmal de Silva narrate how during Ascot Week they would stand outside their flat in Windsor. The Queen, taking the direct route from the castle to the racecourse would pass them and bow to them, latterly smile and wave friendlily. They have met her at garden parties at Buck Palace and at Commonwealth meetings and conversed both formally and informally. ‘Charming and friendly’ is their summation of her.
I end with affection this sincere tribute to the Queen who gave Britain a second Elizabethan Era, with one of her many quoted sayings: “Grief is the price we pay for love.”