For 70 years she “was” the United Kingdom
Queen Elizabeth II who was laid to rest on September 19, was a rare point of stability in a turbulent nation and world.
Sep 23, 2022
By Jérôme Chapuis
Queen Elizabeth II who was laid to rest on September 19, was a rare point of stability in a turbulent nation and world.
All her life she had a clear idea of her function, which was essentially to play a role and hold a place. This is undoubtedly why there is such a widely shared emptiness now after her death. A part of our collective imagination has been left orphaned.
For 70 years, she was the United Kingdom. Her longevity, as well as her steadfastness over the course of four generations, made her a rare point of stability for a country and a world in turmoil. From the British Empire’s most recent upheavals — such as its exit from the European Union — to her own personal dramas, she went through it all. In her very person she contributed to the United Kingdom’s perseverance beyond the vicissitudes of history.
Quality of being
One can become queen by an accident of history. But sovereignty and the respect it inspires don’t just happen to one. It comes from the quality of being.
Elizabeth’s “dignity” and “sense of duty”, as Pope St John Paul II once pointed out, were rooted in a deep Christian faith.
Some would say that, for the representative of an outdated institution, it was another manifestation of anachronism. On the contrary, it can be seen as one of the sources of that quiet wisdom she so often demonstrated, as she did last year when she voiced regret that health issues had prohibited her from participating in the General Synod of the Church of England.
Said the Queen: “None of us can slow down the passage of time.”-- LCI (https://international.la-croix.com/)
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