Queen of Hearts

1954: Winston Churchill, Charles, Anne (WSJ)

The world spins on, but days after her death Queen Elizabeth II still commands space on front pages and magazine covers and lead minutes on broadcasts.

And deservedly so.

She has been in the public eye since the day she was born, her life spanned nearly a century, and she conducted herself throughout with dignity and refinement. Her first Prime Minister was Winston Churchill, and her 15th was Liz Truss, whom the Queen appointed two days before she died.

Hers was a life of pomp, circumstance, and privilege, yet few would view that as acceptable payment if it meant perpetual responsibility and never-ending scrutiny.

It's difficult to put into words what she meant not only to Britons but her admirers around the world. From an American-British citizen:

2022: Liz Truss (WSJ)

Queen Elizabeth’s great gift was her ability to maintain that affection over so many decades, many of them very difficult for her country. She did this by being constantly present in the nation’s life without ever seeming overbearing, and by taking care to stay out of politics.

This allowed her to ask for, and receive, the love of her people without demanding of them the impossible—toleration for a suffocating presence or assent to political positions they might not share.

Peggy Noonan:

She wanted to be a queen the country adhered to and was proud of, so she maintained dignity. She knew her role. She didn’t show moods or take sides, never tried to win the crowd, didn’t attempt to establish a reputation for wit or good nature. She was in her public dealings placid, as a great nation’s queen would be.

...The great of Britain have been talking for years about how sad it will be when she departs. They’re about to be taken aback by how deep and pervasive the mourning is.

I shall not look upon [her] like again.---Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 2

We Will Miss Her More Than We Realize

The Queen's coronation, 1953 (photo from Royal Family website)

There are significant events from 1952, my birth year. Ike was elected, the Korean War continued, the U.S. set off the first hydrogen bomb—-but for my money the most significant event in retrospect was Queen Elizabeth II’s ascension to the throne.

Today Queen Elizabeth II passed away. Through all the tumult of the past 70 years she was rock-steady in her demeanor and graciousness. We will miss her more than we realize.

The Queen's platinum jubilee, 2022 (photo from Royal Family website)

A Woman Sits Alone

The Queen has 16 "regnal titles". In Great Britain her regnal title is:

Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.

On Saturday she was a 94-year-old widow, sitting alone in St. George's chapel, mourning the loss of her husband of 73 years.

Among the nearly 8 billion people in the world, Queen Elizabeth II is without equal in rank, wealth, and privilege. Those who have ideological blinders find it impossible to look beyond the symbol. But the vast majority, I hope and believe, see the person, remember their own sorrows, and share the heartbreak.

Lennon-ist, not Leninist

St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle (Rutland Herald)

The beauty of Anglicanism was on full display Saturday during the wedding of Harry and Meghan. Certainly there are larger, more magnificent cathedrals where the ceremony could have been held, but St. George's Chapel was just the right size for the number of attendees (or it could be that the guest list was pared to accommodate seating).

The Most Reverend Michael Curry (Reuters)

I'd like to put in my two cents about the sermon by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry.

Both admirers and detractors pointed to the novelty of having an African-American preacher speak to the royal family. How wonderful/how horrible that he brought up Martin Luther King and slavery at a wedding ceremony! They behaved as partisans who do not delve beneath surface appearances and the surface meaning of words. They rendered a quick verdict depending on whether black Americans are in or out of their tribe.

In my humble opinion Michael Curry's sermon rose above politics. He spoke about the power of love, a phrase that was repeated nine times.

“Jesus began the most revolutionary movement in all of human history. A movement grounded in the unconditional love of God and for the world. And a movement mandating people to live and love, and in so doing, to change not only their lives, but the very life of the world itself. I’m talking about power, real power to change the world.”

He did not give social-justice proponents the red meat they want, i.e., there is no need to seek to overthrow hierarchies or resist repression if we focus on love, which is revolutionary enough. Nor did he let the powerful off the hook:

Imagine governments and nations where love is the way. Imagine business and commerce when love is the way. Imagine this tired old world when love is the way … unselfish, sacrificial, redemptive. Then no child would go to bed hungry in this world ever again. When love is the way we will let justice roll down like a mighty stream and righteousness like an ever-flowing brook.

By speaking about love, by being Lennon-ist not Leninist, Michael Curry's sermon rose above politics.

Note: another aspect that may have been disconcerting to English listeners was the use of elements of black preaching styles by Bishop Curry. He didn't use full-throated call-and-response or convicting the audience or vision casting (one of the best examples is Martin Luther King's I Have A Dream); even toned down, new cadences reverberated shockingly throughout St. George's Chapel.

Simply reading the text of Bishop Curry's sermon doesn't capture the experience of listening and watching (video below).

The Perfect Princess for A Hashtag World

Still sparkling (her not him) after the wedding
vows (Daily Mail)

Time:

at thirty-six...Meghan is not only three years older than her husband-to-be, she is a fully-formed adult who has already had a successful career...

One of the reasons that Meghan has settled so quickly into royal life is that she already knows what it’s like to look down the barrel of a dozen telephoto lenses and smile as if she hasn’t a care in the world. Anyone who has worked the red carpet for years will be inoculated against the spiteful tabloid comments about a glimpse of cellulite, or a stray gray hair.

Not many civilians can adjust seamlessly into the rigors of working for ‘The Firm’, as the Royal Family is sometimes nicknamed. But as a successful television actress, Meghan already knows what it is like to be in the public eye, and how to say the same thing over and over again as if she means it.

As if it were professionally arranged, Harry has picked the perfect princess for a hashtag world.