It’s a sad time for royal watchers everywhere with the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. Whether you’re a royalist or a republican, Anglophile or otherwise, you certainly know who Her Majesty was. She was, after all, the most famous person in the world. Who else has been in so prominent a position for so long, or stayed so relevant in world events or pop culture, much less both?
In HM the Queen’s honor, I am dedicating this week’s installment of FTID to Elizabeth II, someone that I (and all of the rest of you) have been familiar with my whole life.
Three Generations of Queenly Currency
The Queen’s face is, for the time being, on a lot of money, and it has been for quite a while. As she aged, her depiction on the British Pound was altered to reflect the passing of years. When I was sorting through my pounds in preparation for my last trip to the UK, I was delighted to realize that I had coins featuring three different images of the Queen, showing her in her youth, middle years, and more advanced age. I decided that was a treasure that I shouldn’t toss away on a cup of coffee at the airport, so I tucked the coins away to keep. Now I’m so glad that I did.
The Queue
The Queue, that is, the miles-long queue to visit the lying-in-state of the Queen, has been hailed as a masterpiece of organization, cooperation, and general Britishness. It has jokingly been suggested that the huge crowds to pay respects to Her Majesty had less to do with people’s unswerving devotion to the Queen and more to do with the British inability to pass by such a perfect queue without joining in. Whatever the reason, The Queue has snaked for miles along the south bank of the Thames without ceasing since HM’s arrival at Westminster Hall on Wednesday until it was closed for her departure to Westminster Abbey for her funeral this Monday morning. Even those of us unable or unwilling to join The Queue ourselves have been mesmerized by the accounts of the queueing experience on social media and even a 24-hour live feed of The Queue streaming on YouTube.
I confess that I have devoured Queue content. Not only is this event quite possibly a never-to-be-repeated phenomenon, but it also has produced some beautiful shots of London taken at all hours, even those rarely seen late-night and early-morning shots.
An Account of The Queue Experience
One of the most surprising things about the reaction to Her Majesty’s passing hasn’t been the tears and demonstrations of her most devoted fans and the staunchest royalists of the United Kingdom; of course we expected that. It has been the way that even those who don’t consider themselves particular fans or royalists have responded. With a few noted exceptions, even those who don’t have much use for the idea of royalty have felt some degree of emotion at the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, even being led to (you guessed it) join The Queue and wait for hours to pay their respects.
This article in TimeOut London by Dave Calhoun is a fascinating look into the effect of this week of royal recognition on a non-royalist who somehow found himself drawn into The Queue and sticking with it for eight hours just to say goodbye to the Queen.
Post Box Topper Tributes
You may or may not be aware that there are enthusiastic crafters in the United Kingdom who make it their mission to “yarn-bomb” any available stationary objects, their favorite being those iconic red post boxes. Don’t be fooled by the messy-sounding name; this yarn-bombing is anything but chaotic. These crocheters and knitters adorn their local post boxes with elaborate toppers, and during the mourning period for the Queen’s death, they have been working every spare moment to show their appreciation for Her Majesty’s reign through their craft of choice.
Visit their Facebook page and take a look at some of the elaborate Queen Elizabeth-themed toppers they have made recently. These textiles tributes are sure to bring a smile to your face. (Especially the ones with corgis.)
The Queen Discusses Her Crowns
In the BBC documentary The Coronation, Queen Elizabeth II takes part in perhaps the closest thing to an interview that she ever consented to. She watches footage of her coronation day and describes the event from her perspective. The documentary also explains the importance of the Crown jewels and their purposes in the coronation ceremony.
In a particularly delightful segment, the two crowns used in the coronation ceremony, St. Edward’s Crown and the Imperial State Crown, are brought to the Queen for her commentary. In this clip, she talks about the practicalities of crown wearing— a subject on which she is uniquely qualified to enlighten us.
It is well worth your time to find the full documentary so that you can see her talk about the crowns themselves, and of course to see a flash of her cheeky sense of humor when she interrupts the solemn shifting of the Imperial State Crown on the table by casually snatching it and moving it herself.
I hope you have enjoyed this little look at Queen Elizabeth II and some of the events this week. I didn’t want to focus too heavily on the sadness of her passing, but I wanted to be sure to mention some of the events of the week and how they show the vast cultural importance that she has had for the past seventy years. I think we all see Elizabeth II as an icon in one way or another, whether it is her appearance in her distinctive “uniform” (bright dresses with matching hats, three-strand pearl necklace) or the meme culture that has sprung up around her (corgis, the wave, “COWS!!!”) and it will be a long time before anyone else manages her status, if it ever happens again.
