I've spent these last few days going from sadness to angry over Her Royal Highness The Queen Elizabeth death and the certain reactions and vile comments made about her. But I also see these comments for what they are, uneducated and they come from a place of hurt. I am aware of what the British Empire stands for to many people out there. And while there is many parts of my history (I'm scottish, not English but still considered british) I'm proud of, there is also a lot that sickens and shames me. And I think that to those people who have been hurt by the British Empire it is easy to blame the queen she is the only one that lived to this time to blame, and I'm not going to pretend that the monarchy didn't benefit from the colonisation, but the Queen was not a colonisers. So I would like to remind and or educate some to the accomplishments of My Queen, Britain's Queen, THE Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth The Second.
Queen Elizabeth inherited the Crown in 1952, and by that time the Monarchy had very little power and authority. But she used what power and sway she had to do incredibly good things.
When in 1939 the Second World War broke out, Princess Elizabeth was only 13 years old. And when Buckingham Palace was Bombed, Her Father and Mother refused to leave their people and in doing so they choose to remain, but sent their two daughter away to safety. In 1944 Princess Elizabeth wanted to enlist and Help her people and country, when she came of age, of course her father was against that, as a father who didn't want his daughter in danger but also as the King who couldn't have his Heir in danger. Our Princess did not allow that to stop her and In 1945, when she was 18, Elizabeth was given permission to join the military effort. She joined the Women's Auxiliary Territory Service (ATS), and trained as an auto mechanic. And while that was not a combat role is was still an important and vital role, it also came with risks and danger, as at least 335 members of the ATS, were killed during the war.
A funny story, after the war in 1945, when Princess Elizabeth was 19 and her sister Princess Margaret was 14, they snuck into the streets of london and celebrated with their people, by dancing (Princess Margaret did the hokey pokey and took part in the chant of "we want the king" at the Palace railing. They both also took part and danced the conga through the ritz hotel . And shockingly none of the brits realised that it was their princesses among them)
In 1952 the British Empire was in rapid decline, with former colonies breaking away declaring themselves independent states, starting with India in 1947. And while the the process of the Commonwealth began in the late 19th century, it was really Queen Elizabeth that guided the country through a rapid acceleration of the process.
When in 1952 Queen Elizabeth was crowned, the Commonwealth has only eight member states, but today, there is 54 member states. Which means Queen Elizabeth seen to a process in which practically the entire British Empire transformed into a voluntary association of sovereign nations. Her own authority became largely ceremonial, and the British "empire" is down to just a few islands scattered around the globe, which I believe should have their choice of whether to stay or leave.
The Kingdom of England dates back thousand of years, and Elizabeth was one in a line of monarchs that dates back to 1066, when william the conqueror invaded the island. (That was Elizabeth line, not to be confused with the English and the Scottish Monarchy that truthed be told is really confusing to explain but basically the kingdom of England was created in the 10th century by the west saxon Kings when they extended their powers to Southern Britain. And the Scottish Monarchy was started by the first king of Scots Kenneth I MacAlpin ( Cınàed mac Ailpìn), who in 843 founded the Kingdom of Scotland. And then we had what was known as the union of the crown in 1603 when King John VI of Scotland was also crowned King of England due to Queen Elizabeth I of England dying without Heirs or husband so it was given the Scottish King John VI who was her Cousin and he basically became the last true king of Scotland. The unione of crowns also happened before england and scotland became the United Kingdom of britian and was still very much two separate and independent countries. Hope I explained it well but I thought it was important to explain exactly how old the monarchy is and not just The Queen Elizabeth II line in the monarchy.)
When King George VI, Elizabeth father took the throne, there was worry and uncertainty that the monarchy would survive. So while king George VI provided stability to His people, it really was our Queen Elizabeth II that saved the monarchy.
Her Majesty, stabilised the monarchy and modernised it, she was aware that her people wanted to see her so she appeared on television regularly, and spoke directly to the people, her people. She wasn't scared to embrace technology and infact in 2013 it was the Queen herself that sent the first royal tweet, she was also the first ever monarchy to record her Christmas message on film. And her Highness was a Christian, and while her belief caused her to hurt her loved ones (Princess Margaret and not allowing her to marry her love due to him being a divorcee, that she later came to regret deeply) she evolved and adjusted her approach to divorce, accepting that it was common and evening allowing and approving it to happen in her own family, her three out of four children are divorced. And allowing her grandson to marry a divorcee (harry and meghan). And in 2013 The Queen gave he approval of same sex marriage by signing the legislation Bill to allow same sex marriage. And When the Crown Act 2013 was passed it was known to be hugely due to her Majesty cooperation and influence. The Crown Act 2013 was important and symbolical as it, as it ended centuries of English history of the eldest son of a monarch being heir to the throne even if he had an older sister. So you know a great step on gender equality.
She was also the first ever monarch to address the Congress, it was in 1991 and by the THREE standing ovations it was a success.
The relationship between the Republic of Ireland and The British is a hard one to speak about. The conflict between the Irish and the brits was bloody and bitter. The English dominated the Irish for centuries and was the cause of the rift between the southern and northern island causing death, blood and war. Southern Ireland broke away and because the Republic of Ireland. (And if any Irish are reading this I would like say im sorry for scotlands part in it. As a scot I love Ireland, its country, its people, its language and scenery basically everything about it, and I hate to be one of those people, but my grandfather on my mother's side is a direct desendents of Irish parents who immigrated to Scotland, and my grandmother of my mother side grandparents immigrated to Scotland from Ireland,tho my father's side is completely scotland for hundreds of generations, so I'm not claiming to be Irish, I'm just proud of that fact)
The relation between the Republic of Ireland and britian, their previous imperial master, were marked by violence and death for decades and it resulted in a war between both sides of Ireland cause so much pain that is still felt to this day.
Which made Queen Elizabeth II's state visit to Ireland in 2011 an incredible achievement. She was the first monarch to make an official visit to the island since its independence.
her somber appearance at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin was a sensation in Ireland. She placed a wreath at the monument to those who died fighting the U.K. for Irish freedom and bowed her head respectfully. Many Irish took this as a subtle signal that the Queen acknowledged her own country's misdeeds.
According to The Guardian, the trip and the gesture made Queen Elizabeth II incredibly popular in a country that typically despised the monarchy as a former oppressor. The trip was an incredible achievement, especially considering that the queen had no true political power and somehow reset relations between the two countries simply by showing respect.
One of Queen Elizabeth's greatest achievements was a cumulative one: the sheer amount of effort she put into supporting various charities. She arguably did more for charity than any other monarch in history.
Queen Elizabeth was credited with being one of the greatest supporters of charity work in the world. According to Borgen Magazine, she supported more than 600 charities in Britain (the royal family as a whole officially supports nearly 3,000 charities around the world). The queen was responsible at least in part for raising an eye-popping £1.4 billion (close to $2 billion). The queen made it a special focus of her life to help reduce poverty.
While many don't like how expensive it is to uphold the monarchy and how the people have to pay for them, the Queen herself after a traditional waiver was lifted in the 1990s, moved quickly to pay taxes on royal income that had been exempt for years, according to Town and Country Magazine. And British Heritage notes that by getting rid of expensive things like the royal yacht, she was able to reduce the cost of the royal family by several million pounds annually.
one of the great and severy overlooked and just plain ignored achievements of the queen was the quiet work she did over the years to support racial equality and advancement in the world.
Queen Elizabeth's work began in her early years. In 1961, she danced with the president of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah, a Black man. This outraged many racists both in her own kingdom and the larger Commonwealth, but the queen was resolute in her support of equality. And she worked behind the scenes to get the Commonwealth to condemn South Africa's apartheid system, only to be stymied by her own prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, who opposed the statement for reasons both personal and political.
And Margaret Thatcher was a grade A bitch who no one liked and when she died all of britian had street party's and bon fires, the song "ding dong the witch is dead" was number one, so that tells you all you need to know about her.
the queen also supported the Black Lives Matter movement.
Queen Elizabeth has been credited with using her influence to pressure the South African government over its institutionalized racist segregation. Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, for instance, has described her as a "behind-the-scenes force" in helping to bring an end to South African apartheid. She worked behind the scene in the case of South Africa to offer encouragement to Nelson Mandela.
"When Queen Elizabeth gave Royal Assent to The Race Relations Act 1968, an Act of the Parliament making it illegal to refuse housing, employment, or public services to a person on the grounds of colour, race, ethnic or national origins in Great Britain; Queen Elizabeth wrote into the Commonwealth Charter that racial equality is a cornerstone of membership. A cornerstone she respected by backing African Leaders in the expulsion and sanctioning of Apartheid South Africa, that almost toppled the British Government, as HMTQ was in direct conflict with Margaret Thatcher, who wanted South Africa’s natural resources.
From 1953 to 1968 Queen Elizabeth dismantled the Imperial Court of the United Kingdom, ending its practices of refusing to employ people of colour in household positions. The Duke of Edinburgh was instrumental to these changes, famously penning a letter describing his disgust at the way the Maori people were being treated by New Zealand. A disgust he made very clear on his many visits to both Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, where he made many enemies by championing the lives of indigenous peoples. Something still celebrated today in the Pacific Islands, for instance on the visit to the Pacific islands by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who were given a traditional greeting of being carried on thrones as a mark of respect. The Duke and Duchess, despite appearing uncomfortable, respected these local traditions so as not to be insensitive and dismissive of a different culture.
The Commonwealth is Queen Elizabeth’s most cherished organisation due to its ability to navigate the political landscape, ensuring the flow of the most precious resource, knowledge. This ability of course is a reflection of Queen Elizabeth’s ability to ride over petty politics and enormous egos of politicians. Her leadership in fighting discrimination and racism in real terms through the Commonwealth Charter set her apart from other world leaders in the West, who would take another 20-30 years to catch up and in the case of the United States it took until 2022 to decide lynching is a Federal crime! "
(The last two paragraphs in quote marks, is not my own word but one I got from Duke Pantalaimon’s Blog, the links not working but it's a lovely blog and full of interesting articles.)
And to finish my post I would like to share a story I've just learned about the queen.
There is a man called michael fagan, and if anyone is reading this you should definitely google him. He broke in to Buckingham Palace twice. The first time, he wandered about eating cheese and crackers, got bored and left. But the second time happend, same year 1982, he simmed up a drain pipe and broke into the queen bedroom, where she was laying in her bed. He was going to cut his wrists In front of her, but she thankfully managed to get security.
There has been three known assassination attempts made on the queen. Once in a train, involving putting a log on the tracks, once on horse when a man fired six shot at her and she managed to keep her seat on the horse while police sorted the man and once at a public appearance overseas, where thankfully then was to far away.
Princess Ann also had a kidnapping attempt which led to 5 people being shot. She managed to keep her calm and have a reasonable conversation with the man and calmly telling him she wasn't going with him, she speaks out that on a interview, if you YouTube it.
Her Majesty the Queen, has served britian with devotion, faith and strength and we thank her for that. Not everyone has to like her, but a bit on human decency wouldn't go amis.
Thank you, your Highness, for all that you did, for all that you were and all that you stood for. God bless you, you promised to serve us until you died and you did. I will be forever thankful for you devotion to our country. Be at rest with your dear Philip, we will carry on.