I watched the academy award winning film The Queen, tracing the life of the monarch Elizabeth II from the election of Tony Blair to the tumultuous death of Princess Diana. I watched it because Britain is at the forefront of current events. Earlier this year, the same Elizabeth celebrated her diamond Jubilee and London is currently hosting the Olympic Games.
I must begin by asserting that I am a monarchist. As I said in a previous post, as much as people like an underdog story, people simply are more envious of those who have always been successful. The film itself stands for the monarchy. A humble, idealistic but slightly naive Tony Blair is a modernist proposing the most radical shifts in the constitution in history and does not give full credit to the Queen until the death of Princess Diana, the youthful and cavalier divorcé of Prince Charles. The stoic, old-fashioned and graceful Queen underwent unfathomable pressures to reconcile her dislike for Diana with the general public’s love for what they called People’s Princess. The result was the Queen having to sacrifice her traditional values to pacify her people, for which Tony Blair finds respectable. You would think Tony Blair would side with the Princess. Instead he sides with the Queen. “I don't know why I'm surprised. At the end of the day, all Labour Prime Ministers go gaga for the Queen,” says his vocally anti-monarchist wife.
You cannot help but feel sorry for an anachronistic Queen (for whom Tony Blair was the tenth Prime Minister sworn in) who fears she does not understand her people. She was brought up to value modesty and dignity. The post-war era characterized by the rise of the United States and decolonization at the expense of Britain’s empire created such a somber atmosphere in a nation reminiscent of past glories. Even the Olympic ceremonies showed the Brits as simpletons, snarky in humour yet not easily humoured. They are known for boring Stonehenge and the metallic roar of the industrial revolution. Indeed the overcast nation is depressing. Yet as Canadians, we can relate to Britain’s quite leadership. To begin, the Brits have a smaller percentage of their total medals thus far as golds than anyone else in the top five. The Canadians have zero golds out of seven medals. As Conrad Black frequently comments, Canadians are boring, which means we have not experienced any wars (on Canadian soil), natural disasters, genocides, famines, revolutions or any of the like. And while the Brits have certainly seen more interesting days, their country has dulled to a hum.
Yet let us not forget the significance the Brits played in history and today. Firstly, Britain had the largest Empire ever known to humankind (to put it into perspective, a quarter of the worldwide population bowed to one monarch). As such, they are the originators of the Anglosphere, a group of the world’s most successful nations united by a common tongue, allowing for vast globalization to take place. The only two other “spheres” that exist are the Sinosphere and the Indosphere, which when added together, is not as significant. Secondly, Britain has been the shaper of history for the last millennium. The last two world wars were a battle between Britain and Germany for European supremacy. Britain rushed to France’s defense in 1914 to hold the line and outlasted the Germans in 1940. Between Britain and Canada, three of the five beaches of Normandy were landed on in 1944. And they fought for the right reasons: liberty, freedom and democracy. Britain can hold its head high with few ideological blemishes.
What is not to love about a monarchy that has survived for the last thousand years and effectively shaped the modern era. It symbolizes an empire that has continued and thrived like no other. And for the Brits to celebrate this success without the pretentiousness of the French, the flamboyance of Spaniards or the gluttony of the Italians is truly admirable. As the Queen might say, it is quietly modest and dignified. The punch-line is that Diana in her anti-monarchist appeals was neither yet engendered so much respect. How could the Brits who seemed so mature act like children, weeping at the death of a stranger. How could a country with such a history wish to subvert tradition (e.g. put the Union Jack at Buckingham palace) for the death of someone no longer a part of the royal family?
Well let’s not lose hope yet. The approval rating of the Queen is still higher than that of most politicians. As Blair said, any plan to abolish the monarchy is “daft” (what a great British word!). The monarchy is in the blood of the Brits. The came off the righteous pass a bit to show they had a rebellious side to them, not unlike a teenage revolt. This does not change the fact that the Brits are the wittiest and funniest people in the world. They’ll laugh it off and sing God Save the Queen to all the few gold medalists there are.
There is something to be said about quiet leadership. We don’t have enough of that in the world. That’s why we need the Queen.