One more UK-related post; they've had a busy week or so of news over there. As an American Anglophile, my thoughts on the monarchy are somewhat complicated. A number of the legacies of colonialism are terrible, even if some of these points are inarguably correct. And while I love the British people, and enjoy loosely following British politics, I find much of the pomp, circumstance and drama surrounding the royal family to be more than a bit silly. Like most Americans, I'm very grateful that our founders and forefathers sacrificed so much to unshackle this nation from the Crown's tyranny.
But I'm also thankful that the United States and United Kingdom long ago patched up our differences and formed an enduring Special Relationship, which Queen Elizabeth II enthusiastically embraced, and occasionally exemplified. I've watched this video dozens of times through the years because it such a profound impact on me when I first heard about it, in the immediate aftermath of a national tragedy here at home. The Queen bucked hundreds of years of tradition and protocol, ordering a deeply meaningful gesture of friendship and solidarity in an exceptionally dark time. It's worth sharing again, on this anniversary of 9/11:
Queen Elizabeth was in attendance at St. Paul's Cathedral London on September 14, 2001, when the Star Spangled Banner was sung during a memorial service for the victims of the 9-11 terrorist attacks on World Trade Center in NYC and Pentagon in WDC pic.twitter.com/AENtYd6kpK
— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) September 8, 2022
Among many other things, she was a friend to America. Which is part of the reason why, in spite of my occasional eye-rolling at the Royals and their most ardent devotees, I respected her as a dignified pillar of comforting continuity. To my slight surprise, I felt real sadness when she died -- as a significant era died with her. Recently ousted British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, still an MP, offered an eloquent and moving tribute to the Queen in the House of Commons earlier. If you're interested in understanding exactly how so many Britons feel about this woman and her legacy, I encourage you to watch it in its entirety:
And I'll leave you with this charming story from an other former Prime Minister and sitting MP about the Queen:
'I turned round to see that my every move had been watched very carefully by Her Majesty the Queen.'
— ITV News Politics (@ITVNewsPolitics) September 9, 2022
Former PM @theresa_may reduced the whole House of Commons to laughter with a story about the Queen and some dropped cheese during a weekend at Balmoral. https://t.co/NmgJd8ZtOz pic.twitter.com/xvlbfLZDNK
RIP.