Last year, on the Queen�s real birthday, April 21, an organization I belong to that supports the monarchial constitutional system of government Canada operates as, threw a joyous public 80^th birthday party at a local pub restaurant. It went over very well. In June, to recognize her official birthday we held a service at the main Anglican Cathedral, one which all members of the royal family have visited anytime they have been in town for any length of time. For that occasion one of our members wrote and presented a piece about the Queen�s life. This past April 21 we held a smaller birthday party for her 81^st birthday, and asked him to present that piece again. At the last minute he indicated he wouldn�t be able to make it. So to take up the slack I wrote a shorter updated version which I was prepared to read at the party. Fortunately for that audience he turned up after all and presented his original remarks. You, gentle reader, are not going to be that lucky. I thought for this column, to formally extend my personal belated wishes for the Queen�s birthday-and since I worked for hours on this- somebody should read it. Seriously, the one thing that shines through it all is the Queen�s dedication-to serve her people, her countries, her family and their futures. She even made a British republican actor fall in love with her and won her an Oscar this year. Then she made plenty of new American fans during her visit to Washington and the Kentucky Derby earlier this month. So Your Majesty-you will probably never read this, but both its writers love you too.

It may be hard for those of us born after World War II to imagine the world Princess Elizabeth was born into in 1926. Despite the seminal event of Vimy Ridge in WWI, when the 50-year-old Canada finally came to think of itself as its own nation, it was still essentially a colonial entity. British Empire red still dominated the maps of the world. So when one thinks of the vast changes in societal structures, the staggering advances in scientific invention and health care and in wealth for many people since then, you might be forgiven for thinking that world of 1926 another planet.

While that kind of change is difficult enough for individuals to navigate it is even rougher seas for institutions and their leaders. Witness the declines and emergences of political organizations, religious factions, philosophical movements, social clubs and sports leagues. Seen in this context the continuing support for the monarchy is a remarkable tribute to Queen Elizabeth II herself.

Even detractors of the monarchy as an institution are forced to admit admiration and respect for the Queen�s 81 years of life, and her remarkable sense of dedication and duty. She will soon see 12 Prime Ministers come and go. She has been at the centre of major world events for over five decades. She has emerged from it all with her dignity intact and with her judgment and wisdom sought after.

She was born Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York. Soon after her birth her parents had to undertake an official visit to Australia to open their new commonwealth Parliament. Left in the care of her entranced grandparents (George V and Queen Mary), they returned in 1927 to find a loving, confident and slightly mischievous 1-year-old who proudly called herself �Lillibet� (which became her family nickname ever after). That Christmas at Sandringham found her happily lobbing Christmas crackers at the guests, while her Mum sat beside her, passing the ammunition.

The Archbishop of Canterbury once came for an audience with the King, and was dumbfounded to find him down on all fours, while his grand-daughter rode on his back like a horse. But all those happy times changed for the 10-year-old in 1936 when her beloved Uncle David abdicated the throne, and in 1937, her father now crowned as George VI, she found herself Heiress Presumptive- a far cry from the privileged but obscure country life she thought she�d have. She watched her father, whom she adored, and now forced into a role he was unprepared for, work through his shyness and speech problems (with his wife�s ongoing support), to do his duty to the best of his abilities. And she resolved to do the same.

She took lessons in constitutional history at Eton, and every opportunity to learn about European and world history. She was home schooled but as she was related to so many of the royal houses her education came right to her. One night at a Windsor dinner party, after her cousin Princess Marie Louise was apologizing for going on so long about her own life, she exclaimed that her cousin�s life was history, �� and therefore so thrilling!� to her.

The family remained in London and braved the Blitz. The Princess became patron of many organizations whose work she valued. Coming of age at 18, she performed many of the duties of Head of State when the King was out of the country. After the war she turned her attention to the Commonwealth. At age 21, during a visit to South Africa, she gave her famous radio dedication, �I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong�.

Most people would admire those worlds from a young woman, and few if any would expect her to fulfill that promise. But Princess Elizabeth meant them, and has never wavered from them in six decades.

In 1946 she and Philip Mountbatten, a member of the Greek Royal family, were engaged, and married in November, 1947. Although not initially a popular choice, she loved him, and he has proven himself a dedicated companion and lifelong support to her, as this year they celebrate their 60^th wedding anniversary.

Less than a year later the first of the next generation was born-Prince Charles, and two years later a daughter, Anne. But by 1952, the King�s health was failing, and she and Philip left their children to take his place on a state visit to Australia and New Zealand. It was on a fateful stopover in Kenya that Elizabeth learned by radio and her husband, that she was now Queen at age 26.

Throughout the massive sea changes in society in the 1960s, the celebration of her Silver Jubilee In 1977, the family upheavals of marriages made and broken during the 1980�s and 90�s, the catastrophic fire at Windsor Castle, and the deaths of her sister and mother in her Golden Jubilee year of 2002, she has always worked to ensure that she remained a symbol of national unity. From early years she invited cameras into her private life, and with her Christmas message broadcast worldwide each year, has set the monarchy above partisanship and regional divisions. For countries like Canada becoming increasingly more multicultural and regionalized, maintaining this unifying symbol and preservation of national heritage is especially valuable.

This selfless service has impressed young and old and engendered loyalty to her personally, and to the institution she personifies. While other institutions and empires rose and fell, she has survived it all. She has advised Commonwealth leaders from Churchill to Mandela. She has traveled to more world capitals and participated in more international spectacles than any other living person. In the great triumphs and greatest tragedies of Canada�s national life this successful navigation has created many tangible legacies for us and future generations.

The Commonwealth of Nations is one of her most influential legacies; a voluntary association of 53 nations, of nearly two billion people encompassing 30 percent of the world�s population. All faiths, races, cultures and traditions are held together not only by those mutual bonds but by the mutual respect they all have for their Queen. Without this influence a major source of international cooperation and world peace may not have been possible.

Time Magazine posed the question last year, �What can a constitutional monarch like Elizabeth II, prohibited form exercising any real power, actually do to justify her steady devotion-the crowds who line up to cheer when she passes; her face on each coin and bill and postage stamp; a national anthem that beseeches God to save her? What does she really do to earn something for which respect is way too small a word?�

Her son Prince Andrew responded, �I would put her appeal down to consistency. In their eyes she�s never let them down�.

Although she did not ask for nor expected the life that befell her she has never thought of retiring, has conquered all heavy seas, and we know she will continue to do so for as many more days as she is given. So today we honour her and celebrate her life. We can proudly say of our Queen that she has served her people, she has earned and kept our respect, she has been an example, and above all she has done her duty

Happy Birthday, Your Majesty.

God Save the Queen!

Anon.