The Unofficial British Royal Family Pages

Wednesday 26 April 2006

Another Milestone

I rose early today, this Tuesday morning on the 25^th April, to write this article and listen to the Dawn Service on ANZAC Day - here in Australia and, over the Tasman, in New Zealand. It�s our two countries most solemn day and one that has attracted an enormous upsurge in remembrance of the war dead in both World Wars and Vietnam.

By 4.30am some twenty thousand began to gather around the Shrine of Remembrance here in Melbourne, where I live. The grey, stone memorial is situated in the Royal Botanical Gardens, looked over by the white, Italianate mansion that is Government House, residence of the State Governor and the Queen, when she is in Melbourne.

It�s a dark, near freezing autumnal morning but that hasn�t deterred the rugged-up crowds walking to the Shrine, through fallen leaves and damp air. Sharp as the weather is, I suppose those who attend the service feel it a small, uncomfortable sacrifice to make for those who gave their lives for us, King and countries.

The Queen knows ANZAC Day well, as indeed she is acutely aware of the effects of both World Wars, particularly the second. As we know, she and Princess Margaret grew up in World War II and, despite being princesses, war deprived them and others of their generation, of the carefree childhood and teenage years my generation enjoyed. Some, including the late Queen Mother, would say kingship and World War II shortened the life of the last monarch, King George. It certainly shortened the lives of hundreds of many of his subjects from all over the Commonwealth and those of that great, ex �Commonwealth� member, America.

It�s then, perhaps not surprising, this wonderful octogenarian has a sombre side. The Queen was apparently a serious child, always aware of her responsibilities to the Crown and the role she (all too soon) had to play. But, perhaps it is the fact that she had a first hand view of the good and evil in human kind that she takes her job very seriously. She has rarely, if ever in her 80 years, put a foot wrong. Unlike her mother and sister who were happy to glide into any occasion, personalities bubbling happily, the Queen treads thoughtfully and carefully into any engagement in true Taurean fashion.

She�s often been criticised for being too serious and not enough like her mother or sister. We know she holds a great, wicked sense of humour in private but being overly gregarious on the job is not her way. I have a feeling it makes her uncomfortable. Certainly, in recent years, she�s developed and comparatively carefree attitude in public and with age, the barrier has lifted but the conviction of her promise to serve us for life endures - and that is a serious pledge.

At 80, the Queen shows all of us the meaning of dedication and sacrifice. Every day as Queen, she rises to more or less the same chores as every other day. No maternity leave, no long service leave, no �sickies�, certainly no retirement and never a day in those years where something didn�t have to be done pertaining to her job. If I live to 150, I�ll never match that � few of us would. That�s what makes her remarkable.

It�s also what binds all of us living under her reign.

When she began her reign, not long after the end of World War II, she was seen as a bright light of hope after years of war. She was young, fresh and innocent. People loved her for those qualities and her sense of duty to all she reigned over. In 1957, during her first televised Christmas message, she told her subjects, �I cannot lead you into battle, I do not give you laws or administer justice but I can do something else, I can give you my heart and my devotion to these old islands and to all the peoples of our brotherhood of nations." And so she has.

What I notice today, is the Queen is no longer really loved by all for those early pictures of a young girl, dressed in white being crowned. Generations have been born during her reign with no memory of Coronation day. Instead she is admired and loved for her tireless devotion to her duties over the decades and, through them, to us. She is the one constant in the lives of the citizens of the 16 nations she reigns over and the respect held for her cannot be underestimated.

On her recent visit to Australia, I was surprised by comments from current teenaged people, renowned for their spirited and sometimes reactionary ways, reflecting their admiration for the Queen�s dedication to her position. Indeed, this esteem has crushed absolutely, any chance of Australia becoming a republic while she is Queen. It�s also caused a dilemma for republican movements in Australia, New Zealand and Canada, as they wrack their brains trying to invent something to offer citizens, equal to her. What can? She may have been born to immense privilege but respect and love can only be earned. Like any job, being sovereign is what one makes of it.

In the documentary, Elizabeth R, the Queen, rather humbly, described her life�s work:

�...(it is) like the small soldier I was giving a gallantry award to, and, I said, �That was a very brave thing you did�. �Oh!� he said. �It was just the training�.

�And, I have a feeling, that in the end, probably, that training is an answer to a great many things. You can do a lot if you�re properly trained - and I hope I have been.�

Happy Birthday, Ma�am. God bless and, most of all, thank you.              

- Gioffredo