Only game in town...

There is, as I think we all understand, only one subject to talk about this week. Especially if you are a Brit, or more probably, a Brit of a certain age. The death of Queen Elizabeth II is everywhere - obviously. I remember reading on my phone that the Queen was ill which I thought was a strange thing to send out on news bulletins and then it began to dawn that this was probably it. This suspicion was only strengthened by Huw Edwards and Nicholas Witchell trying desperately to drag out the news for four and half hours until the palace made the official announcement. It has always been a quiet brag of the BBC and other agencies that the Queen's eventual demise had been planned for down to the minutest detail like the D-Day Landings or the Eurovision Song Contest. You wouldn't have thought so, as we spent the afternoon watching that photo of the gate to Balmoral, in the rain, while reporters trying not to look like they were wearing black ties, accosted people on the streets asking questions about her possible demise without actually admitting that they knew she had died - probably hours ago. This all meant that, by the time the awful news was actually announced, it was almost a relief. 

She was an extraordinary woman. And, if her longevity could be put down to being looked after by the best medical care that money can buy and never having to lie in your front garden under a coat for twelve hours until the ambulance turned up, her devotion to the job was a still a sight to behold. 

It was, as all Brits are taught, a job she was not supposed to be in line for and didn't particularly fancy. However, when her uncle fancied an unsuitable American lady more than full-time kinging, this brought her into the line of fire. Aged Parent used to have a theory that God made "Uncle David" run off with Mrs Simpson so he could give us a better monarch for the war because Edward VIII would have been rubbish - what with all the partying, and the Nazi sympathising. She has no more evidence for this than she does for her belief that one of the ladies in the Care Home is stealing money from her handbag (she doesn't have a handbag) but still - it's a thought. 

So, Elizabeth alongside Prince Phillip - her Strength and Stay (lovely that)  became Queen. It was thought that he was not particularly suitable  - being a penniless Greek with Nazis in the family but I suppose she put her foot down and said that if she was going to have to do this job then she would only do it if she could be alongside someone who looked like he did in a white naval uniform and I think we could all appreciate that. Her judgement was impeccable we know now and they formed a sort of super team of top-level, unbeatable royalty that we have been privileged to live through. 

I'm not instinctively a monarchist. I mean, if you want to be Biblical about it -  when the children of Israel started asking for Kings to be in charge rather than wise Judges - everything went terribly wrong. However, sometimes the alternatives aren't particularly appealing and I fear that, unless we are reading the signals wrong the government led by Liz Truss may not be good news for the poor and the weak. However, thanks must be given for her attempt to cheer the country up at a very difficult time by bringing a strong "Two Soups" vibe to her first curtsey to the King and therefore almost cheering us all up.

A constitutional monarchy can be full of safeguards to stop Parliament from running off and doing something terrible but since B Johnson embarrassed the Queen by illegally proroguing Parliament we found out that the monarchy may not make any difference at all. I wonder if we may be moving slowly towards a change. Young people particularly are unconvinced by the monarchy and a lot rests on King Charles and the family if it is to maintain the support of the country. This is partly complicated by the fact that the country has a lot on its plate at the moment. A man with no weapon was shot dead by a policeman on the streets of London this week, a season of strikes is running towards us at speed as the workers we applauded through the pandemic - teachers, nurses, transport workers etc etc have decided that they would rather not take a pay cut as a thank you or a badge and stop banging that pan in my face. People are looking at their fuel bills and wondering if they have accidentally been sent the one for the Eiffel Tower and we are all longing for the free and easy days of dentistry during the time of Samuel Pepys. They may not have used anaesthetic but at least they would get you an appointment in less than three years - as soon as they had cleaned the blood off the pliers.

All of which should make us more aware of the achievements of Queen Elizabeth II. To hold such a steady tiller over so many years is, as everyone is saying, an amazing feat. Sometimes, those around her have made that job less than straightforward (I'm looking at you "Ideas Factory" Andrew) yet she has ploughed on and what she continually spoke about was that her faith had sustained her. In fact, she said more than that, she often said that her faith in Jesus Christ had sustained her. As she got older, her Christmas Messages were like a Billy Graham Crusade and I was 100% there for it. I am not sure we will see her like again - certainly not in our lifetimes. And although, despite the cartoons we are seeing everywhere, I think it is unlikely that Paddington Bear is escorting her to the afterlife, I think I'm fairly certain that the words "Good work! You did your job well." from Matthew 25 will sit beautifully on her shoulders.