Reflecting on the loss of Her Majesty

These words were first written a couple of weeks ago on the day the news broke of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. Following her funeral, I thought I would share them again, to reflect on the life of Her Majesty at what her loss means.

It’s hard to believe that she is gone. Though this may seem crass and gratuitous given the moment, I say this to emphasise the sentiment I wish to convey here: I am a republican, I’m not only overly connected in any moral or emotional way to the British Monarchy, and all notions of inherited power and privilege runs contrary to all my principles. But with this said, the loss of Her Majesty the Queen is an extraordinary loss to the world.?

Indeed, she was the head of an institution that, in a post-colonial world, needs to be criticised dispassionately for all the wrongs it has perpetrated. However, overwhelmingly, the Queen was benevolent, stabilising, calming, and a comforting influence on the world - both the parts that fell within her realms and those that did not.

Modernity and our consumer-capitalist society tend to churn through people, things, and places. Our leaders are commodities - often to be bought and sold to the highest bidder. They act like self-interested economic agents. Things degrade into political kitsch, with superficial leaders and ideas cycled through like products. Our institutions are being corroded by toxic political waste.

The Queen however transcended this and was perhaps a relic of another era, where duty was paramount. Despite the pomp, luxury, and regality that defined her existence, there was authenticity, humility, and humanity in her leadership. She was everyone’s mother, grandmother, or great-grandmother. And strangely, it was assumed she would always be there.

But like anyone made of flesh and bone, she too would slip off the mortal coil. It has happened - and it is so hard it is to believe. May her memory and legacy do in death what her actions did in life.