Remembering the Queen: Was she truly Elizabeth the Great?

Queen Elizabeth II was our longest serving monarch. But her reign will not only be remembered for its longevity, but also for its stability, resilience and integrity.

While the great European royal families crumbled amid global war, changing social expectations and scandal, the young Queen, thrust into her position prematurely and unexpectedly, rose far beyond the expectations held of her and built an institution that weathered the considerable storms it found itself battered by.

Just days before she broke her great grandmother’s record length of reign, in 2015, a YouGov poll revealed the Queen was more popular than Queen Victoria, under whose reign Britain transformed into an industrialised nation.

Nearly 30 per cent of those polled said Queen Elizabeth II was the UK’s greatest monarch. Victoria achieved 12 per cent, and Elizabeth I, just 1 per cent higher at 13 per cent.

Historian Sean Lang says it is difficult to accurately say whether the Queen was the “greatest ever” because the criteria that could be used varied so widely and the historical contexts were so different between monarchs, but she had “made her way to the ‘top table’ of great monarchs”.

But even staunch republicans respect the longevity and strength the Queen displayed throughout her reign, even if they feel the institution of a constitutional monarchy should come to an end.

Monash University’s Professor Jenny Hocking, author of The Palace Letters, and Australian Republic Movement Executive Member said: “In terms of her public role, she’s been quite remarkable, because she’s obviously been incredibly strong, incredibly focused never really wavering from what that position has demanded of her.

So, just what has made the Queen so great in the minds of her subjects, and what are the qualities we will miss most?

Jubilee

Queen Victoria, known as the grandmother of Europe, reigned for 63 years, seven months and two days. Just as Queen Elizabeth I before her, she even had a period of history named after her — the Victorian Era.

But, despite that great achievement, her great granddaughter, Elizabeth, bested her by more than six years.

As the first British monarch since Queen Victoria to celebrate a Golden Jubilee, Elizabeth traveled more than 40,000 miles that year, including visits to the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. She also visited 70 cities and towns in 50 counties in the United Kingdom.

In 2017, Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Sapphire Jubilee, marking 65 years on the throne, and in 2022 her Platinum Jubilee — the first British monarch to do so, and in an era where many other royal families did not thrive.

It is quite telling, for example, that Anne Frank had pictures of Princess Elizabeth on her wall in her ‘Secret Annexe’ in Amsterdam.” Sean Lang

“Her longevity would tell us alone that she has been enormously influential,” Professor Hocking says. “She’s been someone who has kept the Commonwealth together, that has managed all the variations of shifting national make-up, managed the fact that many of those nations have since become moved away from the constitutional monarchy and become republics.

“So it’s been an extraordinarily influential reign even if only in terms of its longevity.”

Mr Lang says that where other royal families were forced into exile during the two world wars, the British monarchy benefited enormously from the fact that it was the only one which did not fall to fascism, either from within or from invasion.

“Other monarchies – Norway, Holland – had to go into exile; the Danish monarchy was constrained by the Germans; other monarchies (Spain, Greece, Italy) either had been or would soon be overthrown.

“When Britain defied Hitler, that inevitably made the British monarch a figurehead of freedom. It is quite telling, for example, that Anne Frank had pictures of Princess Elizabeth on her wall in her ‘Secret Annexe’ in Amsterdam.

“The Queen remained a living link to this all-important period in terms of Britain’s sense of itself and its identity. Moreover, her role was not a figurehead one but an active one: she was in uniform and in the ATS.”

Scandal, or lack thereof

While her family has sometimes exhibited some less-then-stellar behaviour (cough, Prince Andrew), the monarch herself was often described in terms that made her sound like a saint — heading to her grave with no major personal scandals under her belt.

It is this lack of scandal that Mr Lang says contributed to the success of her reign.

“The public can be surprisingly forgiving, but they would rather not have anything needing to be forgiven. The impact of the lack of scandal in the Queen’s life is enhanced, of course, by the scandals elsewhere in the family; it means that people add anger at the impact it has on her to their disapproval of the behaviour itself.

“A good recent example is the Oprah interview, where — even among people who supported Harry and Meghan — there was a general sense that the timing was bad, and that it would have added to the burdens on the Queen’s shoulders, especially as Prince Philip was so ill.”

Professor Hocking concurred saying that “without a doubt” her lack helped the Queen maintain the cohesiveness of the monarchy throughout her time on the throne. But, she added, it didn’t come without a cost.

“The monarchy is a very strange beast in which it’s both a political institution and a family. And often those two things, the interests of both do not intersect,” she says. “In fact, you know you might say in some key ways, the protection of the monarchy as an institution is actually damaging to the family as a human element.

“Certainly the dynamics recently have suggested that that’s the case. I think yes, she’s been a figure of stability and unity in managing those really difficult human aspects and human elements.”

Economic and political influence

As much as republicans might hate to admit it, many believe the royal family under Elizabeth II was important economically, drawing tourists to the UK and providing spending impetus amid big events, such as royal weddings and jubilees.

But Mr Lang says that while it is often said that the monarchy’s main contribution is in tourism, and that is doubtless true, it was important to point out other ways in which the Queen had contributed.

“Notably through Queen’s Awards – for industry, for export and so on,” he said. “Rather like its well-known work for young people, the monarchy has been able to act both as an incentive and as a sort of final seal of recognition for British industry.

“To some extent that applies to the use of honours, not just medals, but titles. Until the 1990s, there were only certain areas of work where you might encounter knights and dames (typically the armed forces, government, the law and – perhaps rather incongruously – the performing arts); now you will find people holding such titles for work in education, health and so on, so it is not unknown to find the head of a school has knighthood or is a Dame. That is a way in which the Queen has allowed the gifts that come with monarchy to be used to go beyond traditional boundaries and perhaps bind a sense of common national identity.

The flip side of that, though, is that when people bearing titles are then disgraced — think of Jimmy Saville or Rolf Harris — it brings the whole system into disrepute.

“A few years ago — the 1980s, say — no one took the political role of the monarchy seriously,” he says. “Now, it is a subject of serious reflection, and that is a simple recognition that it has survived when so many people thought it would die away; moreover, it still commands huge public support and even the line of succession looks secure, thanks to the very positive image and sensibly playing of their hand by the Cambridges.

“The monarchy is a constant reminder that there is a layer of authority above that of the (government), which can be a very reassuring message. I think much of the direct sense of contact people have with the Queen is a way of reminding politicians that we do not rely entirely on them.

“Most of her actual influence, of course, is behind the scenes and we only hear of it occasionally when a prime minister lets slip a hint of what they talk about; the other area of her influence is the Commonwealth, of course.

“Although I am sure the Commonwealth will continue after she has gone, it will need to adjust to the post-Elizabethan age. Prince Charles will be Head of Commonwealth, but the decision wasn’t automatic, and I think he and his successors will need to earn the trust and respect which the Queen has always been able to call on.”

As a member of the republican movement here in Australia, Professor Hocking, of course, has strong views on that.

“I think it’s very important to recognise that the questions of the monarchy are also institutional ones,” she says.

“Concerns about how that institution now fits in a modern democracy in Australia ought not to be taken as detracting in any way, from our understanding of the Queen as an individual in holding that position, and the work she’s done in that position, but i think there are more fundamental institutional questions about at what point we make final our break from our, effectively colonial, past.”

Modernising The Firm

From bucking tradition to slimming down “The firm” to just a handful of senior working royals, the Queen has been lauded for her efforts at keeping the throne relevant in modern society.

It was during a royal tour of Australia and New Zealand with Prince Philip and Princess Anne in 1970, that the Queen, now no longer a young ingenue, but a confident monarch who knew her own mind, first bucked centuries of royal tradition when she took a casual stroll to greet crowds of people in person, rather than wave to them from a protected distance.

It was a change that she carried with her throughout the rest of her reign and passed on to her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren as the way to do business, much to the delight of crowds. The advent of Buckingham House garden parties was just another example of the hands-on approach.

But even before she ascended the throne, she was happy to sample modern delights. She used the London Tube for the first time in May 1939, accompanied by her sister Princess Margaret and her governess Marion Crawford.

She sent her first email in 1976 from a British army base and she even joined social media in latter years — Facebook in 2010, through a page called “The British Monarchy”, and Twitter and Instagram, represented by @theroyalfamily, an account run by palace staffers.

She was also the first British monarch to visit China, in 1986, seeing the Terracotta Army soldier statues during her stay.

Mr Lang praised the success of her modernisation efforts.

“She has gone along with the modernisation of the monarchy, generally with great success,” he said. “The art of keeping things as they are, of course, is constant change, and the Queen has developed a formidable instinct for it.

“It is not just a question of knowing how much of the ‘mystery’ of the monarchy to reveal, but also when is the right moment.

“The famous ‘Royal Family film, for example, was in many ways well timed; however, once it had opened the floodgates and it was realised how it had led the press to assume a right to access to the royal family in a way it had never had before, the film was withdrawn from circulation.

“I think to some extent the Royal Family lost control of the narrative in the 1980s and 1990s; however, there were three moments at which the Queen managed to regain it.”

The examples Mr Lang lists include Princess Diana’s funeral: “After a PR disaster, the funeral was a lesson in how to recover and the Queen’s own role was crucial, both her carefully-scripted address to the nation and that simple but powerful moment when she bowed her head to Diana’s coffin. When had anyone ever seen the Queen bowing her head to anyone? It was always the other way round.”

He also cited her Golden Jubilee in 2002 as “a success that was unthinkable only five years earlier. It was as if 1997 had never happened, and it had just the right touch of popular culture to work effectively”.

Lastly, her cameo alongside Daniel Craig’s James Bond at the London Olympics opening ceremony in 2012.

“The success of her cameo illustrates what I mean about timing,” Mr Lang says.

“The comparison to make is with Prince Edward’s disastrous It’s a Royal Knockout, which just looked tawdry and embarrassing.

“Her Olympics cameo was far more daring, stylishly done, witty and fitted the moment perfectly. By 2012 she had established the sort of fund of goodwill which enabled her to do it and get away with it with no loss of dignity.”

Humanitarianism

With hundreds of charity engagements each year, the Queen was always at the forefront of humanitarian endeavours.

And it was this dedication that is often the factor, beyond her longevity, that people point to as a signifier of her “greatness”.

“This has been an aspect of royal life for a long time – certainly since Victoria’s day – but under the Queen it has been moved onto much more of a professional level,” Mr Lang says.

“This is perhaps most true of some of the other royals — Princess Anne and the Duke of Edinburgh in particular, but also William and Harry, and the Prince of Wales with his particular areas of enthusiasm — but the lead has come from her.

“The humanitarian work is important, partly because it is a very powerful way of giving an issue a profile and clout that it might not otherwise have, and because it goes a long way towards providing that sense of an active role that it is really important for the monarchy to have, if it is to continue to hold the support of the people.

“And if there is one thing the Queen has understood better than any of her predecessors, with the exception of Charles II, it is that the monarchy will not survive for a day longer than it enjoys the support of the British people.”

Ensuring the line of succession

While she clearly couldn’t choose her successor, there’s no doubt the Queen has moulded those in the line of succession.

While it was touted that she had concerns over Charles’ suitability for the throne amid the debacle of his marriage to Princess Diana, in April 2018 she declared it was her “sincere wish” that he be the future Head of the Commonwealth.

In what may come to be seen as one of her final significant acts as monarch, as part of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations, she announced that Charles’ second wife would be known as “Queen Consort” upon his ascension to the throne.

It was a much-discussed title decision that firmly closed the books on whether her son had her backing as the next monarch, finally publicly ratifying his choice of partner at the same time.

She also seems to have had a significant influence over her grandchildren, particularly with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge — William and Kate — who surely must be seen at this point as the brightest future prospect for a reign as successful as her own.

Saturday, in a special 32 page commemorative liftout, The West Australian pays tribute to the extraordinary life of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. We celebrate her life, from early childhood and her ascension to the throne, to life with her beloved Prince Philip and family. Don’t miss this special edition of The West Australian on Saturday.