In the presence of royalty

By Murray Smith, Senior Leader, Bridges Church

It struck me that it’s nearly five months since the unprecedented 70 year reign of Queen Elizabeth II ended with her death at 96 years of age.

Writing in this column last September, I recalled my ‘close encounter’ (vivid in my 9-year-old mind), with Her Majesty smiling and waving as her motorcade ‘swept’ by. She’ll remain irreplaceable, having impacted countless lives.

Not long ago, former Royal Protection Officer Richard Griffin shed light on a relatively unknown aspect of the Queen’s personality - her sense of humour. Accompanying the Queen while walking the extensive grounds of Balmoral Castle, her holiday home in Scotland, they came across two American hikers.

“These hikers were coming towards us, and the Queen would always stop and say hello,” Griffin said. “It was clear from the outset that they hadn’t recognised the Queen.”

Griffin said one of the Americans began telling the Queen where they had come from and places they had visited in Great Britain. One tourist then asked the Queen where she lived.

“She said: well I live in London, but I’ve got a holiday home on the other side of those hills,” Griffin recalled. “And he said: how often have you been coming up here?”

When the Queen told the American she had been coming to Balmoral Castle for over 80 years, the hiker asked if she had ever met Queen Elizabeth.

“Well I haven’t, but Dick here meets her regularly,” the Queen replied, referring to her Protection Officer, Griffin.

The hiker then turned to Griffin and asked: “Oh, you’ve met the Queen!? What’s she like?”

Because of his longstanding and goodnatured connection with Her Majesty, Griffin replied teasingly, “Oh, she can be cantankerous at times, but she’s got a wonderful sense of humour”.

The American got his camera out and gave it to the Queen. Moving shoulder to shoulder with Griffin, he asked her to take his photo with the royal protection officer!

“Anyway, we swapped places and I took a picture of them with the Queen and we never let on as we waved goodbye,” Griffin said. “And Her Majesty said to me: I’d love to be a fly on the wall when he shows those photographs to friends in America — hopefully someone might tell him who I am.” It’s incredible those two tourists failed to recognise their opportunity in the Queen’s presence. Were they so self-focussed or preoccupied that comprehension failed them? Were they ignorant to the point of having no idea of the Queen’s appearance? Or did their lack of recognition stem from zero expectation of ever encountering the Queen personally? Perhaps they assumed such audiences never happened?

I see insights in this story that may illustrate why people miss ever personally experiencing God’s nearness. Many doubt, or have zero expectation of ‘meeting’ this King. Frequently He’s misconceived as mythical, remote, inaccessible with no time, much less care for our lives.

Accept the re-assurance this promise He included in His book the Bible, offers…“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:8)

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