ITB September-October 2022: Remembering the late Queen Elizabeth II

SO WE ARE HERE, THE QUEEN IS DEAD AND BURIED.

Queen Elizabeth II: the only person in the whole of history who has been central or within touching distance, just a telephone call or a letter away, to so many world-defining events through a 90-year period.

The last couple of weeks have really brought into sharp focus her time – working alongside Churchill, her first prime minister, as a new Queen only just into her mid-20s, to shaking the hand of her last as she was facing the end of life in her 90s.

The Queen met President Eisenhower as the impact of World War II still held the world in its grip, watched rocket ships land on the Moon on a black and white TV in Buckingham Palace, was threatened by the prospect of nuclear detention at the height of the Cold War, greeted the first British female Prime Minister and saw a world changed as media, telecommunications, technology, industry, science, and transport have all developed at the rapid pace we have come to expect.

“ In a world that seems to turn faster and faster, and seems to get ever more precious about itself, she never ever rushed or seemed to be anything less than serene. Just one of her many highly acclaimed talents

I did not meet her, apart from once when nearly getting in her way in the parade ring at Royal Ascot; me rushing on behalf of an impatient boss at Racenews to try and get quotes from placed connections before they disappeared into hospitality, she being ushered along by her security and the ever-present Johnny Weatherby for that race’s award-giving duties. She was just so small. I like to think we caught each other’s eyes and she smiled at the silly media girl; I hope she saw the funny side as my badly-fitting and cheaply-bought fascinator fell off the back of my head as I ran on, dictaphone clutched in hand.

The day Estimate won her Royal Ascot race was, of course, fabulous, crowds hurrying from the racecourse side of the stands to the winners’ enclosure, desperate to get a spot to see The Queen greet her heroic filly. Hats were raised and the obligatory ‘Three Cheers’ rang out, the day’s racegoers so pleased to be able to report to others and recall that they “were there”.

That human need to claim the same again was revealed after The Queen’s death as witnessed by the snaking trails that criss-crossed the streets of London and followed the silver Thames as people patiently queued for hours to see her lying in state. So many have been in tears. I did not understand what the phrase “a nation grieves” really means. But in those early days after her death a broadsheet journalist, I can’t remember who, wrote that there is a “grief within grief”; for those who have lost loved ones those feelings of loss and emptiness have sharply re-surfaced, grabbing those always tender hooks on which to give yet more sharp tugs.

For those we know in our own racing family, who have recently felt their lives squeezed by the passing of someone close, our hearts and our grief is with you.

It could be seen as strange in such a modern world for a nation to grieve at the passing of a woman whom most of us didn’t know and who was long into her old age. It does give some credence to the important role of a sovereign head of state, the sense of national being, and an appreciation of duty served and a job well done.

I am not going to get into a debate about the ongoing relevance of a constitutional monarchy or how tightly future crowns should be worn, but the importance of continuity is one that the 1,000-year-old Royal family, through its long and varied lineage, fully understands.

In Britain, possibly because of our constitution or inspite of, who knows, we no longer live in country when a period of void could lead to rebellion and armed power struggle. But for most of us this is the first time we are really comprehending what happens when there is a change of head of state, and what the head of state actually stands for.

If being cynical it could be argued that continuity is fully in the Royal family’s interests within the biggest power game of all.

But from a national viewpoint, whatever you believe that to be, more of the same, particularly as we travel through this winter’s unfolding economic knife edge nd political quagmire, is just what is needed.

With a new King, change will come, but for now change can wait a while.