In the eyes of the world, some characters not only embody a country, a people, but also an entire era. In fact, the figure of Queen Elizabeth II, which died on Thursday, September 8, at the age of 96, in her castle of Balmoral (Scotland), imperceptibly linked each of us to large sides of British and universal history, from the post-war period that had seen him go up on the throne, up to the COVID-19 years when his message of resilience has marked the spirits, from decolonization to decades thatcher, Blair , and to Brexit, via the Beatles madness and the tragedy of Lady d.
Cheffe of the British state, widely respected but endowed with a symbolic power, she will have met, during her seventy years of reign, all the great in the world, from de Gaulle to Kennedy, from Nehru to Mandela or John Paul II.
an inflexible will to accomplish his duty
Sign of her exceptional longevity, when she became queen, on February 6, 1952, at the age of 25, Harry Truman was in the White House and Vincent Auriol at the Elysée. Arrival on the throne at the time of steam trains, telephones at dial and marriage for life, the queen will have traveled in supersonic, tweeted and known the divorce of three of her children.
Historians will say if the seven decades of the reign of Elizabeth II can be described as “second era Élisabethaine”, by reference to that of the first Queen Elizabeth (1558-1603), marked by artistic renewal, prosperity and prosperity and prosperity and prosperity and prosperity English power. The recent era corresponds rather to a loss of influence of the country. But the queen who has just disappeared will have succeeded in a feat: to make forget the anachronism of the monarchy, to prolong its popularity by adapting it while maintaining the illusion that it is immutable.
His secret probably holds in the extraordinary resolution of Elizabeth II, undoubtedly the most famous woman in the world, to remain a mystery. Innumerable press articles, books and documentaries have been devoted to a queen who has never given an interview, who has pronounced, outside parliamentary rituals and Christmas, only four speeches in seventy years, and of which Nothing really filled, neither on choices, nor on ideas.
This impenetrable character, this aristocratic impassiveness, allied with an inflexible will to accomplish his duty (“duty”) until his last breath, allowed him to cross all the eras, to rub shoulders with all the Prime Ministers A popularity to make politicians pale. The final trace of this remarkable force of character is read in the reception by the Queen, the day before her death, of the new Prime Minister, Liz Truss.
above the fray
The shock of the disappearance of Elizabeth II will be felt all over the world, especially in the fifteen states of which she was the sovereign, as an additional sign of the end of an era. In the British, the so -folded event also raises fears of a loss of prestige at a time when the country is struggling in a tough social and economic crisis.
With the queen, the United Kingdom loses an essential and powerful “soft power” instrument. Elizabeth II sent political messages by her postures, her outfits, her dignity or the choice of a word. Above the fray, she was very appreciated by the British because she personified their link with the long time of the history and the unity of a composite country.
What will he be with his eldest son, who became King Charles III on Wednesday? Less popular than the deceased queen, the prince has demonstrated in the past his temptation to influence public authorities on his favorite subjects such as town planning, the environment or alternative medicines. IMMIXTIONS Resolutely rejected by British opinion.
Charles promised to stop this type of intervention. But, at 73, the task of the “pending king” who has become “transitional king” promises to be tough. He will go up to the throne at a time when the unity of the kingdom is threatened, from Scotland to Northern Ireland, and when doubts about the monarchy: 27 % of British and 40 % of 18-24 year olds wish to abolish according to a recent survey. As for the iconic shadow of her mother, she is not about to fade.