“Her Majesty’s a pretÂty nice girl, but she doesÂn’t have a lot to say,” sings Paul McCartÂney on the BeaÂtÂles’ “Her Majesty.” That comÂic song closÂes Abbey Road, the last album the band ever recordÂed, and thus puts a cap on their brief but wonÂdrous culÂturÂal reign. In 2002 McCartÂney played the song again, in front of Queen ElizÂaÂbeth II herÂself as part of her GoldÂen Jubilee celÂeÂbraÂtions. EarÂliÂer this year her PlatÂinum Jubilee marked a full 70 years on the throne, but now — 53 years after that cheeky tribÂute on Abbey Road — Her Majesty’s own reign has drawn to a close with her death at the age of 96. She’d been Queen since 1953, but she’d been a British icon since at least the SecÂond World War.
In OctoÂber 1940, at the height of the Blitz, Prime MinÂisÂter WinÂston Churchill asked King George VI to allow his daughÂter, the fourÂteen-year-old Princess ElizÂaÂbeth, to make a morale-boostÂing speech on the radio. RecordÂed in WindÂsor CasÂtle after intense prepaÂraÂtion and then broadÂcast on the BBC’s ChilÂdren’s Hour, it was ostenÂsiÂbly addressed to the young peoÂple of Britain and its empire.
“EvacÂuÂaÂtion of chilÂdren in Britain from the cities to the counÂtryÂside startÂed in SepÂtemÂber 1939,” says BBC.com, with ultiÂmate desÂtiÂnaÂtions as far away as CanaÂda. “It is not difÂfiÂcult for us to picÂture the sort of life you are all leadÂing, and to think of all the new sights you must be seeÂing and the advenÂtures you must be havÂing,” Princess ElizÂaÂbeth tells them. “But I am sure that you, too, are often thinkÂing of the old counÂtry.”
In the event, milÂlions of young and old around the world heard the broadÂcast, which arguably served Churchill’s own goal of encourÂagÂing AmerÂiÂcan parÂticÂiÂpaÂtion in the war. But it also gave Britons a preÂview of the digÂniÂty and forthÂrightÂness of the woman who would become their Queen, and remain so for an unpreceÂdentÂed sevÂen decades. As Paul McCartÂney implied, Queen ElizÂaÂbeth II turned out not to be givÂen to proÂlonged flights of rhetoric. But though she may not have had a lot to say, she invariÂably spoke in pubÂlic at the propÂer moment, in the propÂer words, and with the propÂer manÂner. Today one wonÂders whether this admirable perÂsonÂal qualÂiÂty, already in short supÂply among modÂern rulers, hasÂn’t vanÂished entireÂly.
RelatÂed conÂtent:
Based in Seoul, ColÂin MarÂshall writes and broadÂcasts on cities, lanÂguage, and culÂture. His projects include the SubÂstack newsletÂter Books on Cities, the book The StateÂless City: a Walk through 21st-CenÂtuÂry Los AngeÂles and the video series The City in CinÂeÂma. FolÂlow him on TwitÂter at @colinmarshall, on FaceÂbook, or on InstaÂgram.
Some conÂtent around how the RoyÂal famÂiÂly have acquired all their finances would be interÂestÂing.
The Queen was exemptÂed from the 2017 CulÂturÂal PropÂerÂty (Armed ConÂflicts) Act, a law that seeks to preÂvent the destrucÂtion of culÂturÂal herÂitage, such as archaeÂoÂlogÂiÂcal sites, works of art and imporÂtant books, in future wars. This means police are barred from searchÂing the Queen’s priÂvate estates for stolen or lootÂed artefacts.[57]
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finances_of_the_British_royal_family