Three Great Lessons from Queen Elizabeth. Will King Charles Learn Them Too?

 

We all knew it was coming. Still, when those words came out, they were shocking. Her Majesty, The Queen of England, had died. Like most people on the planet, I’d never known any other British monarch. To think of the world without her seemed impossible. Looking at her life, I realize she taught me three vital lessons which I hope her son King Charles III will learn from too…

There can be strength in silence — As a woman, Queen Elizabeth knew her greatest source of power would not be a loud, blustering temper or macho victory on the battlefield. Instead, her strength was her silence, her mystery, her ability to keep still. And by Jove, it worked. That inscrutable face kept people guessing for seven decades, always trying to interpret what she was thinking and feeling. 

Will Charles do the same? He strikes me as a more emotional person, kind and compassionate, but thin-skinned. His soft gray eyes have seen a lot of hurt, disappointment, and tragedy in life. I can’t help wondering if he’s as tough as his mother. And will he stay publicly silent when he sees injustice? Should he? Personally, I don’t mind a monarch who wants to make the world better and says so.

Knowing when to bend — As much as Queen Elizabeth rigorously maintained the status quo, she knew when to acquiesce. She understood when it wasn’t in the country’s (or her) best interest to stay mulishly stubborn. In 1992, she relented when the nation was clamoring for the royal family to pay taxes (seems like a perfectly sensible request to me). When the country needed a public, emotional response from her after Diana died, she eventually relented and bended to the will of the people. 

As for Charles, he’ll have many such tests ahead. Already there’s talk of some Commonwealth nations no longer wanting to remain part of the British empire. Their respect for Queen Elizabeth kept them tethered to her realm for many decades. But now she’s gone. An exit ramp has appeared. Will Charles be able to keep these countries under British domain, or will he bow to the times and let them go gracefully? Time will tell.  

The wisdom of acceptance – Who knows what life Queen Elizabeth would’ve chosen if allowed? The series “The Crown” suggests she would’ve preferred a quiet country existence with dogs and horses. As a young Queen, she’d watch her sister Princess Margaret go off to parties and sometimes her husband Phillip zoom off on exciting adventures. But she never joined them, knowing a whiff of scandal could result in revolution. At a young age, she had a mature acceptance of duty. A duty she vowed to continue to perform for all of her life.

Will Charles be able to accept his fate as easily? That remains to be seen. Charles is coming into power at 73, much less flexible than Elizabeth’s young and pliable 26. A testy moment broke out the other day when he was signing papers at the Accession ceremony. “Get these out of my way,” he signaled angrily to an aide when objects weren’t moved quickly enough. I already sense a weary frustration in Charles, taken away from his beloved, organic Highgrove estate to the white-hot spotlight for the rest of his days. Will he accept his new fate like his mother or rail against the gilded cage?

Whatever the case, we now have a new British monarch. The first time I heard the Members of Parliament sing “God Save Our King” to Charles, I could see he was visibly moved. His face, so full of tender vulnerability, got me sniffling.

I wish him well. Queen Elizabeth will be a hard act to follow. And yet I believe King Charles III will someday have his own lessons to impart. We just don’t know what they are yet.

Here’s to Britain’s new King.

 

What do you think of our new British monarch? Or Queen Elizabeth? Comments are always welcome and if you’d like to receive posts by email, just press here. Thank you.