by The Laird o’Thistle
December 16 2007
Within the next few days after this posting Queen Elizabeth will surpass both King George III and Queen Victoria in the length of life to become the oldest British monarch on record. If my figuring is correct George III lived eighty-one years, seven months, and 25 days, and H.M. the Queen will pass him on Monday, December 17. Queen Victoria lived eighty-one years, seven months, and 29 days. H.M. passes Victoria on Friday, December 21. I may be off a day somewhere… depending on any uncounted leap days, or my semi-mediocre math skills. In any event, this all follows close on the heels of the Queen and Prince Philip’s 60th wedding anniversary last month, in which she also far surpassed George III and Queen Charlotte who achieved 57 years and two months of matrimony.
Among my papers, I have an old chart of the monarchs of England that shows their reigns as architectural columns. The two towering ones belong, yet again, to George III and Victoria. But I keep extending Elizabeth II’s unfinished column from time to time. At this point, it would be a fairly safe bet that Queen Elizabeth will also surpass her two ancestors to become the longest reigning monarch in British history. In this particular building project, she’ll top out George III in May 2011, and pass Victoria in September 2015… less than a decade hence. (She’ll also surpass James VI/I’s record as King of Scots, fifty-seven years and 246 days, in October of 2009.)
I have already read a couple of articles pointing out that what sets the current Queen apart from her long-reigning ancestors is her vigor and the extensive workload that she continues to undertake. The trip to CHOGM (the “Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting”) on the heels of the Diamond Anniversary celebration illustrates the point admirably. Though her shoulders are becoming a bit more noticeably rounded, there is nothing to date suggesting actual frailty in this Sovereign Lady.
In my very first column for this website, in March 2004, I reviewed the two years following the death of the Queen Mother, and wrote the following concerning the Queen:
I plan to keep watching what this dedicated and sensible woman does in the coming months and years. Like her great-great-grandmother, the last years of this queen will do much to shape her historical image. The one thing I will predict as the Queen continues her course is that she will grow ever more impressive with age. She will not be like her winsome and lovely mother, who – as folks would say in the southern U.S. – was a true “Steel Magnolia.” The Queen at her best seems to “shine” more than she “sparkles.” It is likely that she will become a somewhat more relaxed echo of her stately grandmother, Queen Mary, with just a touch of grand old Victoria thrown in for good measure. But instead of the black-gowned Victoria, I somehow anticipate Elizabeth the White, modestly glorious, and at peace with herself.
To date, I’m willing to claim “so far so good” in my resume’ of prophetic powers. I continue to admire with a touch of awe the images of the Queen swathed in satin and fur, and wearing the diamond diadem, as she makes her way to and from State Openings of Parliament. In my mind that is an iconic image of this Elizabeth, and rather justifying her recently received accolade as an exemplar of elegance. I was also delighted with the white outfit she chose for the service at Westminster Abbey to mark the wedding anniversary. Rather than making her look pale and ghostly, white seems to compliment the vigor with which she still pursues life.
In reflecting on the fact of Queen Elizabeth becoming the oldest-ever British Sovereign, the historical record does raise some possible dangers for the years ahead. At some point in the next few years, it is conceivable that this second Elizabethan Court could freeze into a set mold that becomes unresponsive to real needs for change… much as the first Elizabeth froze her public persona some years before her own demise. A bit of that syndrome already afflicted the current royals in the latter years of the Queen Mum, as her reigning daughter probably kept things a bit too much as they had been in deference to “Mummy.” But in my mind, this is another place where the current Queen differs from her mother and ancestors. She may want to freeze-frame certain parts of her own private world, but in recent years she has more and more become a mistress of the subtle art of adaptation to changes in the larger public arena. Who’d have thought, after all, that any earlier Queen would so easily play along, quite literally, with things like the wonderful “Queen’s Handbag” children’s party at the Palace in 2006?
The other issue, as it has increasingly been over the last 40 years, is the issue identified by Edward VII as the “eternal mother” question. If the Queen matches her mother’s longevity, Charles could be somewhere around eighty before he becomes king! At best it is probable that he will be recorded as something of an interim King, between Elizabeth and William. Like the legendary Black Prince, and like the late Duke of Windsor, his historical niche will really be carved out of his service as Prince of Wales. Thankfully it is a very creditable record in the public sphere. The fact that Charles and Camilla were also included in the latest CHOGM rota does at least bode well for the “handover” aspects of the coming years.
In any event… the oldest and longest-married Sovereign… and probably, eventually, the longest reigning as well… will soon be settling into the comfort and joy of a family home she actually owns and looking forward to the arrival of her children and grandchildren for the holidays. Hopefully, by the week after Christmas, she’ll be welcoming her eighth grandchild into the world. May she, and they, and all the readers of this column have a most blessed and wonderful Christmas, and as always…
“A guid New Year to ane and a’!”
Yours Aye,
– Ken Cuthbertson
P.S. It has been interesting to read of the passing of “Backstairs Billy” Tallon in recent weeks. I was glad to see that he wasn’t quite as “cast aside” as some of the press had portrayed him. And I was very sorry to read that he’d been something of a sexual predator, and sometimes just a nasty old queen as well, to junior members of the Clarence House staff. It was also interesting to see that Lord Snowdon and Lady Sarah Chatto attended his funeral… but not Viscount Linley, or any other of the royals.