Opinion
Paul Geater
Queen Elizabeth II worked hard right to the end of her long reign. This picture was taken for Buckingham Palace by celebrity photographer Mary Macartney in 2015 and shows her working on her government "red boxes" which arrived almost every day during her 70-year reign. – Credit: Mary Macartney/Buckingham Palace
Over the last week the world has been paying tribute after the death of the most famous person on the planet – as a wide range of emotions have been seen.
Queen Elizabeth II will undoubtedly go down in history as one of this country’s greatest monarchs. Her longevity and the span of her reign would probably have guaranteed that anyway.
But the way she conducted herself as the nation’s rock while Britain transformed itself from a declining Imperial power in the 1950s to a modern democracy in the 2020s elevates her standing significantly.
Her declining health over the last few months meant that last Thursday’s news, while it was surprising when it actually came through, was not – I suspect – a huge shock to most people.
It is something many had talked about in hushed tones, especially since the death of Prince Philip last year, but still came across as unsettling.
Personally I was left with a mixture of emotions – sadness for the family who had lost a much-loved mother and grandmother, admiration for the wonderful work she had done and was still doing until the very end, and curiosity about how things would change in the future.
In all honesty I cannot say I felt personal grief. I had only ever seen her twice when I was covering official events, I had never spoken to her myself and I really could not claim, as some have, that it felt like “losing a grandparent.”
The Queen visited Ipswich Waterfront during her 2002 Golden Jubilee tour – I remember seeing her and Prince Philip as they opened the Felaw Maltings building. – Credit: Archant
But as I said, I did feel admiration, a feeling that the tectonic plates of our nation had shifted, and a realisation that we were saying goodbye to one of the great characters of history.
For that reason, I have no difficulty with accepting the huge level of coverage that has been given to this momentous event in our history – although I have been left scratching my head at some of the decisions of the broadcasters.
Why on earth did the BBC pull the Last Night of the Proms on Saturday night? I cannot imagine a better opportunity for people to come together to honour The Queen in the right atmosphere.
Certainly the programme could have needed a tweak here and there, but can you imagine a better setting for an early rousing rendition of “God Save the King?”
The BBC devoted almost all the coverage on its main channel to programmes about The Queen and the accession of King Charles – and that seemed quite reasonable.
What was slightly disappointing was that all other news seemed to get squeezed out – a regular 10-minute segment here and there telling us what was happening in Ukraine or reporting on issues like energy price changes or the concerns about the man shot in a police operation in London would have been welcome.
I can see it was a difficult decision by the football authorities to postpone their matches last weekend. It’s not the decision I would have made – the behaviour of the crowds at the Test match and sporting events that did go ahead suggests to me that people would have gathered respectfully.
I’m glad football is back this weekend. I understand the Metropolitan Police’s concern which has led to the postponement of two London matches – but I’m struggling to see what nationally-important event is taking place in Greater Manchester to prompt the local force to demand the cancellation of the match at Old Trafford!
Monday’s state funeral will be momentous for this country and will, I’m sure, be followed by most people around Britain on television. The nation will come together to honour the memory of The Queen.
But once that is over life will have to get back to normal pretty quickly. I’m pleased that both Labour and Conservative parties are going ahead with their conferences at the end of the month.
There is much that needs to be discussed. This country, indeed the whole world, is facing an economic abyss that has not been seen since the 1970s.
The world is holding its breath to see how President Putin, and the Russian government in general, will cope with its humiliation in Ukraine.
And we are still keeping our fingers crossed about what will happen with Covid come the winter.
We now have a new Sovereign and a new Prime Minister. We don’t know what the new normal will look like but we have to set out on the path towards it from this time next week!
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