THE number is so surreal it is quite understandable to assume it’s a typo.
On February 6, Queen Elizabeth II celebrated 70 years on the Throne.
Not her 70th birthday, but rather the 70th year since the 95-year-old Monarch assumed the title upon the passing of her beloved father, King George VI.
None of her predecessors over the course of the last 1,000 years of British history ever reached her mark.
In the United States, some Americans still fondly remember February 6th as the birthday of former President Ronald Reagan.
But with that memory comes the realization that he was only president for eight years.
Queen Elizabeth II had already been Monarch for almost 29 years before Reagan was sworn in for his first term – through the Presidential administrations (most two terms) of Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter.
And then, after Reagan left office, she has been the Queen through the administrations of George Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald J. Trump, and now Joe Biden.
To that, add the Prime Minister-ships of: Winston Churchill, Anthony Eden, Harold MacMillan, Alec Douglas-Home, Harold Wilson, James Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Theresa May, and now Boris Johnson.
Queen Elizabeth II has not just witnessed the history of our world for the past nine decades-plus, her very life has become an indelible part of that history.
In many ways precisely because of her historic and steadfast reign, a number of people in the United States and elsewhere wonder – and worry – if, after she passes her crown on to Prince Charles, the transition will mark the beginning of the end of the British Monarchy?
That wonder and worry is not so much an indictment against Prince Charles, but rather an acknowledgement that Great Britain and the world will never again witness the enduring fortitude, poise, and stature of a leader such as Queen Elizabeth II.
It will never see her likes again because her life, her might, and her sovereignty represents a crown jewel in an often better time which will also never be seen again.
And, as that time passes, many on the Left politically are coming to view the Monarchy as an archaic tradition now best swept into the dustbin of history.
To be sure, others who support the Monarchy believe the world is descending into unending dysfunction and danger due entirely to the fact that morally-strong heads of government like Queen Elizabeth II are being replaced by feeble pretenders loyal only to flawed or failing ideologies, money, and power.
All the more reason why the retirement of Queen Elizabeth II will signal a critical tipping point.
At least, with some of the political-class I speak with on a regular basis here in the United States who are fans of the British Monarchy and view it as a needed check and balance to world gone insane, the thinking is that Prince Charles will become the “caretaker King” until such time that Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, can ascend to the throne.
Once that day arrives, the hope then becomes that Prince William and his wife, Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, will flow into the resolute molds left behind by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip while building upon the dignity and honor those two brought to their official offices.
If not, the foundation under the Millennium-plus British Monarchy will weaken for sure.
As that future history is yet to be made or recorded, we would all be well served in saying: “Long live the Queen and long may she still Reign.”
Douglas MacKinnon is a former White House and Pentagon official and author of the book: The 56 – Liberty Lessons From Those Who Risked All to Sign The Declaration of Independence.
