Seven Decades A Queen. And The World Today

So much for the planned programming of the Venice Film Festival, I give you an icon of an entirely different sort... Rest In Peace, Queen Elizabeth II, extraordinary until the end

Sep 09, 2022

You can spend all week looking forward to writing a newsletter about whether Harry Styles spat on Chris Pine at the premier of his new girlfriend’s movie. And whether his new girlfriend is feuding with the Florence Pugh because she was pissed that her director kept sloping off with Harry Styles.

And then The Queen dies and it all seems a little pointless.

You remember exactly where you were when you heard momentous world-altering news, don’t you? I know exactly where I was when Mandela was released from prison, when South Africa won the ’95 World Cup, when Princess Diana died… And then later, when the World Trade Centre fell (driving home from work, listening to the radio in disbelief); when Madiba died (at a Christmas party in Johannesburg) and when the Queen’s near-unparalleled 70-year reign ended (MCing an awards ceremony and tasked with breaking the news to a roomful of buoyant journalist, newly delighting in seeing all their colleagues together in the same room at last).

Near-unparalleled because…

Queen Elizabeth is the second longest reigning monarch ever, and while us South Africans might have an uneasy relationship with The Crown, thanks to our colonial past and our once-Commonwealth status, we also have always maintained a close relationship with The Crown, revelling in royal visits over the decades. Whether you believe in the idea of royalty or not, few could argue the Queen’s place in history… A woman who ascended the throne at the age of 25, putting aside all her personal dreams to serve her country. And she did so in rooms full of powerful men for seven decades. Seven decades. Cool, calm and collected, with ‘service over self’, the war cry.

This is how @HistoryCoolKids described it: “She spent seven decades on the throne, which was longer than the reigns of her father, uncle and grandfather and great-grandfather combined. Born on April 21 1926, Queen Elizabeth was older than sliced bread, penicillin, ballpoint pens, nylon, Velcro, the Slinky and FM radio. She reigned for nearly 30% of US history.”

Queenly quotes to stash in your arsenal

Thank you for these gems, Your Majesty
“Grief is the price we pay for love.”
“It has been women who have breathed gentleness and care into the hard progress of humankind.”
“It has always been easy to hate and destroy. To build and cherish is much more difficult.”
“If I wore beige, nobody would know who I am.”

Ahhh, yes, the fashion quote. When I worked at Grazia, I recall putting together a huge Pantone chart of the Queen in her day dresses of many graded shades. She became known for her vibrant monochromatic ensembles, which she wore to stand out in the crowds that so often surrounded her during public engagements. She has been frequently quoted as saying “I have to be seen to be believed,” – aka being visible and accessibly visible was key to the future of the monarchy.

She was the originator of sartorial diplomacy. Do you know what that is? The act of using fashion as a gesture of diplomatic goodwill. On her visit to Canada as early as 1951, she wore the maple leaf brooch. That’s sartorial diplomacy. As Business Of Fashion comments: ‘The first truly modern monarch, unlike her predecessors, the Queen’s image was routinely captured and circulated in the media, particularly with the rise of 24-hour news and social media platforms. Her outfits, often bold in colour and accessorised with go-to items like her black Launer handbag, Anello & Davide or Ferragamo loafers and her three-strand pearl necklace, were scrutinised the world over.’

“Over all these years, for the most part, you didn’t hear from the Queen, we saw her,” said Elizabeth Holmes, author of “HRH: So Many Thoughts on Royal Style.” “It’s just a testament to the power of fashion that she recognised the role of clothes, that she was dressing for the people she was seeing in person, but also for the cameras.”

A few tributes I found extraordinary

Whether for their silent beauty or the fact that, if you’re English, these are all icons sparing a moment of reflection for the Queen. These were hugely meaningful to me…

But first the London cabs

A procession of London black cabs lined The Mall leading up to Buckingham Palace to silently pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II. “Incredibly moving tribute as black cabs line up silently on the mall to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth.”