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Once the great powers of the European world were ruled by monarchies. However, over the years most fell by the wayside.
First to fall was France following its revolution followed by Germany, Russia, and Austria Hungary during World War I. Today, while several European nations retain monarchies, amongst the former European great powers, only Great Britain retains its monarchy, albeit a constitutional monarchy where the powers of government are invested in an elected Prime Minister and parliament with the mostly ceremonial duties of Head of State invested in the sovereign.
The Royal family, now known as the House of Windsor replaced the House of Stuart in 1714 taking their name from the German Kingdom of Hanover which they also ruled. They were the House of Hanover until World War I when anti-German sentiment led to their German name being changed to the more English Windsor from the castle of that name.
Last week Queen Elizabeth II of the House of Windsor died ending a 70-year reign, the longest in British history. She was the daughter of King George VI, a man who never expected to be nor was trained to be king until his brother Edward VIII abdicated in 1936.
He had to learn his job on the run so he therefore insured that Elizabeth was well trained to be Queen. Her parents also set a good example for her particularly during World War II when the entire family remained in Britain and the King and Queen spent many hours visiting bombed neighborhoods and citizens.
During the war Elizabeth enrolled in the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service, similar to the American Women's Army Corps, where she served as a mechanic. At the time of her death, she was the only world leader to have served in World War II. In later years she drove her own vehicle whenever possible and took pride in being able to change a tire or replace a set of points.
Elizabeth became Queen at the age of 25 on her father's death on Feb. 8, 1952. The position she inherited was without real power but her position was still important. Her calm approach to her new job was what the nation needed at a chaotic time that began with her uncle's abdication in 1936 followed by the rigors of a world war and then a post war period with economic problems and a shrinking British role in the world.
While liberals on both sides of the Atlantic have accused her of presiding over British Imperialism the opposite is true. Her tireless efforts in traveling to former colonies and the establishment of good relations with emerging leaders in these nations did much to shepherd the transformation of the British Empire into a commonwealth of nations.
She helped to stabilize the royal family's position by being willing to modernize and embrace new technologies. In 1969 she allowed cameras to film the private life of her and her family for a television special and in 2014 she sent the first royal tweet. She also was the first monarch to record her Christmas message on film and later made it available on YouTube.
Her popularity stemmed from her ability to understand the will of her people as in the 1990s when a long-standing waiver on the taxation of royal income was lifted, she quickly began paying taxes on that income. She also worked to save on government funding of the royal family by removing the royal yacht from service along with other items saving the British treasury millions of pounds.
I believe her approach to being Queen was shaped by her belief, greatly influenced by her strong Christian faith was that she saw her role more as being a Shepherd leader or a person who protects, guides or watches over a person or group of people, in her case that group being the people of Great Britain and the Commonwealth.
As Queen she saw her role as above politics, as a person who even in times of political turmoil was a constant symbol of calm and stability for the British people. She was a world leader of great dignity and integrity whose presence on the world scene will be missed.
Thomas Kirkpatrick Sr. is a Silver Creek resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com