Respect, Honour and Reverence
There was never any doubt in my mind as to the respect our Queen Elizabeth II had for her people. In these past ten days of mourning I have seen that respect reflected back to her in the faces of the people she served so loyally. Respect takes many forms. The root of the word respect means to look back or even look twice or look again. This revering, to literally stand in awe of, is the accumulated respect of millions upon millions of people of the United Kingdom together with the high regard people from around the world have for The Queen.
Many things have become more evident than ever before. Her faith that seemed always to sustain her. Her unwavering ability to always resist self pity from ever taking a foothold in her life and disallowing any hint of bitterness which always defiles those around it. In the past ten days and in the previous 96 year snot one person has made a single claim against her Majesty. This too seems a most remarkable thing to me. Tomorrow our Queen will be interred in the biggest ceremony of any kind the four nations of the United Kingdom of Great Britain have ever witnessed. Our united sadness and sense of loss will be felt throughout the world and then too in heaven itself.
King Charles is already proving equal to the task. Hundreds of world leaders, dignatories and friends to the UK are now within these shores tonight. The Queens unifying abilities for her 70 years of loyal service has now passed to him for him to carry the torch. Supported by Her Majesty the Queen Consort, Prince William and Princess Kathrine, I feel a certainty of hope for all things. Before honour comes humility, it is said. This then is my hope for the future as we all bend our knee to a new and unfolding unknown, knowing that there is the certainty of grace in our humility.
All true what you say, may we remember her in the highest regard. God bless her and everything she has done for our country.
Hello Paul,
I am reading your recent blog posts about Queens death and as a non British person I am really curious about the love you have for your kings. Here in Greece we had a royal family for about 100 years and we expelled them with a referendum back in 1974. They only harmed to our country. Even prince Philips father Andrew was a general in Greek army and he was trialed for high treason. I believe it is a gap of cultures!
Obviously, Prince Philip had remarkable integrity and the Queen, Princess Elizabeth II at the time, saw something in him that she admired and thought to be sincere. Not one of us here in Britain ever witnessed anything but the love and dedication the Queen had for her people. I’m not sure every British monarch was the same but we have a new generation that see their duty in the same way the Queen did. King Charles and Prince William seem to be men of integrity. They must still prove themselves. Yes, I know of the Greek royal family. We hosted them here after 1974 I believe. I do not for one minute know that all kings and kingdoms will measure up to the standards set within our present Royal Family, it is their decision to set themselves the task, just as Queen Elizabeth did and her father before her.
Here is a Lady who left this world much better than she found it. While not a subject, I can still respect her and what she stood for…I only hope that her legacy will be the restoration of what was good and decent in the United Kingdom.
The Westminster choir blew me away , 12 men and 30 boys ……….. what a superb , ethereal sound
As soon as the Queen’s death was announced here in Australia there were cries for us to be come a republic. A lot of Australians looked back at the dismissal of the Whitlam government by the Queens representative. A referendum for a republic was defeated a few years ago was. Back then I voted ‘Yes’ but now I am of the opinion that ‘If it isn’t broke don’t fix it’ Apart from that hiccup in 1975 the system in place has provided Australia with over a hundred years of stable government. I know the late Queen was much loved here for her humility and dignity and the world has lost someone rather special. She did a difficult job very well and took her duties very seriously but showed she had a lighter side with her contribution to the 2012 Olympics with Daniel Craig as James Bond.
And if anyone ever questions the value of woodworking or whether things made of wood will last, here is the answer: Westminster Hall where the Queen lay before the funeral. The hammerbeam roofs dates from the late 1300s.
Your lesson on roots of the word respect are dead on in this case! For the entire 4 days of the lying in state at Westminster Hall I kept the live feed in a tab on my laptop and would pull it up frequently and watch for long minutes as people walked by the catafalque. The one nearly universal behavior I eventually noticed was people, after passing by and walking towards the exit, would turn and look back, one or two or more times as if to imprint the image forever in their minds.
God blessed the Queen and gave her the grace to be the beautiful person she was. I had the pleasure of visiting London in 1970 and was very impressed with the people I met. The changing of the guard was a sight to behold. Though I never had the pleasure of meeting the Queen, I regard her as a friend and will forever miss her. My prayer is that your King will carry the Queen’s legacy forward and I believe he will!
As an American I have difficulty grasping the deep connection to the Queen, however I respect that. However, I do have a deep admiration and respect for Queen Elizabeth and her service. She was a great LADY, sadly there are not many left in public service (or Gentlemen either). Watching the funeral yesterday, I was struck by not only the number of people lined up to pay there respects, but their conduct as well. I saw no one demonstrating or causing disturbances. The Queen would be proud of her people.
If a family member was less than they should be the love she had for them stayed strong and when they came back they were welcomed. She didn’t play politics she just did what was needed as best she could. The respect she was and is receiving is a reflection of what she gave. She had a sense of humor which helped her. If ever I was to live in a monarchy she would be the monarch I would want. she promised to serve and she did right up to the end.
I love your take on woodworking. However I will never ‘reverence’ any person. That is reserved for God.
I believe in freedom, and ‘royalty’ means nothing to me. My forefathers fought a war of Independence to be free from Kings and Queens.
The ‘royal’ family was full of scandals, which I will not enumerate here.
What a strange response. We all favour freedom and respect is deserving for all we meet along the way.