She is not only the world’s longest reigning, most popular, widely respected and universally famous monarch, but also a superb mother of four children, beloved grandmother of eight beautiful grandchildren and caring great-grandmother to twelve wonderful great-grandchildren. The darling of the public, at 95, she is still an epitome of health, vigor, action and quick decision-making. This is the year of her platinum jubilee, and I could not help but try to give my most elevated kudos and homage to her.
The world press and electronic media are literally full to the brim with stories about this greatest English lady of all time, not to mention books and albums and movies of her long and eventful life. This tiny story of mine will not even be noticed in the ocean of information about the Buckingham lioness, but I still want to have it out, especially because I was among the crowd in front of her London palace in 1977 when Great Britain was celebrating her silver jubilee. Almost half a century has passed since that evanescently happy instant of my life, but all is still alive in my now-senescent memory: fabulous traditional pageantry, slowly passing through the streets of London, the royal hand-waving from golden baroque carriages, the cavalcade of well-groomed and trained horses, the exalted public from all over the world, loudly and excitedly greeting the eminent sovereign and her regally proud and noticeably complacent entourage, the purely British male outfit and female garments of the time when monarchs were actual rulers of the nation, the overall mood of celebration and sincere unity of the attending people to show their love, benevolence and genuine human curiosity in Elizabeth the Second, who assumed the throne at the age of 25 in 1952, and since then has carried the imperial crown and scepter with majestic dignity and state integrity. Incidentally, she was happily relaxing in the lap of Kenyan flora and fauna when she heard the news of the king’s passing, and Princess Lilibet (as dad, George VI, called her in childhood) returned to England as Queen Elizabeth.
Marking the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne is not just an event of national importance, but a significant international affair of high consequence. Being head of state of the spacious Commonwealth of 54 states, Her Majesty has extensively trotted the globe and scoured through the native lands with purposes benefitting both the world and her own kingdom. The Queen has broken every possible record of reign in history unless my memory is failing me. Her role is highly appreciated in the political, cultural and social progress of humankind, and it is heartbreaking to recognize that in the duration of those 70 years of her dazzlingly stupendous time in power, some of the members of her extended family have hurt her feelings with the unbecoming model of their behavior, totally incompatible with her image and royal presence.
Unbelievably, Elizabeth Windsor was born in a regular London townhouse. Who could have known then that someday in the near future she would become an active member of the British Armed Forces? She was betrothed to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in 1947, having received, as they say, 2500 wonderful gifts from their well-wishers. The couple spent 73 years in happy royal togetherness. Notably, there were 10,000 pearls on her wedding gown, imported from the US, whose designer described it as the most beautiful dress he had ever made. Queen Elizabeth has inaugurated and put in 11 Downing Street fourteen prime-ministers of the United Kingdom. Being known as a lady of utmost order and law, I was surprised to learn that she’s the only person in the UK allowed to drive without a license, although at the end of the Second World War, she would drive big trucks, having the qualification of a military mechanic.
Speaking about her hobbies, she has quite a lot of them. According to the available information, she owns an elephant, two giant turtles, a jaguar, and a pair of sloths among her beloved corgis, and who knows what else.
The hundreds of pages I have read about Her Majesty could have given birth to uncountable curious facts and thousands of words, quenching our thirst to know more about her truly outstanding personality, but it would make no sense – all is readily available on the internet. This piece is merely a personal emotional attempt not to let the platinum jubilee pass unnoticed on my part. Now I know that I have done my best to congratulate the Grande Dame of our times on the 70th anniversary of her famous coronation, and wish her many more.
Op-Ed by Nugzar B. Ruhadze
