Elizabeth II

‘Throughout my life, the message and teachings of Christ have been my guide and in them I find hope.’ – Queen Elizabeth II.  August 3, 2022.

May she rest in peace.  The death on September 8^th of Elizabeth II removes a fact of being that, as many commentators have noted, was simply a given for the entire lifetime of most of us.  Whether the queen was our head of state, as she was in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and many other lands, or simply a periodic presence in our news and our consciousness, she was there, part of the background of life year after year, decade after decade.  Almost everyone, from her prime ministers and journalists to people interviewed on the street, noted the same qualities in the queen:  She was conscientious, reliable, hardworking, and consistently oriented towards duty and service.  Her Christian faith, particularly in evidence in her annual Christmas broadcasts, was deeply felt and sincere and undoubtedly undergirded everything she was and did.  The queen had a divine vocation, of which she was aware, to do a job which she inherited, to the best of her ability.  And she did that job.

The queen was universally recognizable and recognized but did her best to avoid the pitfalls of our shallow and very fickle celebrity culture.  On occasion circumstances or her family dragged her into the hyperventilating drama of that culture, which is almost the direct opposite of the restraint and dignity to which she was inclined.  Her instincts were generally right.

My predecessor, Archbishop John-Charles Vockler, had two encounters of note with Queen Elizabeth in his years living in Great Britain.  After seven years in the mid-1960s as Bishop of Polynesia, John-Charles entered the Franciscan life and went to London for formation.  As he put it, the Franciscans seemed to feel that as a bishop he was probably terribly proud, so they put him in the kitchen for a year to peel potatoes and learn humility.  After that year he was let loose and became a functioning bishop again for the English Church.  At that point he was invited to a royal garden party, where he was one of the select guests introduced personally to the queen. 

Queen Elizabeth, having been told that John-Charles was the retired bishop of Polynesia, asked him if there were anything he missed about that job.  He said, ‘Well, Ma’am, I don’t miss the administrative work.’  To that the queen replied, very much one would think in character, ‘But surely administrative work is an important part of an English bishop’s job?’  John-Charles’ reply was:  ‘Ma’am, have you read the Ordinal?’  To that somewhat critical question, the queen took offense, it seemed, and turned her back on John-Charles.  As he put it, ‘I was shuffled off in disgrace!’ 

A year or two later the bishop was in Scotland with friends whose estate was near the royal residence at Balmoral.  For some reason, the queen came to the house to meet with John-Charles’ host.  At the end of the meeting all the house guests were lined up on one side of the front entrance and all the staff were lined up on the other side of the entrance for the queen’s departure.  As she walked down the steps towards her car, she glanced over and saw John-Charles.  She marched up to him and said just this:  ‘I’ve read it!’  Then she turned, headed to her car, and was driven off.  The archbishop’s surmise was that the queen realized that in fact she had not carefully read the ordination service for bishops and decided that she ought to, given her role in the Church of England.  ‘She is no dummy,’ was John-Charles’ summary.  Although he had the distinction of having had the queen turn her back on him twice, John-Charles was a fervent monarchist.

For citizens of the United States, the idea of a head of state without the responsibilities of leading the government and day-to-day policy can be very attractive.  Usually in the U.S. half the populace cordially detests the president, and if he loses office to an opponent that person would be just as cordially detested by the other half of the populace.  There is a great deal to be said for a head of state who is seen as rising above partisan and daily strife.  In any case, as we pray for the repose of God’s good and faithful servant, Elizabeth, we also should pray for her successor, King Charles III.  I can think of no better prayer than this:  May he serve God and his people as well as did his mother!

(Reprinted from ‘The TRINITARIAN’ newspaper)