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 Holding an office in the nation for a decade —
or even two — and performing it with distinction would be thought
momentous and would be the subject of much favourable comment in
Parliament and across the media.
To be in office for 55 years, to have
performed faultlessly, with no intention of retiring and never to have
been paid, is extraordinary.
And yet, the 6th of February 2007 passed without much comment, or even any formal recognition of
the service rendered.
We know that standards of courtesy and civility
have declined, but that surely cannot excuse such a lamentable
omission.
Fifty-five years ago this week, on 6th February, 1952, King
George VI passed away aged 56. He was much loved and respected across
the Commonwealth and throughout the world, and above all, because he
did his duty.
This sense of duty was captured best when Queen
Elizabeth, subsequently the Queen Mother, was asked whether their young
daughters would be sent to Canada during the London blitz, she replied: "They would never leave without me, I would never leave without their father, and he will never leave."
When her father died, the young Princess
Elizabeth was at the Treetops Hotel near Nairobi in Kenya, on her way
to Australia to represent her ailing father. It was Prince Philip, Duke
of Edinburgh, who had to break the sad news to her of her father's
death, and that as a consequence, she had ascended the Throne as Queen.
 Australians, in the second most remote of the
King's "dominions beyond the seas", received the news of the death of
their beloved Sovereign with the restraint expected of the time, but
with great sadness. Newspapers were published with black borders, and
many people wore black or black armbands.
The Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies, the
greatest orator of his day, and probably the greatest the nation has
ever had, addressed a hushed House of Representatives, and by radio,
the nation, in these solemn words: "His Gracious Majesty King George VI, whose
sudden death we mourn today, reigned over us with singular distinction,
unfailing courage, and the most constant devotion."
"He was a
constitutional monarch in the grand tradition of his father, King
George V, of happy memory. Possessed of great force of character, a
most royal sense of duty, a keen perception of the movements and issues
of his day, our late beloved King was in the vast and bitter crisis of
the war, in which he served us all so well, ruler, and leader, and
friend."
"His was no distant throne, for he sought no security and shared
cheerfully every danger and every trial. All those who saw England
under daily and nightly attack in the great battle of 1940 and 1941
were stirred by the spectacle of an embattled nation, normally not
unacquainted with internal divisions and hostilities, in which there
was unity, cheerfulness, courage, and a common resolution which ran
through factory and farm, and which made the King and his humblest
subject feel a deep and human brotherhood."
"It was that superb fusing of
the common will which defeated the enemy, and did so much to save the
world. King George VI and his Queen Elizabeth were among the great
architects of that brotherhood."
On 6 February, 1952, the Royal Party flew from
Kenya to London. Through blurred radio photographs and black and white
news reels screened weekly in cinemas across the land, Australians saw
those gloomy scenes in London where Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill and the whole
cabinet waited in line, dressed in mourning, as their new young Queen
came down the gangway.
Later Australians watched in sadness as the
great gun carriage bearing their late King was drawn slowly by sailors
through the silent streets of the imperial capital, followed by their
new Queen, and other members of the Royal Family including the Queen
Mother and the Dowager Queen Mary, all heavily veiled in black.
Before this they had seen the ritual assuring
them that the Crown continues and there can be no interregnum, applying
the ancient affirmation that "The King is dead: Long live The King."
This was asserted formally in the Proclamation of the Accession of Her
Majesty Queen Elizabeth II which was read from St James's Palace on the
following day.
In the meantime, conscious that the Statute of
Westminster had separated the Canadian Crown from the British, another
proclamation was issued by The Queen's Privy Council for Canada, and
read in Ottawa on the same day.
It was not thought necessary to do that in
Australia, but soon afterwards, the title of Queen of Australia was
confirmed by an Act of Parliament, a formal recognition of the
emergence of a separate Australian Crown as Australia had become
independent. (Because the states so mistrusted federal governments of
all parties, the role of the British Crown lingered here in this
independent country until as late as 1986, never as some act of
latter-day imperialism, but because the states preferred it. The Queen
was to play a more significant role than most have realised in
terminating that role and enhancing the full emergence of the
Australian Crown. The solution is something which was thought, and Her
Majesty was no doubt advised, to be undesirable, unmanageable and
perhaps impossible. Unknown to Canada, and unique to Australia under
this solution, The Queen may be advised in the exercise of her
Australian constitutional functions not only by the Prime Minister, but
also, in relation to state matters, by each of the six Premiers. The
Queen was also active in ending inappropriate aspects of the role which
survived the 1986 Australia Acts.)
In reflecting on the 55th year of the reign of
Queen Elizabeth, the conclusion must be that Her Majesty is very much
her father's daughter. On her 21st birthday, The Queen indicated how
she intended to fulfil her role in life: "I declare before you all that my whole life,
whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the
service of our great imperial family to which we all belong."
This is the essence of her character, a sense of duty. This is complemented by a strong faith. As she more recently affirmed: "For me the teachings of Christ and my own
personal accountability before God provide a framework in which I try
to lead my life."
"I, like so many of you, have drawn great comfort in
difficult times from Christ's words and example. I believe that the
Christian message, in the words of a familiar blessing, remains
profoundly important to us all: "Go forth into the world in peace, be
of good courage, hold fast that which is good, render to no man evil
for evil, strengthen the faint-hearted, support the weak, help the
afflicted, honour all men"."
"It is a simple message of compassion, and
yet as powerful as ever today, two thousand years after Christ's
birth."
The Queen, who has reigned over us for more than
one half of the life of the Commonwealth of Australia, attracts — and
rightly attracts — the admiration of the people of Australia.
The
reaction in Melbourne at the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games
in March 2006, when the 80,000 or so present joined with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa in
singing not only Happy Birthday, but in standing to sing the few bars of the Royal Anthem the censorious organisers permitted, is testimony to that.
The fact is that we have been blessed with a
Sovereign who has never put a foot wrong, who has never embarrassed us,
who does her duty, and for whom we do not pay and never will pay.
 She
will not retire from this position to which was anointed and Crowned
and to which she has dedicated her life. Her service to Australia and
the Commonwealth has been impeccable. The Queen is today as revered as
she was when she first came to Australia.
Although the script writer of the film The Queen
is on record as saying he intended it to be a "hatchet job", Dame Helen
Mirren has managed to capture the essence of The Queen's character —
duty supported by strong faith. People who did not realise this are
finding an unknown side to their Sovereign, and increasing their
admiration for her.
In the meantime the Australian Crown curiously
remains the "elephant in the room." It is at the very centre of the
constitutional system, it is our oldest institution in the nation, and —
the High Court perhaps excepted — it is the only one which transcends
the federal-state divide. And yet, its history, role and function are
little taught or even understood in our schools and academies, while
our republican politicians are intent on hiding all references to it
notwithstanding the landslide decision of the people in the referendum of November 1999 to keep it.
Australia's republicans cannot, and the more
sensible ones do not, criticise the Queen for the failure of their
campaign, which has lost ground at all levels particularly among the
youth.
Neither Her Majesty nor any member of the Royal Family
campaigned in the referendum, and soon afterwards The Queen made her
position absolutely clear: "My family and I would, of course, have retained
our deep affection for Australia and Australians everywhere, whatever
the outcome. For some while it has been clear that many Australians
have wanted constitutional change. You can understand, therefore, that
it was with the closest interest that I followed the debate leading up
to the referendum held last year on the proposal to amend the
Constitution."
"I have always made it clear that the future of the
Monarchy in Australia is an issue for you, the Australian people, and
you alone to decide by democratic and constitutional means. It should
not be otherwise."
"As I said at the time, I respect and accept the
outcome of the referendum. In the light of the result last November I
shall continue faithfully to serve as Queen of Australia under the
Constitution to the very best of my ability, as I have tried to do for
the last 48 years."
Australians should count their blessings that we
have had such a Sovereign to reign over us for more than half the life
of our nation. Well may we say and affirm, "God Save The Queen."
Professor David Flint is the national convener of
Australians for Constitutional Democracy. This essay was first
published on the ACM website.
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