Remembering the Queen

Pietro Annigoni painted this in 1955, when the Queen was in her late twenties. I remember seeing it on the wall of the Sergeants’ Mess where we, the wife and children of an officer, had the rare honour to be invited to join their whist drive. The sergeants are known as the backbone of the Army and their privileges are jealously guarded.

Now according to Wikipedia the depiction was ‘criticised for its romantic treatment and for prioritising Elizabeth’s role as the monarch over insights into her inner life.’ It is difficult to respond politely to such an insensitive perception.

It is not a picture of a woman but of a royal monarch. Queen Elizabeth is wearing the Order of the Garter, which dates back to 1348 and ‘is dedicated to the image and arms of Saint George, England’s patron saint.’ The sober cloak and the Queen’s mien speak of her solemn and steely dedication to the service of her people. No wonder the sergeants – and the public generally – loved it.

The muted colours of the sky and surrounding landscape also suggest the challenges facing the country, great ones in those first years after a war that had bankrupted us in the fight to preserve civilisation, and yet made us pull together and look after one another as we had not done before. It was to be a new and better world for us all.

On her twenty-first birthday eight years earlier, the then Princess vowed:

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.

The Empire was on its way out, but the Commonwealth of Nations grew to fifty-six member states during her reign and her diplomacy will have been part of the reason why many of them thought fit to join.

The Queen kept her word and symbolised the unity and mutual commitment of our people. That is why many thousands have queued day after day, even overnight, to pay their respects in Westminster Hall.