From the Editor-in-Chief & Publisher
Suzanne Boyd
1992 IS NOT A YEAR ON which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure. In the words of one of my more sympathetic correspondents, it has turned out to be an annus horribilis,” said Her Majesty the Queen in a speech she gave in November at Guildhall of that year (below). “I suspect that I am not alone in thinking it so. Indeed, I suspect that there are very few people or institutions unaffected by these last months of worldwide turmoil and uncertainty.”
Insert 2020 instead, and the words ring even truer than they did 28 years ago. For much of the year, the world held its breath as a divisive presidential election in the United States played out with democracy, decency and competence on the ballot. Worse yet, the COVID-19 virus ripped through borders, destroying economies and lives, and the global pandemic grinds on with no respite, or vaccine, in sight.
As 2020 turns into 2021, we must continue to navigate the reality of the situation while assuming g a forward-looking stance. And our New
Year, Better You package gives tips and solutions on how to make just about anything better. Let’s not call them New Year’s resolutions but lifestyle tweaks that can be easily integrated and sustained for as long as they work for you – everything from your sleep, nutrition and overall health to your money and assets and to your travel when possible. And we address the question of what exactly you owe your children.
The Queen knows something about that. Her original annus horribilis included highprofile scandals involving three of her children’s marriages, which all eventually ended in divorce. And in the thick of the coronvirus crisis, as the enormity of the tragedy sunk in, the Queen was dealing with all manner of family drama. Yet she remained resolute and, as Kim Honey recounts in “Long May She Reign” (page 38), Her Majesty rose to the occasion by flexing the moral authority earned over her reign to rally the world.
And all this at the vital age of 94. The Queen will attain her 95th birthday in 2021 and, as we enjoy a spectacular new official Canadian portrait of Her Majesty commissioned by the Department of Canadian Heritage, there is no better time to celebrate the values of service and constancy she represents.