Composed Kate calms our Queen
JEVERYONE agrees that the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral was magnificent, but many think it was marred by heartless Covid restrictions cruelly forcing the Queen to sit alone. I don’t agree.
Shorn of pomp and vast numbers, we saw Philip as a family man, not simply a symbolic consort, and this narrow focus on family was immensely moving.
And even though his wife, children and grandchildren were forced to sit metres apart, I don’t think the Queen looked stricken in her solitude. She is the Queen, after all, well used to being separate. And although of course she looked sad, tiny and fragile, her vulnerability showed her as just a woman, a widow, like so many others at this time.
There was a huge, almost palpable feeling of family love in that chapel, focused on Elizabeth and Philip, more personal and touching than the awe of strangers.
Her frailty and great age made it impossible not to think about the succession, and in that respect the funeral was a triumph, allowing us to concentrate on what our particular brand of monarchy is about: a family. Tiaras, jewels and palaces are necessary accessories but the Sovereign governs only by our consent, and as her family gathered in grief, we asked ourselves if we liked them enough to allow them to continue in their roles once the Queen has gone.
And I think, although we don’t like all of them, we do have affection for the ones who matter: Charles and Camilla,William and Kate. Charles’s heartwarming emotional tears for his father; William stoical, strong minded, a safe pair of hands. And Kate, his Duchess, the family trump card; that iconic close-up of Kate, left, in her mask, lightly veiled hat, the pearl necklace and earrings borrowed from the Queen, emphasising her calm composure, competence and strength.The clear green eyes hinting at wisdom and kindness. She seems, thank the Lord, the opposite of her self-obsessed sister-in-law.
So we are lucky. So is the Queen. She has a loving family to support her in her grief. And Philip’s funeral brought us closer to them, because in them, we see ourselves.
ROPHELIA Lovibond is a great choice to play Boris’s partner Carrie Symonds in the upcoming TV drama about Johnson’s handling of the coronavirus crisis. The two women could be sisters. Bit trickier casting with Shri Patel as Rishi Sunak, as the actor is 6ft 1in; the Chancellor barely 5ft 6in. I predict a lot of sitting-down scenes.