THE SUNDAY
WATCHING the spectacular fireworks display over the Thames that marked the close of Queen Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee in 1977, the Prime Minister Jim Callaghan turned to his guests and with a beaming smile declared, “Just what the country needed.” The festivities that summer had been a roaring success, confounding official fears that public enthusiasm might be tepid amid the economic and political turmoil engulfing the nation.
In fact, the British people celebrated with fervour, partly because the Jubilee served as an antidote to strife, and partly out of admiration for the Crown, which was one of the few parts of civic life in the 70s that functioned well.
It is impossible to avoid the parallels between this weekend’s Jubilee and the events of 45 years ago. Once again, the Government is under siege and the economy is in trouble, with inflation rampant, growth sluggish, taxation on the rise, and debt explodput ing. Yet it is precisely this difficult backdrop that has galvanised the celebrations so impressively.
The public is not only desperate for some relief from the cost-ofliving crisis, but also wants to show pride in our country despite all the current problems.
Above all, just as in 1977, they want to express their admiration to the Queen, who has continued to fulfil her role with grace and without complaint, even if her public appearances may now be rationed.
Yet her understandable frailty at the age of 96 only adds to her stature, emphasizing how dedicated she has been over seven decades and how much we miss her when she has an enforced absence like the one that compelled her to miss the Thanksgiving Service on Friday.
The national devotion to her now is even greater than it was back in 1977, due to her astonishing record of duty and commitment.
She is now by far the longestserving monarch in British history, and is a much greater figure than Queen Victoria, the only other sovereign to sit on the throne for more than 60 years.
In graphic contrast to Elizabeth II, Victoria was wilful, politically partisan, self-pitying, stubborn and sometimes neglectful of her duties.
“The Queen alone is enough to kill any man,” said the great Liberal leader William Gladstone, who was exasperated by her whims.
No modern politician has ever had the remotest cause to complain about Elizabeth, one of whose abiding qualities is to respect the constitutional limits of her position.
Despite their very different characters, she has had good relations with all 14 of her prime ministers, even the icy Ted Heath and the erratic Boris Johnson.
That helps to explain why she has so brilliantly avoided political controversies during her long reign, acting instead as an agent for unity above the fray. Sir Michael Palin, the television presenter and comedian, it well during a BBC performance on Thursday, when he referred to the Queen’s gift for “benevolent neutrality”.
This weekend we are celebrating not only the cherished institution of the Crown but also the unique achievements and personality of Her Majesty.
It is the respect she instinctively inspires which drives the current, extraordinary outpouring of national devotion. No elected head of state or celebrity office-holder could provoke such adulation.
So great were the crowds in the Mall on Thursday for her appearance, alongside her closest family, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace that all approach roads had to be closed from the early morning.
“It’s wonderful,” the Queen said, when she saw the size of the cheering throng that had turned London into a sea of red, white and blue.
Over the four days of the Jubilee no fewer than 85,000 events – from pageants to parties – have taken place, while today there could be as many as 200,000 Jubilee lunches involving over 12 million people.
Her moral example means that republicanism is still a fringe cause in Britain, without any traction or immediate hope of success.
Tellingly, the Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer, who as a young lawyer flirted with the idea of abolishing the monarchy, wrote an article last week extolling the Queen and arguing that Britons had a patriotic duty to back the Jubilee.
In our noisy democratic age, where deference has disappeared, the most powerful weapon in defence of the Crown is Elizabeth II’S own quiet, selfless leadership.
That truth was highlighted in a fascinating BBC interview last week with Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury.
He said that as a young churchman he had republican sympathies, but his outlook was transformed by his experience of working with the Queen as he came to value her wisdom, compassion and shrewdness.
‘Her moral example means that republicanism is still a fringe cause in Britain without any traction’
IN THE same vein, Sir Simon Armitage, the Poet Laureate, explained that his attitude to the monarchy had been changed by viewing her in action. “I’ve been very much won over by the Queen.” A more divisive figure charmed by the Queen was the late former Irish Republican leader Martin Mcguinness, whose handshake with her in Belfast in 2012 was a hugely symbolic factor in cementing the Northern Ireland peace process.
Mcguinness was full of praise for her, referring to her warmth and her belief in reconciliation.
For her part, the Queen sent Mcguinness’s widow a private message of condolence when he died in 2017, another example of