False that the queen never worked a day in her life

THE vigorous debate around Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and the monarchy in general (The Mercury, September12) refers.

I would comment as follows: It should be noted that she is not “queen of England”.

England has not had a queen for more than 400 years – since the Union of the Crowns of Great Britain in 1604, and the Union of the Parliaments in 1707. Her abbreviated title was Queen of the United Kingdom, or the British Queen.

In addition, it is inaccurate to suggest that “she never worked a day in her life!” She was working up to two days before her death, appointing the new British prime minister. If anyone really does believe the role of the monarch is not stressful, then look at the hectic schedules that involve the political, diplomatic, social and administrative work that such a head of state has to observe.

It is equal to that of any president; and while on the subject of elected versus hereditary titles, one should remember that an elected system gave us the mixed bag of presidents like Putin, Trump, Nixon and Mugabe.

The latter, in particular, wrecked his country and in the process forced millions of Zimbabweans to flee overseas to escape his tyranny. He lived like a modern-day Louis XVI in luxury, while his people starved. The fact that virtually no one attended his funeral speaks volumes. Hereditary rulers such as Elizabeth II train from the day they are born for the roles they perform, and if they did not perform them well, they would be removed from the system in democratic nations. Look at how millions of Britons in all four nations of the Union came out to mourn her passing.

Could there be a better advert for such a system? Then there is the subject of the evils of colonialism illustrated “in extremis” by Mangena’s harsh cartoon in the same issue. There is no doubt that colonialism has its ills, but no society or system has a monopoly on brutality, racism, good or evil. All of these traits existed in humans before and still exist to a degree all over the world.

In fact, it might be argued that Britain benefited in the long term from the waves of brutal invasions that the island endured, starting with the Romans (what did the Romans ever do for us?) followed by Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Vikings, Normans and others over the centuries. Out of this grew a sturdy nation that still leads the planet in many fields and, particularly, in the field of race relations. Black and brown Britons in increasing numbers now occupy places in every sphere of British life, especially in politics.

Finally, I love the fact that both Madiba and the queen called each other by their Christian names. That two such wonderful human beings bonded so closely is something to cherish and remember. The world is poorer for their passing.