The Queen’s simple message inspires us

PERHAPS the most poignant image of 2021 was the picture of the Queen sitting alone at the funeral of her husband Prince Philip.

It said so much about our head of state and why she is revered not just in Britain but all around the world.

While much of the trappings that surround Royalty are pomp and circumstance, the defining quality of Her Majesty as she prepares to mark 70 years on the throne next year is her quiet dignity.

At a time when doubts linger about our political leaders, with allegations rife of lockdown-breaking parties, that picture from Prince Philip’s funeral showed that the Queen has an essential quality of leadership – the ability and willingness to lead by example and to understand that the rules must apply to everyone in society equally, high or low.

But more than that, the Queen also shows an immense amount of empathy with her subjects.

Right from when she was a Princess serving as a mechanic in the Secondworldwar up to the present day when she is sharing in the travails of lockdowns and the pandemic, Her Majesty has underlined that she is willing to walk with us all.

Her remarkable Christmas message was very much in that spirit.

When she spoke of loss, paying tribute to her late husband next to his picture, she was not only sharing her grief but sharing in the grief of many thousands of people who have lost loved ones.

In a complex world, her appeal to all of us to look for our inner child and find joy in the simple things – even if many of us are weighed down by worries – is sound advice.

As we approach 2022, the year of her Platinum Jubilee, we should fervently hope that she and all of us can look forward to a better year ahead.