Queen Elizabeth knights Captain Tom
LONDON >> When Queen Elizabeth II tapped Sir Tom Moore on both shoulders with a sword at Windsor Castle on Friday, she confirmed the noble status of a 100-year-old man whose achievements during the pandemic had already propelled him into the ranks of Britain’s most exalted citizens.
Yet the ceremony was remarkable in a couple of other ways. It brought together two of the greatest living links to Britain’s World War II history — the queen who worked as a young driver and truck mechanic during the war, and a decorated Army officer who fought in the infamous Burma campaign and has found celebrity as the charitable fundraiser known as Captain Tom.
It also brought the queen out of seclusion for her first face-to-face meeting with a member of the public since March 19, when she hastily left Buckingham Palace as the coronavirus bore down on London. Conferring a knighthood on Moore, who raised $40 million for Britain’s National Health Service by walking 100 laps of his garden, was evidently worth the risk of stepping out.
“Tom, with his remarkable achievement, was important to honor,” said Dickie Arbiter, who served as the queen’s press secretary from 1988 to 2000. Equally important, he said, was her decision to show up in person to bestow the honor. “She’s always said she’s ‘got to be seen to be believed,’ “he noted.
Whether Britons will ever see their revered monarch in person again has become a wistful theme in the British tabloids in recent weeks, one made even more piquant by the once-in-acentury pandemic, which has showcased her ability to take to the airwaves and rally the nation during difficult times.
But the queen’s age — she recently turned 94 — and her resulting vulnerability to the virus have raised doubts that she will ever be able to return to her life of diplomatic receptions, garden parties and hospital dedications. Her regular weekly meetings with Prime Minister Boris Johnson have been conducted by phone since the outbreak began.
“Queen heartbreak,” said a typical headline in the Daily Express. “Will we ever see the queen in public again?”
The answer, based on Friday’s ceremony, is yes — but at a far stricter remove than in pre-pandemic days. Moore’s investiture was held outdoors, in the quadrangle at Windsor Castle, rather than inside. Buckingham Palace banned the public, though Moore was allowed to bring his family.
Bearing a sword that had belonged to her father, George VI, the queen approached Moore, who stood, rather than kneeled, with his walker. Neither wore a face mask, though as Arbiter noted, “the sword is quite long,” so the two were able to keep some distance. The queen drew closer to present Moore with the insignia of knight bachelor, and they chatted for a few minutes.