Queen keeps calm and carries on

Although it was written in the era of colonialism and sexism, Rudyard Kipling’s poem If has a few lines which resonate this week with Queen Elizabeth II as she and her country celebrate her Platinum Jubilee on the throne.

“If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs…”

The queen – and the vast majority of the English-speaking world knows exactly who you mean when you say that – has been part of some of the most turbulent times in history – not only for the British Empire and the United Kingdom, but also for the globe.

She has seen a world war, the brutality of nuclear destruction, the sexual revolution, the technological revolution …and seen her own country change to such an extent that its conservatives (with a small C) screamed “no!” and voted yes for Brexit.

As her own family went through its personal trauma – from the collapse of the fairy-tale marriage of Charles and Diana and her later death, to the disgrace of Andrew (through his alleged association with those who enjoyed often-coerced young girls) and the controversial pairing of grandson Harry with Megan Markle – she held her head high (too high and aloof, some said).

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She has been accused – mainly by the trashy tabloids, it must be said – of being cold (especially over Diana) and of tending towards racism in her relationship with Markle, while her many republican critics question the outrageous annual public spend on the institution of the Royal Family.

Through it all, though, she has done her duty, as England expects every man and woman to do. Keep calm and carry on is the national way. She is a symbol of a nation and unity in an increasingly divided land.

Now, as she nears the end of her life, there will be many who celebrate with her.