Reasons that made Queen Elizabeth II great

On the 8th September 2022, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth died peacefully at the ripe old age of 102.

On the 10th September, I made my way into London, to see the ascension of the new King. It made it to St James Palace and had a good view of the ceremony. It was here that me and many others sang the new national anthem. It felt new and unfamiliar in my mouth. For so long had I been used to sing God save the Queen that King sounded so strange. Even now when I think of King Charles, I automatically think of historic kings. But I still sang it and ushered in the new monarch. Don't get me wrong. I love Prince, now King Charles. He shares many of my interests and even started a charity which is greatly helping me right now. But after all 28 years of my life under Her Maj, and me expecting her to live into the hundreds like her mother, I still feel a great sense of surrealism.

Moving on I am listing seven reasons, one for each of her decades on the throne that make her a great person and a great constitutional monarch. These reasons are very subjective and personal.

1. She wasn't born to reign.

The Queen was third in line to the throne at the time of the birth . Her grandfather George V was King whilst her childless uncle King Edward VIII was first in line, followed by her father, George VI and then her, followed by her sister Princess Margaret. After her grandfathers’ death her uncle gave up the throne, to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson who as a twice divorcee was not suited to be seen as queen consort. This made her father King and her heiress apparent. When her father died in 1952, aged only 56, she became queen.

The point that I'm trying to make here is that the queen was never destined to reign. She was an "accidental Queen". Yet she rose to the occasion and reigned so gracefully for over 70 years. She never once shirked the role of being monarch, even when she was never meant to be one.

The other point that I'm trying to make is that perhaps in the future we may not have a linear succession. Prince Harry, Prince Edward, Princess Anne, have all been third in line at the time of their birth. It just shows that even in a royal family, anyone can be monarch.

2.She was home schooled.

As someone who was home schooled for a short period in my childhood, and as a lifelong fan of home-schooling, I am used to getting this question a lot. "How do you socialise?" . If everyone who was home-schooled from birth till graduation was asked this question and given a pound when it was asked... they would be rich by now. Home schoolers have home-schooled groups and interact with other people outside of home-school hours. They are out and about in their communities all the time. The Queen is one of my best defences of home-schooling. People say name one person who has had a social job as an adult who was home schooled. I point to Her Maj.

3. She didn't need many documents.

She didn't have a passport or a driving license as these were in her name. It would be a big odd , after all, to have a passport when the whole service is in the name of her Majesty's government. She however could drive, and often did. This showed her desire for independence, despite having a legion of staff who could easily have driven her. She also travelled, mostly as a representative of the UK, and took part in numerous tours and visits. These helped strengthen the ties of the UK with many other nations and states.

4. She was good for gender equality

At a time when women only received the vote on the same grounds as men in 1928, it was a good thing for gender empowerment to have a female as the Head of state. The 1950's in Britain were still patriarchal but the queen was able to shine as a beacon for women to be able to lead their countries. This perhaps made the transition to the first female Prime Minister of this country.

5. She was genuinely good for the unity of the United Kingdom.

She provided a non-party political leader of the UK who everyone, regardless of nation, area, class, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or disability could look up to. Most countries who remained in the commonwealth did so out of admiration for her. Even an independent Scotland would still have wanted the Queen as head of state!

Not just that but even fervent republicans refused to call to a republic if she was on the throne.

6. She opened her palaces to the public.

Although she wasn't normally in the palaces themselves at the time of the public's visits, she was willing to share the nations’ history with the public. Imagine having someone use your house as a museum!

7. Her milestones were bank holidays

During my lifetime, her golden, diamond and platinum jubilees were celebrated with us being given bank holidays. Even if you don't support the monarchy, you won't complain about some time off work!