Were Simon Cowell commissioned to choose as head of state someone with a blend of discretion and flair who could charm a multifaceted nation, it would not come as a surprise if the winner was an 83-year-old horse enthusiast who today divides her time between Buckingham Palace and Balmoral.
Republicans have been thwarted in their efforts to advance the compelling intellectual case for a more democratically palatable alternative because the incumbent plays the role of the Queen with dogged brilliance.
The notion of replacing her with a veteran of Westminster like Margaret Beckett or Ann Widdecombe would trigger teapot-throwing riots – even though the monarch has an expense account for multiple homes which eclipses the spending of even the most grandiose MP.
When a key part of the job description involves hosting garden parties, supporting unglamorous charities and saluting the bravery of young soldiers, the Queen has carved out a unique persona as grandmother-in-chief.
Anti-monarchists need to present the UK with a vision less ghastly that the anachronisms of the hereditary principle. If even self-reliant Australians are horrified by the alternatives to Elizabeth II, what chance is there that the loyal subjects of the Home Counties will turn republican?
But last weekend I glimpsed a different vision of presidency.
At my great-aunt’s 100th birthday celebrations in Northern Ireland, a card from the Queen sat on display beside a letter from Belfast-born Mary McAleese, the eighth president of Ireland.
The two messages seemed to represent a choice of paths facing the Northern Irish.
The Republic of Ireland has dropped its explicit constitutional claim over the British province. But the expression of goodwill the president is making to its oldest citizens will do more to make people think positively about a one-Ireland future than any hectoring nationalist rhetoric.
The message from the card from the Queen said she was “so pleased to know” about the birthday, which was pretty nice.
But Ms McAleese concluded her letter with the words: “May you be surrounded today by the warmth of happy memories and secure in the knowledge that you continue to make this world a better place for all who love you. I am delighted to send my warmest personal congratulations and most sincere good wishes, along with the enclosed centenarian payment.”
Those three last words made eyebrows around the room arch higher than any architectural flourish at Notre Dame. A cheque for more than 2,500 euros is welcome at any age – but especially when you turn a century.
If a president is a man or woman who can personify the most generous aspects of a culture on the world stage and in a letter to an aunt, the true successor to the Queen may not be a member of the royal family.
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1 comments:
David, I thought this article was brilliant! So good, in fact that I copied and sent it to my friend in Dublin, Roisin. She thought it was great too. Loved the last paragraph! A.H.
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