She who should not have become queen, ascended to the throne only for the “great refusal”, paraphrasing Dante, which her uncle Edward did when he chose to abdicate in favor of his brother George VI, has become perhaps the most emblematic of the crowned heads, and perhaps no one in that distant February 6, 1952, could have ever imagined that he was witnessing the accession to the throne of the most iconic of the queens of the United Kingdom.
Five popes, 13 US presidents (Truman, Hooweer, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush father, Clinton, Bush son, Obama, Trump and Biden), it would be an endless job to list all the personalities Elizabeth met during her life, and just today, perhaps, close to the celebration of her Platinum Jubilee they are all parading in front of the eyes. One by one. And with them all the ghosts of the past, the dark moments, the crises of their own kingdom.
Who knows if he’s rethinking the permission not granted to Sister Margaret to marry the Colonel Towsendwhich cost her so much unhappiness and probably caused her life’s path to be diverted to roads that otherwise she would not have traveled.
Who knows if he is reviewing in his mind the moments that preceded the darkest of the periods of his reign. That sad marriage between Carlo and Dianawho capitulated in the way we all know, with the background, the background, but above all maybe the things not done, to try to save what can be saved, of which only she can count.
Who knows if the images ofOprah interviewwhen the adored nephew in world vision threw mud on the institution for which she sacrificed so much, to her then, who is the personification of it.
Who knows how much weight it has in the budget it is making its rock, Philip. Who knows if it is background, certainty, comfort during the hardest memories, or if it is constant thought that obscures all the others.
Who knows if he thinks about the futureif in the eyes of his nephew George tries to imagine what it will be, or if she is tired by now of trying to predict to guide the course and let things go as they should go.
Maybe.
But the thing we certainly know is that since June 2, the United Kingdom will be celebrating like never before, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the reign of the most iconic queen of all time: Elizabeth II.
Source: Vanity Fair
