What a Lady
As I watch the coverage of the passing of Queen Elizabeth the 2nd, I feel the need to send my regards to the royal family accompanied with prayers for their healing process. I may not be able to articulate the points of this “Ode to a Queen” but I am sure going to try.
As noted in the opening paragraph, Queen Elizabeth that just passed away was the 2nd queen Elizabeth. Queen Elizabeth the 1st 1558-1603, one of the daughters of Henry the 8th was the 1st Queen Elizabeth. She was most famous for the Execution of Mary Stuart or Mary the Queen of Scots, also known to her as… her cousin. Other than that little historical hiccup, Elizabeth the 1st was known to be a pretty good lady.
It is safe to say that Queen Elizabeth the 2nd has never ordered the death of any of her family members but I am forced to contend that based off some of the recent unsavory and public activities of some of her family members, the thought may have crossed her mind.
If you read my Super-bowl post from early in the year you will realize why I am not using Roman Numerals…
Now, I am not much of a history buff but it appears that England, Scotland and Ireland all had squabbles over who was in charge and who was the rightful King or Queen for a very long time. You must be informed that I have seen the movie Braveheart about a billion times so I am an expert on King Edward Longshanks 1st 1272-1307 and as the movie goes…he wasn’t portrayed as being a man of the people. Mel Gibson may have been on to something because Longshanks nickname was “The Hammer of Scots”. History states that he died on the way to fight Robert Bruce. I couldn’t find out HOW he died, but in the movie he died in bed, unable to speak while the princess of Whales tells him that she is pregnant with William Wallace’s child so I am going with that one.
After “The Hammer” perished on his way to battle the Bruce, King Edward 2nd 1307-1327 took over and by all accounts, he was considered a weak and incompetent king, so this is where those pesky Scots got back at “The Hammer” … in a roundabout way. You see, Ole Edward 2nd was beaten in battle by the Scots at the battle of Bannockburn in 1314. After he was captured, he was actually deposed and kept prisoner by his wife and her lover Mortimer who then summarily sentenced him to be executed by sticking a red-hot poker into his uhh…backside. This is all rumor of course but we know for a fact that he did perish. That was one jilted wife! I cringed when I discovered that rumor and I am eternally thankful that I have a fake log fireplace and do need any red-hot iron utensils to stoke the fireplace.
Just a request; Please try and read this blog with your best British accent. I prefer my William Wallace accent for personal reasons of which I will explain later…
Now, after Eddie the 2nd rode his red-hot iron broom stick into the afterlife, his son, you guessed it, Edward the 3rd1327-1377 took over and from all accounts, did a pretty good job of getting even with Scotland and France by starting what is known as the 100-year war. Apparently that long war was very expensive which may have directly or indirectly caused Eddie the 3rd to cut some corners in the country’s infrastructure, like sanitation. He had the unfortunate task of ruling England during the Bubonic Plague or more fondly known as the “Black Death” between 1348 & 1350. Half of the population died as a result. Oh! And he had a son named Richard 1st that was dubbed “The Black Prince” who then had a son named Richard 2nd.
I can’t confirm what happened to Richard 1st but it appears he never got a shot at sitting on his own throne. History tells us that after Eddie 3rd died of a stroke, he turned the kingdom over to his 10-year-old grandson Richard 2nd 1377-1399. I remember when I was 10 years old, I can assure you I was not ready to be a king and from what I have read, neither was Richie 2nd. By all accounts, he was downright mean, he didn’t trust anyone and a lot of people lost their heads during his reign, figuratively and literally. They may have coined the term “heads are gonna roll” under his 20-year reign of terror. Luckily for the people, in 1399 Henry of Lancaster popped out of exile and snatched the throne from him. It states in my scholarly research, that Richie the 2nd was murdered by starvation. Starvation as a form of murder just seemed out of place to me because we know from experience that the lightening quick guillotine that easily separated one’s head from their shoulders was the preferred method of execution, oh and an occasional overheated iron poker.
In between King Egbert 827-839 (which is as far back as I could go on the Kings and Queen charts) and Elizabeth 2nd there were a bunch of Charles’s, Edward’s, George’s Henry’s and there was even a Canute (Cnut the Great) in there. Ole Canute was a Dane so… you guessed it, we called him “The Great Dane”.
Moving on… If you peruse the history of the throne the way I have done today out of respect for the Queen’s passing, you will see countless examples of good leadership and bad leadership. You will also see countless examples of greed & incompetence, but you will most definitely see examples of cruelty and brutality of a Monarchy style government. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. I just made that up…
For sentimental and ancestral reasons, one of my favorite stories of the Monarchy comes from William 3rd of Orange 1689-1702 who shared the throne with his devoted wife Mary 2nd (William & Mary) until she passed in 1694. Other than the Royal name, my knowledge of the college of William & Mary in the great state of Virginia is limited to the fact that the Great Lou Holtz, former Arkansas Razorback head coach, once coached football there.
I continue with William 3rd…I know, some of this is a little hard to follow but if you just remember that England, Scotland & Ireland never really got along, you’ll be fine. During one of the many struggles for the throne, the followers of William 3rd of Orange were referred to as Orangeman or Billy Boys. The Billy boys were known for their ability to hide in the hills so that they could look down and keep their eyes on the enemy until they were able to install Willy 3rd as the rightful King. Many of those Orangeman and Billy Boys later migrated away from Europe and into the Ozarks and Appalachia, right here in America. Well, things evolved over time and the name Hillbilly’s was born. So, because of my Scots-Irish ancestry and the fact that I live in the Ozarks, I am sure in some indirect way, I may have some a legitimate claim to the throne but I don’t hold grudges and prefer not to get into that whole bickering with the motherland again.
I know you’ve been waiting for the point so here goes;
None of us can or should be judged by the actions and deeds of our ancestors, but we can and will be judged by our own actions of the present and the future. With the help of my magnanimous disposition and despite my rightful claim to the throne, I happily recognize that Queen Elizabeth 2nd successfully and skillfully held the throne for the last 70 years. I recognize that during those 70 years, she always exemplified the grace and dignity required of such a role. She endured pain, wars, death of loved ones like we all do; however, she did have to deal with the disappointments that arose from some very public family squabbles and bad behavior, while smiling and offering advice and leadership to 15 different Prime ministers and 13 US Presidents, 13.5 if you count the current occupant. Without any doubt, she dutifully and gracefully represented a country that loved her dearly.
Now, I am not a fan of a Monarchy style of governance, and yes, I realize that Great Britain is not ruled by the royal family any longer but I am openly admitting that the world was a much better place with Queen Elizabeth 2nd in it. She will certainly be missed. God save the Queen.