Society

Sunday

Philip Eade

The vital part Prince Philip played in the Queen’s success

The Queen has received deserved tributes from both monarchists and republicans for her extraordinary achievements in the role for which she became unexpectedly destined aged ten and later inherited at the equally unforeseen age of just 26. But she recognised more than anyone the vital part played by her husband Prince Philip, Britain’s longest-serving consort, to whom she said the country owed a debt ‘greater than he would ever claim or we shall ever know’. When the Queen came to the throne in 1952, she inherited a defined position in the country; her husband did not. Selfless, stoical, dignified, dutiful, she possessed an abundance of qualities that would make her

Stephen Wigmore

The moral inspiration of Tolkien’s universe

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the new Tolkien-inspired TV series on Amazon Prime is already the most expensive television series in history. Amazon paid $250 million up-front for the rights, and has reportedly committed a billion dollars to future production. The fact a business as canny as Amazon would commit that much money to develop the appendices of a novel — which is what The Rings is based on — shows just how much cultural heft Tolkien’s works continue to have. The wild success of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit film trilogies is matched by the popularity of the books behind them. Tolkien’s books

Leo McKinstry

How Elizabeth ensured the monarchy survived

Perhaps the most powerful tribute to Queen Elizabeth’s success is that, at the time of her death, republicanism remains a fringe cause in Britain. Today we mourn the end of her unique reign, yet the immediate future of the Crown is secure because of the admiration she inspired. Without her steadfast, reassuring presence on the throne, the course of the monarchy could have been far more troubled over the last seven decades. After all, the very concept of a hereditary royal family is a glaring anachronism in our democratic age, where equality is celebrated, elitism deplored and privilege despised. The danger of the Crown becoming ever more outdated was further

Saturday

Prince William

Read: Prince William’s tribute to the Queen

On Thursday, the world lost an extraordinary leader, whose commitment to the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth was absolute. So much will be said in the days ahead about the meaning of her historic reign. I, however, have lost a grandmother. And while I will grieve her loss, I also feel incredibly grateful. I have had the benefit of the Queen’s wisdom and reassurance into my fifth decade. My wife has had 20 years of her guidance and support. My three children have got to spend holidays with her and create memories that will last their whole lives. She was by my side at my happiest moments. And she

Yuan Yi Zhu

How the Commonwealth reacted to the Queen’s death

Without Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth, there would be no Commonwealth today at all. Long after the organisation had lost its charm for both British progressives, who increasingly saw it as an imperial hangover, and conservatives, dismissive of what they viewed as a grouping of ex-colonials asking for money and making awkward demands, the Queen carried on championing it, sometimes against her own British prime ministers. But it is impossible if not reckless to speak of a unified Commonwealth reaction to her death. The association’s motley members range from countries where the Queen was head of state, to former British colonies which have adopted other forms of government,

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

The King’s speech: six reflections

King Charles III gave us plenty to reflect on with his first speech last night. He spoke movingly about his mother, but also gave us an indication about how he sees his role and that of the monarchy – which will matter greatly as he starts to put his own mark on the royal family, its role and its limits in British public life. Six points jumped out at me. 1. He is against abdication Is this an option? In the last few years of her life, people wondered if the Queen’s failing health would lead to her abdication. Similarly, those concerned about Charles’s political meddling over the years have

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Wanted: a newsletter assistant for The Spectator (maternity cover)

Our Lunchtime Espresso newsletter brings up to date news and analysis to more than 110,000 inboxes every weekday. It’s a collaborative effort, using every resource available at The Spectator, and providing insight into the biggest stories across current affairs, news and the economy from Britain’s best writers, as well as detailing the bigger picture abroad.  Now we’re looking to hire a part-time newsletter assistant – an extra pair of hands in the morning to compile Lunchtime Espresso and help our newsletter editor Hannah Tomes, who will be covering for a colleague on maternity leave. This position will be required for a period of at least six months. We’re after someone

Marcus Walker

The poignancy of preparing a service after the Queen’s death

Thursday was a curious day for us all. Anyone watching the news was treated to the complexity of commentators trying desperately hard not to say the thing that everyone watching knew was happening: that the Queen was dying, and was possibly already dead. The black ties around the presenters’ necks, the emergency flights from London to Scotland, Parliament breaking up in a state of near disarray told everyone with eyes to see what was happening. That didn’t mean I accepted it; I can’t speak for anyone else but my brain went straight into bargaining mode, desperately hoping this was a false alarm, glued to the rolling coverage on the news.

Steerpike Steerpike

Watch: Charles is proclaimed King

King Charles III has been proclaimed monarch of the United Kingdom. At a ceremony at St James’s Palace – attended by 250 dignitaries, including privy councillors and high commissioners of Commonwealth states – the Accession Council formally proclaimed the new sovereign. This is the first time the ancient ceremony, which has not been held for 70 years, has been televised in history. The ceremony did not make Charles King, which he became instantly on the Queen’s death, but confirmed his accession. All of the living former Prime Ministers were in attendance at the ceremony, with David Cameron, Theresa May, John Major, Boris Johnson, Gordon Brown, and Tony Blair standing on

Patrick O’Flynn Patrick O'Flynn

The end of the Elizabethan age

The Queen’s fragile smile in the official photograph released as she waited to appoint Liz Truss as her 15th Prime Minister carries even more meaning now. Her Majesty clearly knew there would be no 16th and after a turbulent summer it must have come as a relief to know that the country was about to move from a caretaker premier to a full-time one. Her audience with Ms Truss would prove to be the last significant act of a monumental reign lasting 70 years. And it meant that in her final days she could look back on the improbable promise she gave her future subjects on the occasion of her 21st

Paul Wood

When the Queen worked her magic on the BBC

The Queen and Prince Philip had written their names in the visitors’ book at a country house where I was a weekend guest; my hostess, a member of a family with a long and storied lineage, had been an intimate of the Royal Family for decades. But at dinner, I nearly choked on my Beef Wellington when the grand lady turned to me and said she thought the monarchy might not – and perhaps should not – continue after Elizabeth II. This was no criticism of the monarch herself, naturally, but ‘these days, one finds the institution of a hereditary monarchy increasingly hard to defend’. If the aristos don’t believe

Friday

Alicia Healey

Why the Queen loved Balmoral

Balmoral, where Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II passed away yesterday afternoon, was one of her favourite places to be. Queen Elizabeth inherited Queen Victoria’s love of the castle, and its surrounding estate, spending up to two months at her Highland retreat every summer throughout her long reign, with childhood visits before that.  I had the good fortune of spending five long summers at Balmoral as a former employee of the Queen, so find it easy to understand why Her Majesty loved this special area of Scotland so much. I have travelled to many countries since I left the royal household 12 years ago, but I have never seen a place as beautiful as

Mark Galeotti Mark Galeotti

Why even Vladimir Putin has paid tribute to the Queen

It is a mark of the Queen’s standing that even Vladimir Putin, in the midst of an undeclared economic and political war between Russia and the West, sent King Charles III his ‘deepest condolences’ after Her Majesty’s death. The Russian leader noted that: ‘The most important events in the recent history of the United Kingdom are inextricably linked with the name of Her Majesty. For many decades, Elizabeth II rightfully enjoyed the love and respect of her subjects, as well as authority on the world stage.’ Calling it a ‘heavy, irreparable loss,’ he wished the King ‘courage and perseverance’ and sent ‘the words of sincere sympathy and support to the

Alec Marsh

Lessons for life from the Queen

Having taken the Queen’s remarkable longevity, good health and work ethic for granted right until the end, might her subjects now appreciate her approach to life? Because through her combination of sheer graft – she received Liz Truss to kiss hands two days before she died – and her attitudes towards health, leisure and emotional resilience, Queen Elizabeth II bestowed on us an invaluable guide to living well. The problem is that most of us haven’t spotted it. It begins with some obvious don’ts: don’t smoke – the Queen had that lesson first-hand from her father George VI (albeit her sister Margaret didn’t listen). Don’t drink too much: she was

Hannah Tomes Hannah Tomes

How the newspapers covered the Queen’s death

As the nation wakes up to its first day after the Queen’s death, newspapers in Britain – and around the world – have published historic editions to commemorate her 70-year reign. Here’s a look at some of them. The Times focuses on the Queen’s extraordinary life of service. It also features a moving quote on the back page from her Christmas broadcast in 1957: ‘I cannot lead you into battle. I do not give you laws or administer justice but I can do something else: I can give you my heart and my devotion to these old islands, and to all the peoples of our brotherhood of nations.’ The Guardian has

Brendan O’Neill Brendan O’Neill

A republican’s tribute to the Queen

I am a republican, always have been, and yet I now feel a great sense of loss. And not only because a 96-year-old mother, grandmother and great-grandmother has died, which is always an occasion for sadness, whether the deceased was a monarch or an ‘ordinary’ member of the public. No, also because Elizabeth II represented something incredibly important. She embodied values that are at risk of extinction. She represented history in an era of anti-historical hysteria, forbearance in a time of narcissism, and public service in an era of self-worship and self-regard. That was the great irony of Elizabeth II: she was the pinnacle of the establishment and yet she

James Forsyth James Forsyth

The Queen was the model constitutional monarch

There are events in politics that everyone knows are coming but no one can quite anticipate what they will mean. The death of the Queen is one of these. Her Majesty reigned for 70 years and no MP has served under any other monarch. There is no institutional or political memory of the passing of a sovereign.  The Queen provided continuity through a period of remarkable political, cultural and technological change. Her death removes one of our links to the past. In particular, it severs this country’s most direct link to the wartime generation. When she last stood on the Foreign Office balcony with such determination to watch the wreath laying

Melanie McDonagh Melanie McDonagh

Britain will be a lesser nation without the Queen

The loneliest thing about being as long-lived as the Queen, at 96, is that you have few or no contemporaries. Few people reach her age; indeed, not that many people remember the time before she became Queen in 1952, 70 years ago. She has been, simply by living for as long as she did, the one element of continuity in the life of the nation.  In the 70 years of her reign everything changed – Britain just isn’t the country it was then, for better and worse – but the Queen was a constant. Her presence in parliament, at great events, on the BBC on Christmas Day – even on

Thursday

Hannah Tomes Hannah Tomes

Queen Elizabeth II: in tributes

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II died this afternoon at Balmoral, the royal family confirmed. The gravity of the news has been felt across the world, with leaders offering words of sympathy – and reflecting on a reign that spanned 70 years. The first of the tributes came from her son Charles – the new King. He wrote, in a statement released by Buckingham Palace: ‘The death of my beloved mother Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family. We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout

Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Britain will now enter ten days of mourning

When word of the Queen’s illness spread, the House of Commons quickly emptied. Liz Truss had just announced her fuel bills bailout, one of the most expensive measures in British history. It was about to be eclipsed. The death of the Queen, who appointed Liz Truss as her 15th Prime Minister just two days ago, marks the end of what history will likely judge as one of, if not the most, successful reigns in a millennium of British history. This is where the country’s thoughts will now turn. The relationship between the country and the Queen is something quite extraordinary, something far beyond the realms or understanding of politics. The