PPS#123 | Rest in Peace Queen of England
- Rebecca D'Souza
- Oct 31, 2022
- 3 min read
Dear Patient Reader,
With the passing of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday, it left the British and millions of people across the world, including myself, a little tender, with feelings of deep respect and admiration for the life she lived. This post is a tribute to her as a stead-fast woman-figure millions of women and men looked up to, and who will continue to look up to her. Queen Elizabeth II was a wife, sister, mother, grandmother, and model of timeless grace. She had an unmatched reign and remained devoted to the service of her country and its people.
Despite criticism and past and recent royal controversy I think that we all make mistakes, and that when you are a royal one’s good decisions are glorified and celebrated, while one’s mistakes are demolished and heavily criticised in the public eye. Personally speaking, who are we to judge when we don’t walk in a person’s shoes? We have no idea what the life of someone else is like except our own. Nonetheless, the queen always seemed to continue forward. I don’t think that there will ever be another figure like her, she was a special woman.
As a citizen of a Commonwealth country, I quickly learnt that we have so much attachment to our past colonisers. I’m not talking about bilateral relations, though they exist and are very important, but the position the royal family has in a number of Mauritian households. Mainly the older generation, who still keep magazines with the British royals on the cover. Of Prince William and Kate’s wedding, even Prince Charles and Princess Diana, though that holds uneasy connotations of a life ended too early. Even better, the importance of watching royal weddings. My first reaction to that was “Oh okay, that’s a thing.” I experienced it for the first time with William’s marriage to Kate. Televised, it was a “save the date” kind of thing, where we actually sat together as a family to watch the royal wedding. Literally even watching the guests reaching the venue, it lasted hours but I did watch most of it. That in itself is symbolic to a connection we have as the colonised which is not lost. In fact, our histories are interconnected with the United Kingdom, whether we like it or not.
As Mauritians, our connection is evident in the education and curriculum taught on the island. It is seen in the law used and enforced, and English as a heritage of the British. Which gives us the advantage of being bilingual. For those who went overseas, Britain’s link to Mauritius provided better lives and opened up opportunities for Mauritians who wanted to migrate abroad. A special memory shared by my mother and grandfather, dates back to March 1972, after independence, one that is cherished by my grandfather. His eyes light up and a smile he’s not trying to hide clearly shows when he relives the memory. Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to Mauritius that amassed thousands of Mauritians to welcome her tour along with people shouting out joyful, non-stop “VIVE LA REINE!” (“Long Live the Queen!”). As she passed by, my grandfather put my mother on his shoulders so she could see too. To this day, he still remembers her beauty, her blue eyes, and is proud to have seen her in person.
Last Thursday, her time had come to move on, and to join her beloved husband, Prince Philip. To her cameo in the Olympic Opening Bond Film, gracious screen appearance in the Paddington Bear video, to her corgis that she loved, Queen Elizabeth keeps a place in our hearts and in history. May you rest in peace, Queen of England.
P.S. Stay well
Image Source
https://www.news18.com/news/world/death-of-queen-elizabeth-ii-what-happens-over-the-next-10-days-5923993.html
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