"Under Whose Ruling Hand"

No.124: September 8, 2022—God Save The Queen

Welcome to The Square Inch, a Friday newsletter on Christianity, culture, and all of the many-varied “square inches” of God’s domain. This publication is free for now, but please consider clicking on the link at the bottom to become a paid subscriber to enjoy this along with Monday’s “Off The Shelf” feature about books and Wednesday’s “The Quarter Inch,” a quick(er) commentary on current events.

Photo by Lina Kivaka

Dear Friends,

[This week’s newsletter is hitting your inbox a day early, given today’s news.]

As am I typing this the big world news is that Queen Elizabeth II is in poor health and the entire Royal family has been summoned to Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire. That is not a good sign, and so I suspect that Her Majesty’s demise is imminent.

[Update: Requiescet in Pace. I have decided to not re-write this in past tense.]

Aged 96, she has ruled the United Kingdom for over seventy years. She is the longest reigning British monarch, and will likely be just shy of being the longest-reigning (verifiable) monarch in recorded history.

Perhaps that does not strike you as particularly significant. But consider this:

90% of the world’s population was born during her reign.

They used to say that the sun doesn’t set on the British Empire and while that is no longer true geographically, the sun rose over the lives of 9 out of 10 people on this planet while a throne was occupied by Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, officially Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other realms and territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth and Defender of the Faith.

Longevity, however, tells very little of the story. Considering the annals of the British monarchy, what stands out is that Elizabeth II is arguably as universally beloved by her people as any sovereign has ever been—as much or more as her namesake, Elizabeth the First. Not only is she beloved by her own people, she is beloved by everyone, even a hot-blooded American anti-monarchist like me.

She presided over an aeon—an age of political and cultural upheaval. She served her country during World War II as a Land Rover mechanic (girl after my own heart). She witnessed the start and finish of the Cold War. She saw fourteen Prime Ministers come and go, starting with Winston Churchill, with a fifteenth arriving just this week.

It was somewhat strange to be an American living in her realms for several years—right in her backyard, as a matter of fact. Balmoral is a stone’s throw from Aberdeen. One time for my birthday some Scottish mates took me out for a day and one of our company, “Little John,” was friends with a caretaker of Royal property. This caretaker graciously let us shoot sporting clays in the beautiful Scottish countryside. I guess we did that “By Leave of Her Majesty,” and it made for wonderful memories, indeed.

We spent one Christmas with friends in Portadown, Northern Ireland, and that was my first experience with the Queen’s annual televised Christmas Speech. What surprised me most was how completely and unabashedly non-cynical it was. Our friends, her subjects, took the matter with complete seriousness. This was their Queen, wishing them a “Happy Christmas,” and they gathered around the television set to receive that message with … eagerness. That was a very jarring—yet delightful—experience as an American; particularly this American who doesn’t think much of our politicians and can’t imagine caring one whit about a Merry Christmas from the occupant of the White House.

And every year the Queen took the opportunity to extol Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of mankind. It may have fallen on a lot of deaf ears, but it was nevertheless a faithful exercise of her duties. Her title includes, after all, Defensor Fidei, “Defender of the Faith.” And by all accounts this was not a mere exercise of duty; I reliably hear that Queen Elizabeth II is a devout believer in and disciple of Jesus Christ. Her Christmas messages were from a Sovereign to her people, but she used the opportunity to remind them of another Sovereign: we are living Anno Domini, “In the Year of Our Lord.”

We could use some more reminding of that. As a testament to how far Western Civilization has drifted from its Christian moorings, consider this (today, unimaginable) telegram sent to Elizabeth upon her father’s death and her accession to the throne. Its author is Harry S. Truman, President of the United States of America:

I can scarcely conceive of anything more poignant and powerful.

We pray that the God of all comfort will sustain you and keep you and that the King of kings, under whose ruling hand all nations live, will give you fortitude and courage, strength and wisdom to fulfill the responsibilities thrust upon you as you assume your place in the long line of British sovereigns.

—Harry S. Truman

Seventy years later, I think it is safe enough for us to say that the King of kings, under whose ruling hand all nations live, answered Mr. Truman’s prayers.

God Save the Queen!

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