60 Glorious Years

Her Majesty, 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, Defender of the Faith, tomorrow celebrates 60 glorious years married to HRH The Prince Philip. In almost all of their pictures we see her gazing lovingly at him and he looking faintly amused at her. It may not have been a marriage made in heaven (her father was not amused), but it is a relationship that works. I have no idea what keeps people together, my own parents included, after the first blush of romance fades. But I am supposing that it has something to do with a sense of humor, a willingness to compromise, and a deep-seated respect for the other person. I like them, individually and as a couple. Frankly, she and he, alone and together, are one of the comforting constants in an increasingly unsure world. I've never been convinced that he married for love, although I am just as sure she did. But it worked, and they seem just as happy today as they were 60 years ago.

Together they have weathered changes in government, shifting public alliance, the creeping rise of Republication sentiment and Diana, Princess of Wales. I have no idea if the monarchy continues after Elizabeth dies, but she has made a very good queen in a world that claims it can do without pomp and ceremony. She is, first and foremost, THE Queen, and sometimes her family has suffered for that. It must be difficult for Philip, or for any man, to accept a role that always places him two paces behind his wife, although they claim that behind closed doors, he makes the decisions. And eventually his children did carry his name.

In any case, they are an example of a working couple and the importance of having someone who knows everything and loves you anyway. When Prince Albert died, Queen Victoria was said to have exclaimed, "Now there is no one who can call me Victoria." Think about that, a world in which no one, not even your best friend, can use your first name. When I was a tiny tot, I remember vividly watching the Queen's coronation on television (albeit, a few hours after the fact), and being convinced that I was her long lost daughter stolen by gypsies and forced to live a miserable working class existence on another continent. I think I actually believed that for several days, maybe a week. Anyway, this was before I realized that being Royal ain't no bed of roses. I cannot imagine Elizabeth without Philip or he without her. I cannot imagine a world without them. It makes me happy to think that she found a soul mate, someone who supported her in an increasingly questionable endeavor. They are for real, they were not created by the tabloid press, and they continue. They found a way to make it work, in public and in private, against the odds. Good for them--and let that be a lesson to the rest of us.