Australian Women’s Weekly NZ November 2022

Queen Elizabeth Alexandra Mary–monarch and mother, sovereign and sister, guardian and grandmother, majesty and matriarch, figurehead and friend. For 96 glorious years, our Queen lived a life like no other. On one hand, her existence was extraordinary. Born to a life of privilege as a member of an ancient line of royals, her reign was accidental, yet her dedication to serve and lead – a job she never faulted on in more than 70 years – was remarkable. There were castles and tiaras, audiences with the world’s most influential leaders and long tours of far-away lands, complete with parades and state banquets. There were walkabouts, bouquets, speeches and smiles – so many smiles. She had a charm that could win over people in a heartbeat and we loved her for…

When the day came, no one was ready. Her eldest son talked of “a sense of loss beyond measure” in his first address as the new King Charles III. His words, and those of his sons which came later, drew the people right into the heart of this close-knit family. Together we mourned as the House of Windsor shared its sorrow, and took comfort in the deep affection of a grateful nation and Commonwealth honouring a sovereign beyond compare. “I knew this day would come, but it will be some time before the reality of life without Grannie will truly feel real,” said William, her grandson, now Prince of Wales. “She was by my side at my happiest moments. And she was by my side during the saddest days of…

In a speech on her last visit to Australia in 2011, Queen Elizabeth II quoted an Aboriginal proverb: “We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love… and then we return home.” Elizabeth’s faith was profound, guiding her through every twist and turn of her 96 years on this Earth and since her passing, clerics who knew Her Majesty have affirmed that, like her late husband, she believed wholeheartedly in resurrection. In death, the Queen knew she was going home and that comforting, joyous idea was everywhere in the funeral she planned. In the 10 days leading up to her funeral, Her Majesty was never alone on that journey home. She was cloaked…

“I rush my precious airmail edition of The Australian Women’s Weekly to Her Majesty the moment I have read it.”– Royal correspondent Anne Matheson in 1954 “She has a naturalness which is not over-friendly, yet she remains at all times poised and regal.”– Anne Matheson reflected in 1982 “The Queen and Prince Philip’s happy marriage revolves around a simple formula: they are still in love.”– Anne Matheson’s 1977 report (at right)…

During the 1970 royal tour of New Zealand and Australia, the Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Princess Anne greeted onlookers with a new element of informality, walking up to people in the crowds to chat and shake hands – and the public couldn’t get enough. According to Sir William Heseltine, the Queen’s former private secretary, the idea of a royal walkabout was proposed in 1970 by a civil servant in New Zealand, to add an element of relaxed spontaneity to the upcoming public appearances. The new activity allowed the visiting royals to meet a greater number of people, not just officials and dignitaries – everyday well-wishers were able to shake the hands of, and have short conversations with, the monarch and her family. According to William, this first tour…

Like so many others, when the news came that the Queen had died, I was surprised by the emotion I felt. A tear rolled down my cheek and I was bewildered by it. Why would I cry for a woman I barely knew? Was it because she was always there, a steady, calm, somehow reassuring focus point in an increasingly discombobulated world? Or was it because one of the last links with my parents’ generation had been severed? My mother was a royalist. Born in England, it was there she met and married my dad, a Kiwi airman, just after the abdication of Edward VIII. She often talked with disappointment about what she saw as Edward’s betrayal of his brother, who was then forced to shoulder the burden of the…