What Can We Learn From The Queen About Showing Up
First and foremost just show up — the rest will follow
It cannot have escaped anyone’s attention in the UK and I suspect further afield that Queen Elizabeth will be celebrating her platinum Jubilee this weekend. The bunting, the trifle recipes, the various royal experts on TV, they are all a giveaway.
The Queen came to the throne 70 years ago when she was just 27, suddenly and unexpectedly, after the early death of her father King George VI.
In all of those 70 years she has been a visible presence in the UK and around the world. She has seen 14 prime ministers come and go during her reign. She has lived through the second world war and has experienced many life changing world events. She was married for 73 years, she has 4 children, 8 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. She has known personal and public tragedy and through all of this she has continued to show up.
At 96 she continues to show up. Each day (except Monday’s), she is delivered a red box filled with parliamentary papers and documents which she spends 3 hours working her way through, and she continues to meet weekly with the Prime Minister.
She has attended 1000’s upon 1000’s of openings and dinners and other public engagements. She has been introduced to countless members of the public and received endless posies of flowers from small children. In recent weeks despite health being a little less robust and as she admits less mobile she continues to attend engagements. This weekend will see her at various celebratory events in London. At 96, one can only imagine the effort and energy required to continue to do this.
In the lead up to the Platinum Jubilee, after The Queen had covid and didn’t attend the state opening of parliament, many questioned would she be well enough to show up for her own party, and more insultingly would she even make it. Recent images of The Queen at Platinum Jubilee Royal Windsor Horse Show have shown she is very much here and more than capable of continuing to show up.
As a young girl she knew she was destined for this life but can she have imagined it would be such a long life of public service. There must be many days when she would rather not go out, or make polite conversation, or be bowed and curtseyed to, or have to listen to yet another speech. There must be days when she feels unwell. Despite her robust health for so long, she must get colds or headaches or just feel fatigued.
Her sense of duty, and her understanding of her purpose has never failed. I have no idea how she feels about the various planned celebrations for her Platinum Jubilee. I suspect she will enjoy The Trooping of The Colour, but perhaps be less enthused by the Party at The Palace. However she feels she will turn up, she will do her duty and she will continue to serve with the dignity and dedication she has shown for 70 years. She is from a generation with a strong work ethic, and who don’t just give up.
So maybe on those days when getting to the desk or writing feels beyond us, we could do worse than look to the queen and perhaps ask ourselves — what would the queen do? The answer is of course she would just show up.
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