This week’s reflection is a tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II…
Sombre silence
It was right and proper that the United Kingdom (UK) marked the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II with a bank holiday. We Brits needed a dedicated day to mourn our beloved monarch who reigned over us for an incredible 70 years.
Sadly for me, key workers don’t always get bank holidays off. So I worked a normal Monday in a local prison and then drafted this tribute on the train on the way home. It was unusually quiet in jail that day. Yes there was the usual clanking of iron doors. But there was far less people noise - no calling out ‘Doc doc!’ as I passed by closed cell doors. No, the loudest voices were those of the television broadcasters commentating on the funeral service. Prisoners joined the rest of Britain in watching our Queen make her final journey.
Formative memory
Now that I think about it, Queen Elizabeth II is the focus of one of my earliest and fondest childhood memories. I remember it like it was yesterday. I guess it was her Silver Jubilee tour. My mother had dressed us in our 1970’s finest. My grandmother had packed a flask of orange cordial and a whole box of cheese crackers. My ‘grandpy’ had donned his military medals. And we had camped out on a grass verge, waiting for the royal motorcade to pass by as it headed into my home town of Kingston-upon-Hull, which back then was somewhat down-at-heel in places.
Cheerfully bright
The crackers ran out - so I guess we waited quite a while - but finally we got to see her! It was just a few seconds, but I remember her outfit being so pretty and colourful, and - thanks to her brightly coloured lipstick - her smile being equally sparkly. My childish take on the whole occasion was one of feeling really chuffed that the Queen had bothered to get dressed up and drive all the way up to see us in Hull!
Although I never got to see her again, I think that - likely subconsciously - I somehow incorporated that early memory into my attitude towards professional attire. Whether I'm in scrubs in an overseas jail, in smart casuals for a day in a British jail, or zipped into a skirt suit in some snazzy lecture theatre, I like to add a splash of colour to my outfit and my lips, and I try to remember to keep on smiling. A cheerful face does wonders for sick prisoners!
Social justice
It’s more than 40 years later and I no longer live in Hull. No I live in London, work in English prisons, and run Integritas Healthcare, an offender healthcare NGO centred on the principle of social justice. And over the intervening years I've evolved a working belief that social justice and hereditary privilege are mutually incompatible. As monarchy is the ultimate hereditary privilege, I guess I’m a republican - in theory. Yet I've always been a fan of the Queen. Her dying has brought all this to mind and so I’ve decided to re-evaluate my seemingly opposing beliefs.
On the one hand it seems perverse that the British Royal Family gets to live in a whacking great palace in the centre of London whilst countless roofless souls squat under its many surrounding bridges. That said, I have no doubt that the fact of homelessness saddened Queen Elizabeth. She was a devout Christian who loved and served both her Lord and her people in exemplary fashion. I’m sure she tried to promote justness in the manner of Proverbs 8:15: 'Because of me, kings [and queens] reign, and rulers make just decrees'. Yet it is true that she also reigned over the twilight years of the British Empire, an organism that was responsible for many unjust acts. And back in ancient times God Himself warned the nation of Israel of the injustices that would occur in response to their desire to create a monarchy to replace their established system of prophets.
On the other hand, many members of the modern-day British British Royal Family spend huge amounts of time on patronage of various socially just charities, and no doubt some of them are similarly generous with their personal wealth. Our new king, Charles III, has done enormous good for socially disadvantaged youngsters through his brainchild, The Prince's Trust. Moreover, in other countries the loss or long-term absence of a monarchy does not go hand-in-glove with progression towards more socially just societies. I've lived in and worked behind bars in many a monarch-less state and so know full well that things are often decidedly grim when a president rather than a monarch sits in the palace!
Give thanks
So is monarchy really incompatible with social justice? Or is the issue a whole lot more complicated than that? Whatever you and I come to decide, I give thanks to God for Queen Elizabeth II and I pray for Britain's new King Charles III. May he be an early adopter of his mother's lifelong habit of greeting everyone in his kingdom with a cheery smile. And may we all remember to smile more - because, no matter our individual problems, there is always something to be thankful for. And a happier heart is a healthier heart.
A happy heart makes the face cheerful...
Dr Rachael Pickering is our voluntary Chief Medical Officer. Her personal opinions are not necessarily the same as those of Integritas Healthcare. We are always grateful for support.