I am reminded today of the adWerbespotad for the long defunctuntergegangen, nicht mehr existierenddefunct Laker Airways that ran all over US television in the 1970s when I was a girl. Laker Airways ran discount shuttle flights between major US hubDrehkreuzhubs and London. The ads showed Sir Freddie Laker in front of Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey and the Tower, giving us poor, culture-starvedhier: nach etwas hungerndstarved Yanks a glorious tour of the British capital and to extendhier: aussprechenextending to us the following invitation in his received pronunciationbritische Standardaussprachereceived pronunciation: “Do come back. All is forgiven.”
We have lived through an Elizabethan era
Indeed, even as a citizen of a nation born of an anti-British revolution, I find myself truly saddened at the passingAblebenpassing of Queen Elizabeth. She was always there. Even as a little girl in New York, for me she was there. She was a fact of life, a rock, an institution for us all, someone to look up to, fan of monarchy or not. She always to maintainbewahrenmaintained her Contenance and to radiateausstrahlenradiated calm and strength. Truly, we have lived through an Elizabethan era, the reignRegentschaftreign of a woman that has lasted longer than all of us have been alive, who to dedicatewidmendedicated her life to service (albeitobgleich, wenn auchalbeit in the highest of styles, and to my knowledge, in part at the UK at taxpayers’ expenseauf Kosten der Steuerzahlertaxpayers’ expense). Remarkable.
When Princess Diana died, the world was grief-strickenuntröstlich, von Trauer erfülltgrief-stricken. Diana was the People’s Princess, as Tony Blair first called her, and people everywhere to mournbetrauernmourned her loss. While their styles were different, I believe Queen Elizabeth was the People’s Queen. She, too, belonged to all of us.