RIP ~ HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II

 

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II has died.

I went through my stack of Photocopies and dug up a few cartoons I did which featured Her Majesty.  The originals are housed in the Library and Archives of Canada.  There were not too many from which to choose.  Part of this was an ambivalence I held towards the Monarchy as a concept {it is a bit of antiquated notion, a medieval institution, that one has a 'divine' right to rule based on your ancestry and not on merit} but also because, even I the skeptic, admired the sense of duty and honour with which she carried out her responsibilities.  She came to power largely through a strange confluence of events: King Edward abdicated his throne because of his love for Wallis Simpson, a divorcee, which created a constitutional crisis.  Irony that, considering we are now celebrating King Charles III, perhaps the most famous divorcee, and his Queen Consort, Camilla.  Oh, the times, they are a changin' 

Another reason she didn't feature too prominently in many of my cartoons was her ability to say the right thing at the right time but more importantly, to not say anything too provocative; perhaps the last gasp circumspection of a bygone era of 'stiff upper lips' and reticence?  She also garnered much sympathy by the fact those around her 'let the side down' - from Princess Margaret's scandalous affairs during the 60s and 70s, Prince Phillip's dalliances and utterances, and of course her children: 'Randy Andy' {who has been stripped of his royal titles and privileges} and of course, Prince Charles, now King Charles III.  

By all accounts, she was not an intellectual prone to using her position to philosophize.  She was extremely pragmatic likely explaining her cautious and temperate comments in public. This did not mean she was not wise.  Her address to the Nation at the dawn of the new Millennium was perhaps the most self-aware and honest assessment of her 'blessed realm' and it's power came from the fact she did not try to be poetic and profound {even if she was}.  She was happiest in Nature with her horses and  her corgis.  She seemed secure with this fact and knew to 'stay in her lane'; unlike her son, then-Prince Charles, who fancied himself a philosopher of sorts even opining on modern Architecture {he was not a fan} 

She is a symbol for many; an icon; and she fully understood this and conducted herself accordingly.  She never bemoaned her position nor glorified it.  She did not overreach.  Her reign is one that oversaw incredible change. Some of that change initiated by herself.  She was the first to recognize that the institution she inherited needed to be modernized and she invited her subjects, through the media, and particularly the camera lens, to enter behind the curtain into the Fairy tale realm:  She televised her Coronation, and she offered televised addresses to the nation, even showcasing her family on occasion.  This form of Media Relations was unheard of prior to Elizabeth II, where the Monarchy was seen from a balcony but rarely heard.  Initially, this was seen as bold and innovative; a canny vision that would ensure the Monarchy remained relevant to her subjects.  There were critics at the time.  When you 'humanize' the institution, which is essentially what these events did, you sometimes cannot control the narrative and the mystique of the institution can be undermined.  The media became voracious in their coverage and some of the actors in this institution did not know their roles very well.  One who did know how to play the part to perfection was Princess Diana who fully took advantage of Queen Elizabeth's media relations and used it to build herself a reputation as the 'Queen of Hearts'.  Diana's death was perhaps the one moment where the Queen put her wrong foot forward.  Her reticence and circumspection, which had been perceived as bygone-era-stiff-upper-lip dignity, was now perceived as 'cold' and 'unfeeling'.  The Media, perhaps expressing the feelings of the nation, demanded a more emotional response to the tragedy of Diana's death and she was 'tone deaf' to this.  By the time she did respond, it was too little; too late.  

The Death of Diana in many ways was a symbol of just how much Britain had changed in every way under Queen Elizabeth's reign: The Britain she inherited with the passing of her father was, in hindsight, in sharp decline in terms of socio-economics and political 'power'.  Two World Wars had crippled Britain and left the nation in debt to America.  the post-Second World War period of Privation was initially seen as a temporary period of adjustment but with the benefit of hindsight it proved to be longer lasting.  Britain had to largely forfeit their stranglehold over former colonies because they could not sustain any military action: India, South Africa, Kenya, and Australia; one by one, these nations sought independence.  They would still seek ties to the UK through the Commonwealth however.  This became a great example of Britain's new role: as a 'soft power' leader. 

There is a wonderful show called 'The Crown' in which the Queen, played by the splendid Claire Foy, utters: 'when I came to power, Britain was 'Great''  bemoaning the fact that she oversaw it's incredible decline.  As one of her subjects, with a family tree extending to Scotland,  I can speak to this.  The Britain of my birth was the land of James Bond, the British invasion, British literature and very much the pinnacle of influence and 'cool'.  That changed.  The music may perhaps prove more influential and longer-lasting than the politics?

Two cartoons I did from the 1990s.  Both Pen, Brush and Ink.  

The one on top, is, with hindsight, perhaps a good example of how the monarchy had been transformed under Queen Elizabeth's reign.  Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney was trying to push his agenda of socio-economic reform in Canada, both Constitutional {Distinct Society status for Quebec} and Economic {Free Trade with the United States} but was being thwarted by the Liberal majority in the Senate.  His solution at the time was to pressure the Queen to increase the size of the Senate so he could fill the Chamber with loyal Conservative appointments giving him a majority and allow passage of his laws.  I focused on the Catch-22 of this logic at the same time exploring the new reality of Elizabeth's position: how the dignity of the Queen and the institution she represented was being employed for petty, colonial politics.  In terms of style, rather appropriately,  I'm demonstrating a heavy indebtedness to the great British political cartoonists Ralph Steadman, Gerald Scarfe, and Ronald Searle all of whom wielded a very sharp, spontaneous pen and ink approach based on exaggerated caricature with commentary that was just as sharp and pointed as the medium they chose.  

The cartoon below is from 1992, shows a shift in my approach, style-wise: I'm influenced by the simplicity and directness of the New Yorker tradition of cartoons here. The topics that inspired this cartoon center on stunning revelations through the media of countless scandals that were plaguing the monarchy, from 'Randy Andy' and 'Fergie' to then-Prince Charles's divorce from Lady Diana.  The latter became a feeding-frenzy among the British media with Diana and Charles using the media to 'get their message out'.  Tapes surfaced of intimate conversations between Camilla and Charles which had Charles utter the incredible line: "I just want to be your tampon".  Hardly Britain's finest hour.  The Queen and Prince Phillip are standing on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, symbolizing the 'old' distanced structure of how the monarchy interacted with their subjects, and Queen Elizabeth II remarks to Prince Phillip: "I say, Phillip, is it me, or do you sense a tone of urgency in their voice?" while the crowd below sings desperately for Providence to ensure the Queen lives a long life and delay Charles and Camilla coming to the throne.  The good news, their prayers were answered for another twenty years at least.  

Rest in Peace, Queen Elizabeth II