From the Guardian (UK). Normally not very sympathetic to the monarchy, but this is a good piece, 11 paragraphs long.
The former prime minister Sir John Major acknowledged that her position as monarch was “a very lonely position”. He told BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show: “There are a limited number of people to whom she can really open her heart, to whom she can really speak with total frankness, to whom she can say things that would be reported by other people and thought to be indelicate.”
She could “unburden herself” on Philip. When facing “a sea of problems”, or when feeling overwhelmed and needing to share decision-making, one needed someone to understand, “someone who can metaphorically – or in the case of Prince Philip, I think, probably literally – put their arms around you and say: ‘It’s not as bad as you think,’” said Major, on whom the Queen bestowed the honour of Garter Knight.
Speculation about Philip’s death precipitating an abdication is unlikely to bear out, say royal experts. “One main reason why the Queen will absolutely not abdicate is unlike other European monarchs, she is an anointed Queen,” the royal historian Hugo Vickers told the Guardian, referring to the pact she made with God during her coronation. “And if you are an anointed Queen you do not abdicate.”
If she was unable to fulfil her constitutional duties, a regent could be appointed, as happened with George III. She also celebrates her platinum jubilee next year. “It would be completely illogical to abdicate just before that extraordinary anniversary,” he said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to celebrate. And I would hope she would be feeling up to that; a bit of time would have passed.
Long Live The Queen
Posted by: MR | Tuesday, April 13, 2021 at 07:13 AM