For those, like me, who are nominally republicans it was Queen Elizabeth who managed to reflect the mood of the nation on Remembrance Day. Our elderly and increasingly frail reigning monarch quietly shed a tear during the annual ceremony at the Cenotapth. For a family that is often regarded as cold and emotionless, the Queen’s tears suggested otherwise. It was a deeply moving moment.
A day later and quiet dignity and respect has taken a back seat to the shallow promises of politicians. Boris Johnson promises to protect veterans from “vexatious” legal action, better childcare for military families and a new railcard for veterans. Just wait until Johnson finds out which political party has been in power for nearly a decade, doing precisely nothing to protect veterans, give them better childcare and so on. Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn, who as recently as 2010 called for huge cuts to be made to the armed forces, is calling for better childcare arrangements and higher pay. The Lib Dems are promising similar goodies. Politicians love the armed services because they think there are votes in it for them.
I find the timing of the political announcements deeply cynical, exploitative and opportunistic. It’s the same with everything. Johnson promises more money for schools, the police and hospitals and somehow forgets to add that it was party that slashed spending on them in the first place. And anyway, the Tories will soon learn, if they haven’t learned already, that no matter how much they say they will spend will never be near what Corbyn’s Labour will promise to spend. These magic money trees are everywhere. But back to the point.
The Queen saw Remembrance for what it is; a time when we all come together to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice. For all their solemn faces as they laid their wreaths, they couldn’t wait to get back to the important business of politicking.
Increasingly, the monarchy seems to be a better bet than what could replace it, such as Presidents Johnson or Corbyn. And the way things are going, the idea of Prince Charles becoming king, something many of us have regarded with absolute horror, might still be better than a here today, gone tomorrow politician being our head of state.