Our Queen Elizabeth tribute

Her Majesty The Queen died on 8 September 2022 and the great Elizabethan era has drawn to a sad, but inevitable end. As the bastion of British exceptionalism exits the stage after 70 incredible years of service, our nation enters a period of mourning. Our Queen Elizabeth tribute includes rare archive material from SPHERE and Illustrated London News for our Sphere readers.

An extraordinary woman and monarch, who would have preferred the life of farmer’s wife to Queen, devoted herself to her service to the country from the tender age of 21.  She witnessed extraordinary changes to the nation and the world during her record reign. So great was her commitment, that she was still fulfilling crucial functions, frail and touchingly smiling, right up until the very end – bidding farewell to Boris Johnson and welcoming Liz Truss at Balmoral, her 15th Prime Ministerial appointment. It is some comfort that The Queen was able to participate in the historic Platinum Jubilee celebrations this summer and was visibly moved to see how much she is revered and cherished throughout the world.

Queen Elizabeth Tribute by King Charles III

“Cherished” is the word that our new King Charles III chose in his tribute to his mother: “We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and much-loved mother…During this period of mourning and change, my family and I will be sustained by our knowledge and respect of the deep affection in which The Queen was so widely held.” 

Queen Elizabeth was the only sovereign whom 85% of the people in Britain have ever known. But what’s clear is that many of those who were in frequent contact with Her Majesty never really knew her as a person. We have caught brief glimpses of how The Queen might be in private as well as public  – with corgis frolicking at her ankles, beaming at her beloved races, gracious in her colourful outfits and splendid hats, and displaying a mischievous capacity for humour and irony in participating in a James Bond stunt, parachuting into the Olympic stadium, or hinting to Paddington that a covert marmalade sandwich may be tucked inside her legendary handbag. But she kept her reserve and dignity at every moment. She knew that the most important thing was to offer stability, comfort and calm.

Comfort was dispensed when it was truly needed: during the Covid pandemic, her words and messages were beamed onto an empty Piccadilly Circus, as the world ground to a halt. She brought a uniquely wise perspective to global issues, nurtured when growing up during a World War, and what she refrained from saying was as important as what she did say. Less is more, was a philosophy she adhered to throughout her life. She was the world’s most accomplished and steadfast politician, whose principal feat was to remain politically neutral but influential. Her stoicism, discretion, her sense of purpose and magnificence will leave an aching gap.

SPHERE sends our deepest condolences to the Royal Family. Ma’am, miss you we will.