I’ve always loved the Queen. My mother taught me to.  A committed Anglophile, proud of our English heritage, she told me that—devoted, ardent American patriot though she also was—there were positive things about a monarchy. She said that monarchs without any actual political power, like the Queen, are a unifying factor. Being above politics, they are a force for national unity—which Queen Elizabeth the Second has certainly been in her 70 years on the throne. She was one of the most respected people in the world.

       I was just a little kid when the Queen was crowned in June, 1953. My parents had the first television in our tiny Iowa village. On the day of the coronation our living room was crammed with people watching the coronation.

       I grew up fascinated with the idea that real people in today’s world actually lived in castles and rode around in gold coaches escorted by soldiers riding horses and wearing uniforms. After all, in those days when I wasn’t being the Lone Ranger or Cochise the Comanche Chief, I was a knight in shining armor. A knight, of course, who protected the Queen in her castle.

       With that background, you can imagine my response when after I’d been rector of St. Matthew’s Bedford for eight years, I decided to take a sabbatical. I talked to our bishop of New York. He said, “Have You decided what you’re going to do on your sabbatical?” I told him no. He said, “How would you Iike to spend a month in Windsor Castle?”
       What? How? Would I!  The bishop said that every year since the late Seventies there’s been a continuing education course at Windsor Castle for English clergy. If I went, I’d be the first American to attend. But the bishop said he had an in. So I went and spent the month of July, 2002, Golden Jubilee Year living in St. George’s House, a Queen Anne style house in the south ward (or courtyard) of the castle, next to St. George’s Chapel—the church where Prince Harry and Megan were married, Prince Philip’s funeral was held, and King Charles the Third and Queen Consort Camilla were married.

       I was in my element. It was one of the most fun times of my life. I met English clergy. I enjoyed the speakers and the English puddings, walks in the Great Park, worshipping with the men and boys’ choir in St. George’s. Best of all, I could stand high up by the great Round Tower and be my boy self again, a knight shooting down arrows at attackers. It’s the tower the rainbow outlined Thursday as the Union Jack was being lowered in Her Majesty’s honor.

       I saw the Queen at an afternoon tea party she gave for her staff and us visiting clergy. I didn’t get a chance to talk to her, but we were briefly side by side. I had the benefit of her wonderful smile.

       I saw her walking with Prince Philip. Their long marriage was both a partnership and a great love story. She first saw her prince while she was still in her teens. She loved him on sight. She never stopped loving him. When he died, she said, “He was my rock.”

       Most important of all, was what I learned about Her Majesty’s faith in the Lord. The Dean of Windsor and head of all the services that take place at St. George’s Chapel met with us on several occasions. He told us that the queen was a devout Christian. She never missed church on Sunday if possible. He said he knew it had been her deep and abiding faith in the Lord that had enabled her to work so hard for her people, that was the foundation for her profound sense of duty, that had been a constant source of strength and stability through all the many years since she’d become queen at the age of 25. He told us it had been her faith that helped her though the ups and downs she’d been through with her family. He said that when she wasn’t on vacation at Balmoral Castle in August and September, the rest of the year she lived in London during the week and came down to Windsor for the weekend. Which happened every weekend the July I was there. There were two ways we knew she and Prince Philip had arrived. The Union Jack that flew over the main gate came down, replaced by the Queen’s special flag, the Royal  Standard, and the southern courtyard where we were staying suddenly had a whole lot of cats, chased out by the queen’s Corgis.

       The Dean of Windsor told us that virtually every time she was there, around six o’clock on Sunday evenings, the Queen’s secretary would call him to come up to the Queen’s quarters for a chat. They talked and prayed together. He was able to attest to Her Majesty’s deep Christian faith.

       So can our Bishop of Connecticut, Ian Douglas. Bishop Douglas said that one time when he attended Lambeth, a convention of  Anglican bishops from the all over the world that takes place in England every ten years, in her address to the bishops the  Queen said, “Throughout my life, the message and teachings of Jesus Christ have been my guide. In them I find hope.”

       Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said Thursday, the day she died: “Her Majesty lived out her faith every day of her life. Her trust in God and profound love for him was foundational in how she led her life—hour by hour, day by day.” The archbishop goes on: “In her life we saw what it means to receive the gift of life we have been given by God—and through patient, humble, selfless giving—share it as a gift for others. Her Majesty found great joy and fulfillment in the service of her people and her job.”

       TO ME, THAT’S THE KEY BOTH TO HOW QUEEN ELIZABETH LIVED HER LONG LIFE AND TO HOW THE LORD IS ASKING US TO LIVE OURS.

       What is it? What’s the Lord asking of us today? He’s calling us to live—not for ourselves alone but for others. Jesus came both to teach us and show us that our greatest joy and fulfillment doesn’t come, ultimately, from getting, it come from giving.

       When you study the Queen’s life, you realize it was never about her. It was always about others. About service—to her country, her family, her God.

       The Queen was a prime, living example of Jesus’ “It’s more blessed to give than to receive.”
       Are we living that in our own lives? Are we teaching it to our children and grandchildren?
       Take away the press coverage, the fairy tale lifestyle of untold wealth and privilege, the world-wide renown and acclaim, and what do we have in this fine woman who spent her entire life devoted to duty? We have an amazing example of Jesus’ basic precept for living: give. And so she did. Through all these many, often tumultuous years. She gave—to her people, to her family, to her God.

       Look at the millions of lives she impacted. And without any discernible ego! Someone called her “The heartbeat of the nation.” She was a role model for how you and I might live our lives. Consider her positive traits: wisdom, kindness, persistence, humility, dedication, discretion, good sense, determination, generosity, faithfulness, grace, courage, resiliency, loyalty and generosity of spirit. All this and a sense of humor, too!

       Did you see her Platinum Jubilee film clip showing her having tea with Paddington the  bear? That’s how we found out Her Majesty loved marmalade sandwiches. When Paddington took out his marmalade sandwich from under his hat, the Queen—without missing a beat—took one out of her purse.

       That’s why the cartoon one of my children texted me is so poignant. It shows Her Majesty and Paddington from the back, walking side by side with one of the Queen’s beloved Corgis.

       It reminds me of the close of the speech she gave during Covid: “We will be with our friends again. We will see our families again. We will meet again.”

THE QUEEN (ONE MAN’S REMEMBRANCE) A sermon preached at Christ Church, Greenwich, Connecticut, on September 11, 2022, by Priest Associate the Reverend Terence L. Elsberry