The Tribune

THE death of Queen Elizabeth II is the end of an era.

Just days ago, the Queen fulfilled her last major official duty in welcoming Britain’s new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, to the office. Yesterday, one of the first duties of that new Prime Minister was to announce the end of the second Elizabethan age.

Many hearing the news yesterday will not have known a time when Elizabeth was not Queen. She ruled for 70 years and 214 days.

She was just 13 years old when the Second World War broke out, and over the objections of her parents later enlisted in the Auxiliary Territorial Service and helped the war effort as a truck mechanic.

Queen Elizabeth visited The Bahamas on five occasions – and her importance to our nation is reflected in the comments of former Prime Ministers Hubert Ingraham and Perry Christie on page two of today’s Tribune.

Mr Ingraham said she was “a symbol of stability even as she reigned over a transforming Commonwealth” and said he had very many fond memories of his interactions with her.

He noted how amazed he was at “how normal, and regular an individual she was in person” and by her “incomparable memory that permitted her to speak with personal recollection of matters personal to whomever she was speaking. She certainly had a storage of information on The Bahamas!”

Mr Christie said she was a “shining example of personal integrity, steadfastness, courage, grace and dignity”.

He said she would be remembered with special fondness here in The Bahamas “which she visited on a number of occasions, always to the delight of our people and to her unfeigned satisfaction as well”.

There was a trend as the day went by, with various world leaders sharing their own personal anecdotes about their interactions with the Queen. They talked of her warmth, of her wit, and time and again, they talked of her wisdom. That was a wisdom she shared with 15 British Prime Ministers over the years, an institutional stability that offered expertise in occasionally turbulent times.

As far as her influence in The Bahamas, we of course have had Governors General over the years as her representatives here.

Her presence has been felt in Bahamian life, and Bahamian society – through Royal honours and more.

There will be many who feel that sense that this is an ending, a shift in the bedrock of society. That might come in large ways, it might come in small ones, such as the little changes in designations so that Queen’s Counsel becomes King’s Counsel. However far away Britain may seem, those little changes show the continuing influence.

Whether that will prompt talk of a larger change in connection with Britain and the Commonwealth can wait until another time. For now, this is a moment to recognise a remarkable women at the head of a nation through many years when women were not afforded the opportunity to lead. She has offered her guidance to many through the years, and her advice has been welcomed across the world.

It is the end of an era. And now, it is time to start a new one.