ELIZABETH THE GREAT

HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN may not think it worth a mass, worth a toast, or even worth a stamp, but it surely must be considered something of a milestone to have reached the zenith in age of any British monarch since before King Edward the Confessor unified England at the dawn of the second Christian millenium. We may permit ourselves a brief moment of rejoicing at the fact that in the thousand year history of our ancient English Crown, the seed that gave birth to America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand - indeed the shared symbolic patrimony of the English-speaking peoples - never before have we witnessed such longevity.

Yet our Noble Queen has not even reached the youngish age of 82, and could conceivably still go for many more years to come. In five years we will celebrate Her Majesty's diamond jubilee, and watch her surpass George III's almost 60 years on the British throne; in 2015, she will become the longest reigning monarch in "Britain's" history, surpassing that of Queen Victoria, who ascended the throne as a teenager; and if she lives to 99, she will see the sun set on the Sun King, Louis the XIV, also known as Louis the Great, who ruled France for 72 years and currently holds the record for the longest reign of any European monarch. All are entirely within the realm of possibility.*

To the republicans with their fresh, weak-kneed demands that she now retire to make way for their inglorious cause, we say bah humbug!


Long May She Reign Over Us!


God Save The Queen!


And Long Live King Edward!


* Not so within the realm of possibility is the nominal reign of 82 years, 9 months by Sobhuza II of Swaziland, which is the longest precisely dated monarchical reign on record and the longest documented reign of any monarch since antiquity. Only Pepi II Neferkare of Ancient Egypt and Taejo of the ancient Korean kingdom of Goguryeo are claimed to have reigned longer.