Reflections

(Linked from The Soaring Eagle)

I had some time to reflect on things today, and a passage from Shakespeare came to me: "Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown." It is a passage from Henry IV, in Part II, and possibly one of the most straightforward quotations of Shakespeare's work. Or so we assume, anyway.

I say this because I realized a deeper meaning while reflecting on this passage. Is the head uneasy because it wears the crown, or because of the typical symbolism of thereafter responsibility?

Most people would claim that it is a simple symbolism for the responsibility that a man at the top feels weighing down on him. However, that's an overly simplistic view of the situation. Every person feels weighed down with responsibilities, no matter their station in life. Rather, it seems to me that the true weight of the crown, the weight that makes the king feel uneasy, is rather the fact that he must do so alone.

The eagle that flies highest is always alone.

That simple realization made me reaffirm my commitment to the Monarchist cause, and indeed, it has made it all the stronger. Thanks to that reflection, I understand now that the real weight on the shoulders of the monarch is the fact that they have no one else to help them carry it. For that reason, I say now that no one who has not felt the despair of true loneliness has any right to criticize those who accept the weight for the sake of letting no one else have to go through it.

We often state the extensive media exposure of the Royal Family as a downside to their job, and indeed, that is true. However, perhaps it is also through that media exposure that we can understand just how alone they must feel. When the Queen, or any of her family for that matter, greet the people outside their lavish palaces, do they seem barely tolerant, or truly happy? When Prince Harry visits his charity projects, does he act cold and aloof (as one might suspect a pampered prince to behave), or does he interact with the children and look happy as he does?

Why is that happiness so apparent, we must ask. Kings and Queens have always had the unspoken right to be dismissive and aloof, but these princes and princesses seem to love the interaction with their people, more than they do the return trip to their palaces. What else could explain it but the joy of being recognized and thanked for their unspoken work? For carrying that burden of solitude most other people would be crushed under? I say again,

The eagle who flies highest is always alone.