It has been impossible to watch events since the death of the Queen on 8 Sept. without feeling moved by the life of service, dignity and duty embodied by the late monarch.
As she was laid to rest in a service in St George’s Chapel, the Dean of Windsor joined so many other voices to praise a life of “unstinting service” to the UK, Commonwealth, Realms and Overseas Territories.
“In the midst of our rapidly changing and frequently troubled world, her calm and dignified presence has given us confidence to face the future, as she did, with courage and with hope,” he said.
And it is with confidence, courage, and hope that Cayman now looks to King Charles III as he takes up the inimitable and unenviable mantle left by his mother’s passing.
We need look no further than Cayman’s flag fluttering along the procession route and the islands’ delegations – political, police and civilian – paying their respects in London, to see evidence of the health and relevance of the relationship that exists between Cayman and the UK.
It would be obtuse to ignore the whispers about the continued relevance of the monarchy or the reminders of the bloody history that unites such disparate nations under the British flag. But even the most vehement anti-monarchists reserve their opprobrium for the institution rather than for the Queen herself. And while there may come a time for debate over modernising the constitutional relationship, the prevailing mood in Cayman seems to remain one of affection and satisfaction with being part of the family.
And if we are to seek reassurance about the future of our symbiotic relationship, there is much to be optimistic about.
The visit of the King and his wife, now Queen Consort, Camilla, to Cayman in 2019 was a significant stop on a Caribbean tour that reaffirmed the monarchy’s commitment to its Overseas Territories, as well as from the people of Cayman to the sovereign.
In his final speech on that trip, the then-Prince of Wales said he was leaving with “the fondest memories of these beautiful islands and the warmth of the Caymanian people”.
An advocate for the environment long before it was popular to be one, he chimed a note in perfect symphony with the score Cayman is seeking to master, in calling on the islands to do everything in our power to protect the environment.
With the right management and protection of natural resources, he said Cayman could “help lead the world and indeed the whole of nature out of this appalling crisis of our own making”.
In an editorial after the royal visit, we wrote of a “welcome and much-appreciated show of unity – a balm during a time that is too often clouded by contentiousness and uncertainty.
A reminder that even in a world of ceaseless change, there is comfort to be found in ceremony and tradition.”
So, with a state funeral embodying the essence of that ceremony and tradition, the lowering of the Queen’s coffin into the royal vault marks the closing of so many chapters: the end of the second Elizabethan era, the culmination of 11 days of national mourning and a stop to an agenda full of public engagements undertaken by a grieving family.
That agenda was full for a man of 73 years. But it did much to cement his position firmly in the eyes of the world as the head of the Royal Family – with all that entails.
A man with the weight of the world on his shoulders, burying his mother.
A stiff upper lip betrayed by eyes that seemed to water as mourners sang in chorus ‘God Save The King’.
Public duty weighs heavy at a time of private grief, but already the monarchy under King Charles feels different, more relevant. It – and he – have evolved from the stoicism so encapsulated by the Prince of Wales and his young sons walking behind their mother’s coffin in 1997.
If he can continue to modernise, listen and serve, Cayman has in King Charles an ally, champion and environmental advocate, as well as a ceremonial figurehead.
Long live the King.
Related Videos
