Tribute to Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Nelson Mandela one said that “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead”.
The announcement of the Queen’s death on September 8th was a moment of great sadness for me, as it was for so many. Queen Elizabeth was an extraordinary woman, who fulfilled her role with dedication, dignity and grace, using her power behind the scenes as a cohesive force and bringing people across the globe together. She was a rock for our challenging times and her death marks the end of a glorious Elizabethan era.
Like me, the Queen was born into a world where the British monarch was Emperor of India, but it fell to her, coming to the throne five years later, to embody that transition into a post-imperial world, and there can be no greater tribute to her than the heartfelt outpouring of love and gratitude expressed by the leaders of Commonwealth countries all over the world since she passed away. The transition has been different for every country, but it was the Queen’s unfailing spirit of service and humility that allowed even the most painful of memories not to stand in the way of forging a new relationship.
In 1997, fifty years after India gained her independence, it was my privilege to organise the British Indian Golden Jubilee Banquet in London at which King Charles III, then of course the Prince of Wales, quoted the Vedas and expressed his thanks to India for its civilising influence on Britain. It was a moment that symbolised the transformation that had taken place, from imperial power and subject nation to the familial ties of equals. The enduring strength of those ties between the world’s fifth and sixth largest economies was illustrated again last week when the Prime Minister of India recalled the Queen’s warmth and kindness.
I had the honour and pleasure of meeting Her Majesty four times: twice in 2002, when she opened the new City Hall in London in July and again a month later on her visit to the Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Leicester. Then in 2005 at Chatham House, of which she was Patron, at the awarding of the first Chatham House Prize – which I had organised with the then Director of Chatham House – to President Victor Yushenko of Ukraine. And in 2013 we met when Her Majesty opened the new headquarters of Barnardos in Barkingside. Her Majesty, the Patron of Barnardos, was accompanied by the Duchess of Cornwall, now the Queen Consort, who is its President. I was there as a Vice- President of Barnardos, and I was particularly gratified that the Queen and the Duchess of Cornwall were both interested to find out more about the Loomba Foundation, my charity for widows.
Many tributes have alluded to the Queen’s greatness. To that I would add my voice by saying that the greatness of Queen Elizabeth lay not in harking back to the days of Empire, or in asserting dominance over others, but in the service and humility that characterised her reign and the genuine interest she had in everyone she met. These attributes made people warm to her and created new possibilities both small and great.
I pay tribute to Her Late Majesty for the contribution she has made, which has undoubtedly made the world a better place than it would otherwise have been.
It is her legacy that in an increasingly uncertain world offers hope for the future. I know the Queen’s love for India and for the Commonwealth was fully shared by her eldest son, King Charles III, and that he will seek to build on that legacy.