Thank You To The Queen Of Unwavering Values

This week has been an extraordinary celebration of strong values-based female leadership – which is the subject of this column.

Queen Elizabeth was an enduring foundation for all those who were born and brought up in Britain over the last seventy years. During my children’s life, my life, my parents' life, and many grandparents even, we have never known a world without Queen Elizabeth.

I did not expect to be so moved or shaken by the news and refrained from writing this piece. I am not a royalist, and there are colonial and historical undertones that I did not want to overlook. It wasn’t until I was moved to tears by when I saw what my two sons wrote about what the Queen meant to them that I decided to reflect on her legacy.

My children described the Queen as an inspiration.

When we visited Buckingham Palace with our contribution of flowers, cards, and letters, it was impossible not to be profoundly affected.

Whatever your views on the monarchy, the Queen’s life represented virtues valued by a generation that has potentially now passed, and whose absence daily diminishes public life: duty, decency, dharma (which broadly refers to following your calling).

People do not remember what you said, they do not remember what you did, but they remember how you made them feel – and this has never been truer than now, when we see the entire nation in this mourning period.

Elizabeth II was a kind Queen

She was a truthful Queen.

In her speeches, she rarely talked about herself, so we know little about her personal views, but she spoke about others, spreading light and joy. Even during the darkness times, she inspired hope. Queen Elizabeth represented England in the best way possible – with all the responsibilities it entailed. She took over at the helm of a country still reeling from the impact of World War II, raised the Commonwealth from 8 to 54 countries, and was resilient until the very end. As the longest reigning monarch Britain mourns for her.

Our Queen represented the Values of Service, Dedication and Hope, values we need to get through difficult times.

I valued her dignity, integrity, humility, fortitude, stability, loyalty, and especially her humour. But it was her calm voice and reassuring balance which will be most missed.

It has been incredibly moving to see the response of people, young, old, rich, and poor across the entire nation and world - individuals who are prepared to stand all night in a line to pay respect to her and add their tributes to carpets of flowers, cards, and gifts across the nations.

If our Queen were alive, she would write back, as she did when I gifted her my book, The Values Compass, and received a delightful, insightful, and thoughtful thank you letter.

Beloved, Beautiful, Bold Queen Elizabeth II - thank you for fulfilling the promise you made on your 21^st Birthday, and for being our North Star.