Madam, – I wish to offer a few reflections on the reaction to a potential visit by Queen Elizabeth to us. To my eyes, a once-justified inability to forget the past has mutated into rather infantile protestations by some.
First, I think certain commentators can exaggerate the level of disaffection felt towards such a visit among Irish people. Far from harbouring deep-seated resentment for what the queen might stand for, I sense that a significant number of Irish people are not bothered. Moreover, the members of the burgeoning Irish bourgeoisie are not going to be stolen away from their afternoon lattès to protest at the visit of this old lady – anointed sovereign or otherwise.
Second, I cannot understand why people cling to the negative history which might be associated with the British head-of-state. For sure, Queen Elizabeth is commander-in-chief, but so is the Irish head-of-state. If and when she visits, she will earn a welcome from her equals in a sovereign state, be they the Irish President or a wheelie-bin operative for that matter. If she comes without pretension, she ought to be greeted without bitterness.
Third, the queen stands for values which we should not dismiss with casual indifference. Without doubt, her family has a moral record which would make the wildest bush animals blush, but the queen herself is unimpeachable. She assiduously obeys the protocols of all types of court and culture. For example, on her visits to the Vatican she has always worn a veil – something a former female Irish head-of-state resolutely refused to do. The queen comes as an ambassador for the values of decorum and order.
These are not “English” values, but good social ones and the day we label them as “snobby” and “pompous” is the day we lose all hope for reclaiming Irish streets from the kingdom of crime.
Finally, while the Irish will never fawn over majesty, we should not rebuke it with such puerile appeals to the un-righted wrongs of the past. What have we to fear from an old lady and her pink handbags? – Yours, etc,