Seeing the Queen, meeting the Queen

As Britain celebrates the platinum jubilee of Queen Elizabeth's reign as monarch, the sovereign is not in a good state of health. She is ninety-six and in these past few months she has handed over quite a few responsibilities to the Prince of Wales. How long she survives or whether she will abdicate in favour of her son Charles is an open question.

No other monarch in Britain's history has been on the throne as long as Elizabeth II has been. She has seen fourteen individuals serve as the country's prime minister. She has had the sheer good fortune of meeting or giving audience to countless numbers of foreign leaders. And she has travelled to diverse regions of the globe, especially to countries which once were under Britain's colonial rule.

As head of the Commonwealth, she has had a natural affinity with nations that gained independence on her watch, in Asia and Africa. Taking charge of the monarchy in 1952, Elizabeth II has outlived every politician, British or any others, she has been in link with. There were the statesmen she genuinely has admired; and there are the tales of the foreign politicians she has met in the line of duty but did not quite take a liking to.

And then comes the matter of how common people in the Commonwealth have regarded her. Despite the fact that there have always been questions of whether or not the British monarchy should continue to be there in these days of republican government nearly everywhere, Queen Elizabeth II has consistently been looked upon with awe and admiration. The majesty that Buckingham Palace exudes has touched almost everyone whose interest in history has been a pronounced affair.

For me, the story of the Queen has come attached in a curiously personal way. When she visited Dhaka in 1961, in the days when Bangladesh was East Pakistan, I was in my early stage in school. But I do recall the royal visit, thanks to an older cousin who decided that I should see the Queen at what was later to be President's House --- in the pre-1971 days --- and then Ganobhaban following the liberation of Bangladesh.

It was evening when, amid a wild rush of people gathered outside the gates of the mansion --- and that was where the monarch and Prince Philip were staying --- I had a good glimpse of Queen Elizabeth II. My cousin, anxious that I did not miss out on this historic occasion, lifted me on to his shoulder so that I could have a clear view of the Queen. Everyone cheered when Elizabeth II appeared on the porch of the building on Hare Road. In the brilliance emitted by the ubiquity of lamps fired by electricity, we saw the Queen wave at us in the company of her husband and an individual I would later come to know was General Azam Khan, the governor of East Pakistan.

Perched happily on my cousin Monowar dada's shoulder, I too screamed for joy and waved at the Queen, convinced naively that she would notice me. And then one of the slippers I had on my feet fell off. I was made momentarily sad and told my cousin about my loss. In that mass of humanity, it was impossible to locate or retrieve the slipper. Once the Queen went back inside the mansion, we returned home to Malibagh by rickshaw, and all the way I mourned the loss of my slipper. My father bought me a fresh pair the next day.

And then came the day, thirty-six years later in 1997, that I met the Queen at Buckingham Palace. It was a cold March day, the occasion being the presentation of credentials to the monarch by the new Bangladesh high commissioner to the United Kingdom. Having arrived in London barely a fortnight earlier, to take charge as minister (press) at the high commission, I was among the diplomats accompanying the new head of mission to the palace.

It was an occasion preceded by a mastering of a good many formalities, for the British sovereign was no ordinary head of state. A marshal from Buckingham Palace, as part of his official responsibilities, visited us at the high commission to impart to us some basic tips on the modalities of presenting ourselves before the Queen. Here is how the audience with the monarch was to be:

The high commissioner will go in first, present his credentials to the monarch and then have his colleagues come in one at a time to be introduced to her. As the door to her vast chamber open, you bow. Then you take three steps and bow again. You then take three steps more and bow one more time, at which point you are in the presence of the Queen.

You do not offer your hand to the Queen, for it is her privilege and grace to offer you her hand, which you take and touch ever so politely. With the Queen it is never a handshake as we know it but a soft, brief, polite touch of her hand.

What follows is a brief conversation, you addressing her as 'Your Majesty' and letting her know how much of a pleasure it is to be received by her. She asks you a few questions --- you do not do the asking --- which you answer softly and briefly.

And then you take leave of the monarch, by walking backward, again in that three steps and three bows method, in reverse manner. You do not turn your back on the Queen and in that deferential manner you leave the room.

And that was how I made my way to where Queen Elizabeth II stood in that cavernous hall in Buckingham Palace. The high commissioner informed her that I had arrived only recently, at which point she said she was sorry I had to be there in that cold weather. When I told her that I was enjoying the cold, that winter was the season I loved best, she smiled, with that clear look of surprise in her eyes.

And then I made bold to inform Her Majesty that it was the second time I was seeing her in person. Her eyes sparkling, she asked me when the first time had been. I narrated the story of the evening in 1961 when, astride my cousin's shoulder, I was in the crowd in Dhaka cheering her as she waved at us. A happy smile bathed her features as I left her presence.

My wife and I were to see Her Majesty a few months later at a garden party at Buckingham Palace. On a later occasion, at another garden party, my wife was privy to the presence of the monarch. In the soft breeze playing on the palace grounds, it was a happy crowd of diplomats and their spouses, besides other dignitaries, enjoying the softness of the afternoon.

Queen Elizabeth II ages. She is frail. When she passes from the scene, a palpable shade of grey will replace the luminosity that has been her reign.

And yet nothing could be more poignant than former US President Obama's tribute to the monarch: "May the light of your crown continue to reign supreme." 

Syed Badrul Ahsan. Sketch: TBS