Honorific for HM Queen Elizabeth II

[Claire]

I know that it is a very medieval thing for monarchs to get honorifics. But if you had to grant HM one what would it be?

Elizabeth the Steadfast
Elizabeth the Sturdy
Elizabeth the Stalwart

I wonder if when the times comes the media wont have it as Elizabeth the Great.

 

[Mbruno]

I know that it is a very medieval thing for monarchs to get honorifics. But if you had to grant HM one what would it be?

Elizabeth the Steadfast
Elizabeth the Sturdy
Elizabeth the Stalwart

I wonder if when the times comes the media wont have it as Elizabeth the Great.

I am pretty sure the Queen herself would not agree to be called "Elizabeth the Great".


I hate quoting The Crown, but there is a scene in that show which is very emblematic of the point I want to make. Elizabeth is talking to someone (probably Philip, but I don't remember exactly) and then says something like (not exact words): "When I became queen, this country was still great. Now the place is falling apart. So much for the second Elizabethian age Winston spoke of".



Fiction aside, the point is that, when Elizabeth ascended the throne, Britain was indeed still a major world power. The Empire was starting to dissolve, but there was still an Empire. Since 1952, the Queen's reign has been one, however, of continuing British decline, a process which may accelerate now even further with Brexit to the point of the UK itself breaking up and England becoming irrelevant in the world stage (or so say the Brits themselves who are fanatical remainers and whose opinion is obviously biased). Of course that is not the Queen's fault, but rather the politicians who have governed the country since the 1950s are the ones to blame. Nevertheless, I think it would be strange to refer to a monarch as "the Great" when her reign coincided with the collapse of her kingdom as a great power.


I would probably go with "Elizabeth the Steadfast", because that is what she is: generally uneducated (as she herself again admits in the fictional The Crown), but dependable, reliable, and, above all, good at being neutral and discreet.

 

[Claire]

Elizabeth the Good I like it.


Better then Elizabeth the Last.

 

[Prinsara]

Elizabeth the Enduring.

 

[Curryong]

The beginning of Elizabeth IIs reign was often spruiked in Britain as the 'new Elizabethan Age' with its promise of fresh glories, which didn't of course come to pass.

I like Elizabeth the Steadfast, as I think it describes her character.

 

[Stefan]

Elizabeth the eternal

 

[Durham]

Fiction aside, the point is that, when Elizabeth ascended the throne, Britain was indeed still a major world power. The Empire was starting to dissolve, but there was still an Empire. Since 1952, the Queen's reign has been one, however, of continuing British decline, a process which may accelerate now even further with Brexit to the point of the UK itself breaking up and England becoming irrelevant in the world stage (or so say the Brits themselves who are fanatical remainers and whose opinion is obviously biased). Of course that is not the Queen's fault, but rather the politicians who have governed the country since the 1950s are the ones to blame. Nevertheless, I think it would be strange to refer to a monarch as "the Great" when her reign coincided with the collapse of her kingdom as a great power.

The decline is relative. It's similar to France. Two former European colonial powers coming to terms with a changing world. The US is in the same boat vis a vis China & presumably India at some point in the future.

The end of the union would be far more personal for the monarch than the UK's relative decline. After all political union only came about because it had been preceded by a personal union. Whatever happens the present constitutional arrangements between the different parts of these islands needs reform. There are far too many strains for things to continue as they are. A genuine federal arrangement might be the answer or it might be all too late. The end of the UK would certainly have all sorts of strategic implications for the West.

Back to the question....how about Elizabeth the Modest or Elizabeth the Unfussy. Admirable old fashioned values.

 

[irish_royalist]

I like Elizabeth the Dutiful

 

[Jacknch]

It's an interesting thread and my own honorific for HM would be Elizabeth the Stoical - maybe not quite correct literally but she does has an amazing capacity to act and react calmly in most crisis!

 

[Somebody]

I know that it is a very medieval thing for monarchs to get honorifics. But if you had to grant HM one what would it be?

Elizabeth the Steadfast
Elizabeth the Sturdy
Elizabeth the Stalwart

I wonder if when the times comes the media wont have it as Elizabeth the Great.

I am pretty sure the Queen herself would not agree to be called "Elizabeth the Great".


I hate quoting The Crown, but there is a scene in that show which is very emblematic of the point I want to make. Elizabeth is talking to someone (probably Philip, but I don't remember exactly) and then says something like (not exact words): "When I became queen, this country was still great. Now the place is falling apart. So much for the second Elizabethian age Winston spoke of".



Fiction aside, the point is that, when Elizabeth ascended the throne, Britain was indeed still a major world power. The Empire was starting to dissolve, but there was still an Empire. Since 1952, the Queen's reign has been one, however, of continuing British decline, a process which may accelerate now even further with Brexit to the point of the UK itself breaking up and England becoming irrelevant in the world stage (or so say the Brits themselves who are fanatical remainers and whose opinion is obviously biased). Of course that is not the Queen's fault, but rather the politicians who have governed the country since the 1950s are the ones to blame. Nevertheless, I think it would be strange to refer to a monarch as "the Great" when her reign coincided with the collapse of her kingdom as a great power.


I would probably go with "Elizabeth the Steadfast", because that is what she is: generally uneducated (as she herself again admits in the fictional The Crown), but dependable, reliable, and, above all, good at being neutral and discreet.

I second (or third) "Elizabeth the Steadfast", it acknowledges her long reign characterized by her determined loyal duty and dedication to the country and the calling to be its Sovereign.

 

[Osipi]

Elizabeth II Gloriana is what comes to mind for me.

First picture that jumped into my head was the Queen on the barge, Gloriana, for the parade on the Thames for her Diamond Jubilee. 60 years on the throne. Remarkable occasion.

That and the Queen as a Bond girl for the London Olympic Games.

 

[Durham]

Thinking of this, how about Elizabeth the Calm? Or the unflappable.

PS

Love the phlegm of the BBC - "hello, some little disturbance in the approach road".

 

[Durham]

Or maybe Elizabeth the Compassionate.

"But nothing that can be said can begin to take away the anguish and the pain of these moments. Grief is the price we pay for love."

On the events in NYC in September 2001.

 

[samll]

I believe that Elizabeth the Sturdy suited her the best

 

[ladongas]

And poignantly...

Or maybe Elizabeth the Compassionate.

"But nothing that can be said can begin to take away the anguish and the pain of these moments. Grief is the price we pay for love."

On the events in NYC in September 2001.

...September 11, 2001, was also the day that Lord Porchester, the Queen’s racing manager and longtime dear friend, passed away.

 

[samll]

...September 11, 2001, was also the day that Lord Porchester, the Queen’s racing manager and longtime dear friend, passed away.

true
I forget about that