Ayesha Hazarika
(Picture: Daniel Hambury)I had mixed feelings watching the royal family gather at Westminster Abbey for the Duke of Edinburgh’s memorial service. It’s been another rough week for the monarchy following the visit by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, which turned from Caribbean Dream to PR disaster in real time. This comes on top of what feels like relentless stresses from the departure of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to the stain of Prince Andrew’s association with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
It was surprising to see the disgraced Duke of York take centre stage in front of the cameras and escort his mother to her seat. Having brought global shame to the royal family, this was his first public appearance since he struck an out-of-court settlement with one of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Giuffre. It has been reported that both Prince Charles and William were “dismayed” that Prince Andrew was so prominent, and they are right to be. It was crass and a poor judgment call as it took away attention from what should have been the sole focus of the day — the Queen.
I felt moved to see her attend, especially when she has scaled back many of her public engagements. Even though she was there with other members of her family, I felt she looked alone, perhaps because of the haunting picture of her by herself at the duke’s funeral, but also because in many ways, she is. She is still the head of state carrying her often lonely sense of duty to the country at an incredibly difficult moment, internationally and closer to home. What’s more, she’s now lost her life partner and her confidante.
The Queen represents a golden thread in modern history and, a month into the Ukraine invasion, she will be reflecting on her own memories of the Second World War and Churchill. She will also see the difficulties that people are facing in this country with the cost of living. And she will of course be troubled by what lies ahead.
The Caribbean tour, which was made with good intentions to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee, was a wake-up call that she is a unique and irreplaceable figure. The trip appeared so old-fashioned it looked like behind-the-scenes filming of early seasons of The Crown. That’s what people still expect. They want the Queen they remember and treasure. The history, her dignity, the nostalgia, and the romanticism of a bygone era.
But what we are realising, especially after this trip, is that the old tried-and-tested royal formula doesn’t work without her. The future kings of the UK and the remaining Commonwealth are starting to realise this. They will have to craft a more modern way of doing things, more humble and more sympathetic to a less deferential, less obsequious modern world. They may still never complain, but they will certainly have to explain — and we saw that when Prince William last week acknowledged that mistakes had been made on the Caribbean trip.
Yesterday’s memorial was short and bittersweet, but a powerful reminder how cherished and incomparable our Queen is.
In other news...
Last night I get a message from a pal. “On episode six and still no sex.” Welcome to season two of Bridgerton. In our defence, we’re not total perverts, we’re simply women of a certain age for whom season one — OK, Regé-Jean Page — was catnip. So, while there is way less rumpy-pumpy in season two, it’s still a sumptuous visual feast made richer by the brilliant leads Charithra Chandran and Simone Ashley, below.
I’ve never before seen so many strong South Asian female characters central to a major TV show or film. When I was growing up, all we had was Gita from Eastenders played by Shobu Kapoor, who, funnily enough, also pops up in Bridgerton. Then we had Goodness Gracious Me. That was about it.
To those going on about unrealistic casting, I say pipe down. If Tom Cruise can play 6ft 5ins Jack Reacher, a fluffy regency drama can have a couple of brown birds in it.
