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Elizabeth II: Farewell to Grace

Elizabeth II: Farewell to Elegance, EFE

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The sovereign, Elizabeth II, of the United Kingdom departed with the last rays of the summer sun. The ones she loved so much and preferred to receive in communion with nature in her favorite corner: Balmoral. Her departure formally announces the end of elegance. It begins an inexorable march towards vulgarity that is already beginning to be announced in the arts, literature, music, fashion and manners.

For Elizabeth II, being elegant was synonymous with recognizing the dignity of other human beings and raising their spirits to strive for self-improvement. It was also the way to tell them that they matter in this minute of her story. With grace, she led the British Commonwealth of Nations, an institution that stirred her fondest affections since it was the most important international undertaking of her father, King George, and in whose territory she was when fate made her queen.

Through the British Commonwealth of Nations, Elizabeth II followed global changes and measured the temperature of politics in emerging markets. Her fondness for the institution led her to confront her Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher when she opposed condemning Apartheid in South Africa by imposing economic sanctions.

The differences, however, were handled with grace and gentleness so as not to damage the institutional framework of the UK that confers the powers of government on the prime minister, not to offend the Iron Lady and to move the clock of history against racism. She stoically endured Princess Diana’s interview to the BBC where she questioned her firstborn’s ability to reign. She enthusiastically embraced the entry of young people from the middle classes of England and the U.S. into the royal family when her grandsons William and Harry chose their spouses. And she mourned silently and with fortitude the departure of her husband, Prince Philip of Edinburgh.

She leaves her beloved kingdom immersed in two fundamental crises. The first is an existential one, since by pulling out of Europe its economy has to find another port that will allow it to grow and guarantee the well-being of its citizens. But the port of call, which should be the United States, seems to be occupied by other ships. For the U.S., an economic alliance with the U.K. is of low priority, immersed as the country is in the domestic agenda that demands a rethinking of the social pact that has served it for almost three centuries.

Nor is the United Kingdom spared from the energy challenge. Its energy sources have declined, relative prices have risen while national income remains stagnant or with attenuated growth and inflation is biting hard at the English middle class. And to top it all off, both Ireland and Scotland prefer to be part of the European Union rather than the United Kingdom.

She is succeeded by Prince Charles whose life has been a long wait to assume the role assigned to him from birth. And while he appears to be intelligent, discreet and responsible, he lacks the magical gift of his mother whose firm but visionary personality and elegant demeanor guided the United Kingdom along the paths of world leadership for seven decades. Because for her, elegance was the tribute that human beings pay to civilization.


This article is part of an agreement between El American and the Interamerican Institute for Democracy.

Beatrice Rangel es directora del Interamerican Institute for Democracy, Managing Director de AMLA Consulting, responsable de negociar e implementar estrategias y adquisiciones de inversión corporativas en América Latina y el Caribe. Exmiembro ejecutivo de Wharton School de la Universidad de Pennsylvania // Beatrice Rangel is Director of the Interamerican Institute for Democracy, Managing Director of AMLA Consulting, responsible for negotiating and implementing corporate investment strategies and acquisitions in Latin America and the Caribbean. Former Executive Fellow of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

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