What did the Queen mean to the women of Britain?

Written by Zoe Beaty

As the world mourns the passing of Her Majesty the Queen, Stylist reflects on her legacy not only as a royal figurehead but also as a woman and a leader.

Back in 2015, Queen Elizabeth II made a rare statement. “In the modern world, the opportunities for women to give something of value to society are greater than ever,” she told 5,000 members of the Women’s Institute gathered at the Royal Albert Hall. In her precise, gentle tone, she spoke of British women’s legacies: those who fought to get women the vote, others who conquered Mount Everest, and the importance of a woman becoming prime minister. “Through their own efforts,” she commended, “they now play a much greater part in all areas of public life.”

Amid her countless public appearances, this short speech passed by relatively quietly. But, particularly in the days and weeks after the death of Her Majesty the Queen, as a period of grief gives way to reflection on her life and rule, it bears a significance that shouldn’t be ignored. As the world begins to question what a second Elizabethan period will look like written down in the history books, we’re also asking what the Queen meant to the people she reigned over. What legacy does she leave to the women of Britain?

A huge question, admittedly, and difficult to quantify. Despite unprecedented change throughout her astonishing 70 years of rule, she remained consistently steady, solid – and notably neutral. “It was rare that we got a glimpse of the Queen’s opinion or even her fantastic sense of humour,” says historian Tracy Borman. “With the Queen, it’s been more about the role of monarch – the institution itself – than the personality. She was subsumed by her role, which is an incredible burden to bear, and one that takes an awful lot of strength. That we know so relatively little of her is testament to her unwavering – and selfless – commitment.” In the life of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Borman says, actions spoke louder than words.

SHE RULED FOR LONGER THAN THEM ALL

“Both Elizabeth I and II were 25 when they ascended to the throne – and both were not supposed to be Queen,” Borman continues. “Neither of them was supposed to get anywhere near the throne, actually. But through quirks of fate, it passed to them. It is quite remarkable that, if you compare the two Queens, they were both two of our longest-reigning, arguably most successful monarchs, in terms of the stability they were able to create.”

Queen Elizabeth II became Britain’s longest-serving monarch on 9 September 2015, and in doing so unwittingly set herself apart as one of the pioneering women she spoke of in her inspiring Women’s Institute speech that same year. In 2022, with her Platinum Jubilee marking 70 years on the throne, she became the second-longest reigning monarch in world history. And, while the Queen might have simply been fulfilling a role she was required to do by birth, her steadfast resilience and refusal to give up the throne, as others did before her, is a valuable example to lead by. “Simply being Britain’s longest-reigning monarch,” says Borman, “especially over such a turbulent period in history, is an achievement in itself that shouldn’t be underestimated.”

The fact that she fulfilled her royal duties well into her 90s drew admiration from many corners, but there was one particular honour she had to good-naturedly turn down. While “politely but firmly” declining to accept a magazine’s award for ‘Oldie of the Year’ in October 2021, she said: “You are only as old as you feel.”

SHE CONSISTENTLY DEFIED EXPECTATIONS

“My name is Elizabeth.” So goes the response from the Queen upon being asked what name she might take for the throne in Netflix’s dramatised version of her life, The Crown. The poignant scene, depicting the immediate aftermath of her father’s death in 1952, is typical of why the show’s popularity continued to soar through four seasons. The loss of her father, King George VI, was not only sorrowful but a drastic and irreparable transformation of her life: from being a mother, sister and wife – a woman, albeit an extremely privileged one – to becoming head of state. Yet, despite her inevitable vulnerability, Elizabeth was stoic from the off.

“There was an understanding that this wasn’t something she really wanted to do,” Borman says. “And I think there was probably a sense in the 50s that this was just a young woman, a 25-year-old, and an attitude of ‘What does she really know about being monarch?’” Unsurprising, perhaps, considering Elizabeth was one of few female monarchs to rule as empress regnant, in her own right. Like Queen Victoria before her and Elizabeth I before that, she would be subjected to the difficulties that go hand-in-hand with wielding female power in a man’s world.

“But she defied those pessimistic expectations with how she held herself and the institution,” says Borman. “She will always have critics, but she did create solidarity. Many who believe that the monarchy no longer has a place in British society still have respect for the Queen. And that’s quite remarkable.”

Long before her accession to the throne, however, Elizabeth had already begun to quietly resist protocol. In 1947, she softly defied her father to marry Prince Philip Mountbatten, and in a wedding dress paid for with ration coupons, just like every other bride in England at the time. If you believe the hype (and The Crown), Elizabeth was very much infatuated with Philip, son of Prince Andrew of Greece, from the moment they met when she was just 13. But Elizabeth’s affection for her distant cousin wasn’t exactly a cause for celebration within her family. Her father questioned Philip’s lack of wealth and reportedly criticised his “rough” personality at the time, which contrasted greatly with Elizabeth’s calm, fair nature.

All the same, she would go on to marry the man she loved, and together they had four children, eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. Philip was by her side throughout her seven decades on the throne. When news broke that he had died, aged 99, in April 2021, the royal family said he’d left a “huge void in her life”. But she was quick to thank the British public for their tributes and returned to royal duties just four days after the loss of a man she called her “strength and stay all these years”.

SHE BROKE THE RULES IN HER OWN WAY

The Queen appeared determined to carve her own path the best she could from a young age. She famously rejected royal protocol to join the ranks of the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service in 1945, during the Second World War, learning to drive trucks and repair military vehicles. Her actions appeared to bond the royals with the public for a time, especially when, on her 21st birthday, after the war had ended, she made a heartfelt speech. “I declare before you that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong,” she vowed.

Many years later in 2003, she put her driving skills to particular use – some say as a subtle statement in favour of women’s equality. When the former sovereign of Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah, visited the Queen at Balmoral, she offered him a tour of her estate and, hesitantly, he agreed. Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, who was the ambassador to Saudi Arabia at the time, wrote in his memoir that the crown prince “climbed into the front seat of the Land Rover, his interpreter in the seat behind. To his surprise, the Queen climbed into the driving seat, turned the ignition and drove off.” At the time, it was illegal for women to drive in Saudi Arabia.

“Her statements were usually very subtle,” Borman notes, “a rare glimpse into her mind – but in a way that made it even more tantalising. My favourite moment was when we were on the cusp of leaving the European Union and she wore a hat that was blue with yellow flowers on it. She made it clear what she thought without having to say a single word.”

In recent times, though, we’ve come to learn just how engaged the Queen is in the issues of the moment, thanks to conversations picked up by cameras at live events. Take the clips from the opening of the Welsh parliament in October, when she could be heard expressing her irritation at the lack of action on climate change, chastising those who “talk” but “don’t do” ahead of the UN’s Cop26 summit.

​​SHE SHOWED A DESIRE FOR PEACE

Her reserved style of rule had long invited questions about the extent of the Queen’s input in political affairs. But, in 2013, the Whitehall Papers revealed that her role was far more than ceremonial. Released under a court order, they showed that she and Prince Charles had reviewed at least 39 bills to consent or block new laws. Notably, it was revealed that the Queen used this power to veto a private members’ bill, the Military Actions Against Iraq Bill in 1999. It sought to transfer power to authorise military strikes against Iraq from the monarch to parliament.

Sadly, Iraq was just one conflict of many that would punctuate her long rule. The Troubles in Northern Ireland was an extensive and significant era on home soil. In 2011, just over a decade after the worst of the conflict ended, the Queen offered sympathy to its victims as she became the first monarch to visit the Republic of Ireland in over a century. “These events have touched us all,” she said, “many of us personally, and are a painful legacy. We can never forget those who have died or been injured, and their families.”

Similarly, following 9/11 and the subsequent ‘war on terror’, she led by example, in a way, says royal correspondent Victoria Murphy. “While the royal family must remain apolitical, she was vocal about humanitarian issues and the injustices she saw. She showed respect in her fairness and kindness.”

SHE MADE A STAND FOR THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN

That sense of fairness would soon be written into history books, when she signed the Commonwealth Charter in 2013, a document stating that the Commonwealth is “implacably opposed to all forms of discrimination, whether rooted in gender, race, colour, creed, political belief or other grounds”. The charter formally endorsed new legislation abolishing male-preference primogeniture, meaning that the line of succession to the throne would no longer favour men but treat women equally.

“This is by far the biggest and most significant contribution the Queen has made; giving women equal rights to men in the order of succession,” Borman says. “This is the first time in the history of the monarchy that this has happened. Previously it has always favoured sons. It’s a huge contribution to women’s rights – though it will only affect few in practice, it’s an important statement.”

Many also interpreted part of the charter’s declaration as a stand against discrimination of LGBTQ+ people, with Stonewall’s chief executive Ben Summerskill calling it “the first time that the Queen publicly acknowledged the importance of the 6% of her subjects who are gay”. But others voiced disappointment in the monarchy’s ambiguity, criticising the charter’s inability to formally address pervasive homophobia and legalised discrimination in vast areas of the Commonwealth.

SHE FACED PERSONAL TRAGEDY AND CRITICISM

One great public and personal anguish Queen Elizabeth II was confronted by during her reign was the death of Princess Diana in August 1997. It was during this time that she faced intense criticism for what had previously been seen as a great strength of hers: stoicism and a ‘business as usual’ attitude. Her decision to remain in Scotland with young Princes William and Harry, taking them to church in Balmoral hours after Prince Charles delivered the news of their mother’s death – instead of returning to England immediately – drew anger from the grieving public.

“We have all been trying in our different ways to cope,” Queen Elizabeth II told the nation days after the Parisian car crash that killed Diana. “It is not easy to express the sense of loss, since the initial shock is often succeeded by a mixture of other feelings: disbelief, incomprehension, anger and concern for those who remain. We have all felt those emotions in the last few days. So what I say to you now, as your Queen and as a grandmother, I say from my heart.”

The speech that followed was, as promised, heartfelt. Elizabeth paid personal tribute to Diana and galvanised the nation to pull together in the face of tragedy. “This wasn’t the stiff, old tyrant we were led to believe existed in Balmoral by the popular press,” one Vanity Fair writer remarked at the time. “She was a grandmother having a really tough time, who’s got a son who must be burdened with more guilt than anyone’s felt for many years and two grandchildren who are obviously just completely bewildered and miserable. It’s a wretched occasion and I think she rose to it very well.”

Many sentiments of this tragic period were mirrored, though, when Prince Harry married US actor Meghan Markle, and they became the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. As the press hounded Meghan, subjecting her to vilification and racist abuse, the Queen was widely criticised for not acting quickly enough to protect her grandson’s new family. Once the pair stepped back from royal life, though, raising their two children in California, Harry made it clear that his relationship with his grandmother was a strong and supportive one. Discussing the difficulties he and Meghan faced in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, he assured her: “My grandmother [has] been welcoming throughout.”

SHE INSPIRED OTHERS

Her ability to unite the public in times of tumult and unrest was highly praised. But, for some, even just her presence as a strong, female head of state sparked ambition. “Women can – and must – play a leading part in the creation of a glorious Elizabethan era,” Margaret Thatcher (then Roberts) wrote in her youth, on the eve of the Queen’s coronation for the Sunday Graphic. “Should a woman arise equal to the task, I say let her have an equal chance with the men for leading cabinet posts. Why not a woman chancellor,” she wrote, “or a woman foreign secretary?” In later years, the two would create a strong image of female power for Britain – even if the politics of the time vastly undermined the moment.

Over the years, the Queen would become a patron of more than 600 charities, including the British Red Cross and Cancer Research UK. Again, she led by example. In 2012, it was estimated by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) that the Queen had raised more than £1.4 billion in aid, the most any monarch has done for charitable causes in history.

But perhaps her most memorable act was appearing in the 2012 Olympic opening ceremony, alongside Daniel Craig’s James Bond. The Queen, shot by Danny Boyle, reportedly agreed to be involved immediately – but not before “demanding a speaking part”. The scene, which was watched by an estimated 900 million viewers worldwide, saw the Queen escorted from Buckingham Palace by Bond, before ‘parachuting’ into the stadium. At a time when national pride soared, the Queen’s presence – and her fantastic sense of humour – cemented the nation’s warmth for her. She captured that spirit again in 2022, when she and Paddington Bear enjoyed tea together before the Platinum Party at the Palace, and the Queen teased that all these years, she’s been carrying around a marmalade sandwich in her Launer handbag.

SHE LEFT AN IRREFUTABLE MARK ON THE WORLD

The Queen’s consistency, temperament and dedication to her role as sovereign has garnered respect from people of all ages the world over, even those who aren’t royalists. Naturally, her legacy will be most immediately carried on by the royal family she leaves behind. “What was wonderful about Elizabeth was that she allowed and encouraged [the royal family] to carve their own path; that’s about her understanding that the next generation does need to evolve for the monarchy to remain relevant and strong,” Murphy says. “The royal family is what it is today not only because of the way that Elizabeth brought up her children, but because of the way she carried out her role. That closeness is all her doing.”

The decades overseen by Her Majesty The Queen – huge, rolling movements in technology, social mobility, culture, class and civil rights – have transformed Britain and paved the way for further necessary progression. The Abortion Act, the Equal Pay Act, the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act, though not directly the Queen’s doing, were all enacted under her rule in a society she helped to shape.

The Queen’s rare but significant actions to enhance women’s rights will undoubtedly be remembered in this era, too, but more so what she represented. She was privileged beyond comprehension, yes – but also hard-working, loyal, resilient, diplomatic and comfortable, on occasion, with making her displeasure known. Grief will be prolonged, but her life – as a diligent mother, grandmother, a leader and one of the most powerful women in history – will be commemorated always.

Images: Getty

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