The Weekly Cross: What does the death of Elizabeth II mean to you?
Don Kent : When I learned of her death, from the BBC, all I could grasp of her while making the documentary Ballad for a Queen (1) came to mind. I am not at all a monarchist, far from it. But I have an admiration for the intelligence, humor and personality of Elizabeth II. She was very classy. She had a bright smile. He was someone I liked.
What image do you retain in particular from your research for this film?
D. K : It’s a black and white video, of a young Elizabeth who looks to be in her twenties at most. She is playing tag with her little sister Margaret and several sailors on the deck of a Royal Fleet ship as they join their parents in South Africa. A moment of beauty, grace, insolence. The scene is shot several years before his father died prematurely. She laughs like any other young girl. It’s the only time I’ve seen him so human. Once queen, she strictly forbade herself to show her emotions.
I also immersed myself in my childhood memories, studying his annual speeches, every Christmas. I lived in England until I was 20, and every afternoon on December 25, the family gathered around the television to watch the speech, it was a tradition. For many Britons, this speech was part of the Christmas myth.
I’m also thinking of her canary yellow and apple green outfits… No one except her could wear them! Her way of dressing was extraordinary, we only saw her on the screen.
What is the main lesson that can be drawn from his reign?
D. K : The monarch of England has above all a symbolic function. Since her accession in 1953, Elizabeth II has never been able to explicitly give her opinion or act politically speaking. She represented a figure of continuity, especially with the 1945 victory against Nazi Germany. The link between a bygone era and a society in turmoil.
But the monarchy is also the legacy of the British colonial empire of the XIXe century and part of the XXe. This is the reverse of the image of Elizabeth II. When some countries won their independence in violence, like Kenya, she was the head of the United Kingdom. I think of the images that have evolved over time, where we see the Queen enthroned with her husband Prince Philip in a jeep, in the middle of a sea of brown or black faces. Today, this colonial empire has become the Commonwealth.
For British director Don Kent, the monarchy remains a class system in the UK. /DR
Isn’t the aura of Elizabeth II an overwhelming legacy for the new king, Charles III?
D. K : For the documentary, I collected many testimonies from artists and ordinary citizens of the United Kingdom. Elizabeth II was very popular. It won a high level of support, regardless of the age of the respondents. The same cannot be said of the generations that follow it…
Even if the private life of Charles or others « royals » don’t concern us, the scandals of the last thirty years raise questions. Already, with the death of Lady Diana in 1997, the monarchy wavered. Its members were criticized for their lack of compassion. If the regime rose in popularity in the following years, it was only thanks to the charisma of the queen.
Now that the unifying figure of Elizabeth II is gone, many Britons, especially among the youngest, wonder if the monarchy is still useful to the country. For them, the royal family is a vestige of another era. It is no coincidence that she is nicknamed the « Firm », the “company”. He is criticized for not being in touch with reality, with what the British experience on a daily basis.
Was this reproach also made to Elizabeth II?
D. K : During seventy years of reign, she managed to feel the pulse of the country. Except on a few occasions. In 1992, a year she describes as“horrible”, a fire devastates Windsor Castle. It was envisaged that the taxpayer would pay for the repairs. This caused such an outcry that the idea was quickly abandoned.
Another image shocked me. It was in 1997, during the farewell to the last yacht of the royal family, the HMS Britannia, now a museum. The only time we saw the queen cry in public. But for me, the Britannia represented above all the billions paid by the taxpayer for his maintenance and the tours in the colonies with Prince Philip. The monarchy remains a class system.