Thank you Ma’am
In light of the sad news of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, I have decided not to post my intended blog this week. Today, our thoughts are with the Queen’s family, those she loved and those who loved her.
She was a truly inspirational model of dignified and loyal leadership, the epitome of service, duty and humility, and an example to us all. In a time when the lives of women have changed unrecognisably from the 1950’s to today, I feel incredibly grateful to have lived in a country with her as our monarch and a global role-model of female leadership.
I was privileged enough to have a number of opportunities to have met the Queen at a distance, most recently, as Head of Bruton School for Girls, being one of just 100 guests to have lunch with her. I was inspired by the way in which her visit had a huge positive impact upon us all, bringing the whole town and community together and having a lasting influence.
By kind invitation of the Headmaster, this was upon the opening of The Queen Elizabeth Music School on 28th March 2019 during the 500th anniversary year of the establishment of King’s Bruton, Somerset. It was a truly memorable day for the whole town, being one of just a few occasions in 2019 where she travelled outside of her homes, and many of the tributes to her from townspeople understandably feature photos and videos from the day. She started at Paul Nicholls stables in Ditcheat, just outside Bruton, where Clifford Baker, the Head Lad, and his daughter Charlotte, a BSG pupil, were fortunate enough to make presentations to her. Everyone knows how important her love of horses was to her.
The Queen then travelled to Bruton. Absolutely everyone from BSG had a packed lunch and took it into the town to line the route and wait for her to pass. Some girls managed to see her not just once, but three times, by making judicious use of the ‘bartons’, alleyways joining the upper and lower roads through the town! The positivity and excitement stayed with us all for a long time. Meanwhile I gathered for pre-lunch drinks with guests from across the county by invitation of the Lord Lieutenant of Somerset, Annie Maw, also BSG’s patron, and there were ripples of excitement when we heard she had arrived. While she opened the music school, we were instructed on how to file in and where to sit, and then she arrived. A small figure against the height of the Headmaster, it was a great occasion where Her Majesty was waited on by pupils of the school, serving delicious locally sourced food – they will never forget that I’m sure! Afterwards she met pupils waiting for her in the quadrangle and they gave her a fantastic reception.
The Queen left us and went around the town again to get to the fabulous Hauser & Wirth Gallery, which employs Eugenie, and the Roth Bar and Grill where she left by helicopter back to Windsor. On her way, the girls were again able to get brilliant views of her before then returning to school. It was an occasion I will always remember.
I will mourn the passing of a woman of great substance, style and steadfastness. Her faithfulness to her people, country and the Commonwealth will not be forgotten. May we all channel her example of exemplary leadership in our own work and lives. And then, may we support the new King as he follows in her giant footsteps as best he possibly can.
Thank you Ma’am.
Reflections:
What qualities possessed by the Queen as a leader and role model can we channel and further develop in ourselves?
How can we ensure we bring the constructive energy those we serve need from us, as they need it, to enable them to thrive?
What will we do to ensure her legacy of inspirational female leadership continues?