Queen Elizabeth Article – Oct. 1, 1972

It's hard not to feel a little sad about the passing of Queen Elizabeth last month. Even though I'm not one to follow the doings of the Royals, I thought it was nice seeing her perform her official duties well into her 90s, as well as maintaining her class and dignity right to the end. It was a reassuring and comforting sight (especially when you have elderly relatives), and something we'll never see again.

Fifty years ago, Author Judith Campbell had just written the book Elizabeth and Philip about Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, who back then had just celebrated their silver wedding anniversary.

The article above by Gregory Jensen, which appeared in the Journal on October 1, 1972, makes some interesting observations about "the Princess who was never supposed to be Queen and the Prince who will never be King."

"King George VI, Elizabeth's father who took the throne by the accident of his brother's abdication, first described his royal family as "a firm." Its products are a nation-uniting symbol, a quantity of ceremony and a vast amount of work for the public good. Miss Campbell portrays its present management as a kind of joint managing directorship.

""The Queen and Prince Philip manage it all so well because, despite their different roles... they contribute to the over-all essentials as a team, " she writes.

""The job they do so well is not easy, and would be envied by few, but it is made possible by the complementary partnership they have worked out with the years.

""The things that the Queen finds difficult to do are some of those that Prince Philip does best. The things about which he gets impatient are those that the Queen takes the trouble to work out."

It sounds like they had a good marriage.

Anyway, the article is also a book review of sorts and it notes the challenge of any writer to find some new angle about the Queen and Prince Philip. Jensen felt that Miss Campbell did a better job writing about Prince Philip, as he was "the more flamboyant character."

Prince Philip passed away in 2021.