We prayed that she would be ‘long to reign over us’ – and she was

Monarchy is a great blessing not least because it gives a nation a sense of identity and connection with a long distant past.
By Samuel Morrison
Published 12th Sep 2022, 02:45 BST
Updated 12th Sep 2022, 03:10 BST
The Queen and the then Prince Charles. We have had cause to thank God for answered prayer given that we have been singing for 70 years that she would be ‘long to reign over us’. She wasThe Queen and the then Prince Charles. We have had cause to thank God for answered prayer given that we have been singing for 70 years that she would be ‘long to reign over us’. She was
The Queen and the then Prince Charles. We have had cause to thank God for answered prayer given that we have been singing for 70 years that she would be ‘long to reign over us’. She was

Our current heir to the throne, Prince William, is the Baron of Carrickfergus — a title which directly links him to his namesake of glorious memory who of course landed at Carrickfergus in 1690.

A republican system of government couldn’t possibly create such a link.

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Her Majesty the Queen made it very easy to be a monarchist for the last 70 years because she had the good sense to avoid politics and to keep her personal commentary on the affairs of the nation for only the most serious of occasions — apart of course from Her Christmas message which always shows something of a very personal touch and was all the better for it.

By doing so she remained a unifying figure for the nation through seven decades of social and political change.

To have withstood the public glare for so long without a scandal impacting Her character speaks to one who was really out of the ordinary.

On her passing, I am reminded of the words she quoted from Pilgrim’s Progress in Her 1957 Christmas message:

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“Though with great difficulty I am got hither, yet now I do not repent me of all the trouble I have been at to arrive where I am. My sword I give to him that shall succeed me in my pilgrimage and my courage and skill to him that can get it.

“My marks and scars I carry with me, to be a witness for me that I have fought his battles who now will be my rewarder.”

In Her Platinum Jubilee year we have had cause to thank God for answered prayer given that we have been singing / praying for 70 years that she would be ‘long to reign over us’.

She was.

Scripture reminds us in Psalm 90:10 that She gave us quite literally a lifetime of service —

“The days of our years are threescore years and ten”.

God save the King

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Related topics:QueenPrince WilliamBen LowryCarrickfergusUnionists