In times like these, it’s clear how much the Queen means to so many

Like it or not, Her Majesty has been our north star, the keeper of national standards, providing certainty for seven decades, says Salma Shah

The Queen greets guests including the PM at Windsor Castle earlier this month (POOL/AFP/Getty)

The closest we will ever truly come to magic is being in the presence of the Queen. I speak from personal experience. Recently, I had the honour of attending the Royal British Legion’s centenary service in Westminster Abbey. An already great occasion was elevated considerably by the presence of Her Majesty. She did nothing apart from appear and take her seat and yet when people stood they stood a little straighter and when we sang “God Save the Queen” we meant every word tenfold. Her magical effect is powerful.

Some dislike the monarchy, but at the grand old age of 95 even hardened republicans make an exception for our longest reigning head of state. Few can doubt that she’s done a good job over her nearly 70 years on the throne, having adapted and evolved, yet somehow remained the same. She has certainly embodied what Walter Bagehot referred to as the “dignified branch of the constitution” in ensuring the steady and consistent leadership of British pomp and circumstance.

Perhaps this is the reason for the mini outbreak of hysteria at the news of her needing to take it a little easier. If we were discussing any normal nonagenarian, we’d have scant reason to second guess the fact that full days of events are probably not the easiest of tasks to manage for someone of that age. Instead, we try and read into the details of the story to see if any medical clues can be garnered. Here’s the critical factor guys, she’s old!

Such is the concern around her health that little pleasures are being removed from her routine. According to reports, her morning dog walks and her evening Martini have been sacrificed in order to keep her in peak physical condition. What a bore it must have suddenly become to be sovereign.

Yes, of course her health is of unique constitutional importance and she certainly can’t be treated as just another ordinary person, but in reality, health check or not, we just don’t want to have to deal with a simple fact: we are nearing the end of her reign. So we indulge in textbook displacement activity with frantic worry.

In projecting this incessant anxiety onto the minutiae of the Queen’s engagements, by fretting about whether she’s in church or not, we’re delaying the inevitable question: what are we going to do when she’s gone?

Like it or not, she has been our north star, the keeper of national standards, providing certainty for seven decades. As humans that crave stability, we cannot abide the uncertainty her vacation from the throne will create. Through her, we trace back generations and world history. She is the living bridge to a bygone era whilst simultaneously paving a future path for us; she is all our contradictions, mixed together and rationalised in a brightly coloured hat.

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She is a titan, perhaps the most famous person in the world, and her dedication and discipline to her role and her conduct have been nothing short of exemplary. Her discretion and economy of personality have allowed her to be all things to all people, giving her a unique status in the hearts and minds of not just her own subjects but people the whole world over.

We aren’t ready to face any frailty in her. Her symbolic power is such that a weakness in the monarch is a pain felt by us all. This may sound a little hyperbolic, but we are attached to our royal family, they reflect and shape our national story. She matters a great deal to her people because she represents the best in us all.

But for the moment at least, can we just give it and her a rest? The time does not appear to be now: as she remarked herself, one is only as young as one feels. In the meantime, God save the Queen!