Sister Elizabeth: Lessons Of Life

A major commonality in the literatures of the world’s major religions is the consistent and persistent harping on vanity of materialism and ephemerality of life. One and all, the scriptures utilise parables, allegories and other “dark sayings” to admonish man against the vainness of materialism. In essence, the scriptures emphasise that what the spirit needs for its assent towards oneness with the divine is completely at variance with what the senses crave.  Adding his voice to the scriptural emphasis on the emptiness of materialism, Carl Sagan Referred to planet earth as ‘Pale Blue Dot’ as he points out on September 8, 2022, at the age of 96. She was buried at Windsor Castle on Thursday, September 19, 2022 after funeral service at West Minister.  How infinitesimal the human habitat is within the context of the cosmos. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Mountbatten-Windsor was born in London on April 21, 1926. When she was growing up, it was never thought that she would become Queen, as the daughter to a second son. However, when her uncle King Edward VIII abdicated on December 11, 1936 to marry his American lover, her father became King George VI and she was then in line for the throne. She ascended the throne on February 6, 1952, becoming the fifth female British monarch and 40th British monarch since William the Conqueror. On September 9, 2015, Elizabeth became Britain’s longest-serving monarch, ruling longer than her great-great grandmother, Queen Victoria, who reigned for 63 years from 1837 to 1901. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II died peacefully at Balmoral.
In the seventy years of sitting on the British throne, Queen Elizabeth II worked with 15 British prime ministers, from Winston Churchill (1951-1956) to Liz Truss (2022). As Head of the Commonwealth, she was Head of State of 32 independent states, having presided over the independence of 17 colonies. There were 15 states, called Commonwealth realms, at the time of her death. In total, 179 individuals served as her realms’ prime ministers throughout her reign, the first new appointment being Dudley Senanayake as Prime Minister of Ceylon and the final being Liz Truss as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; some of these individuals served multiple non-consecutive terms in office (within the same state). She was the fifth female monarch following in the line of Mary I (1553-1558), Elizabeth I (1558-1603), Anne (1702-1714) and Victoria (1837-1901). Queen Elizabeth II rode in the most exotic and expensive cars money can buy; her Royal Golden Carriage is made up of 4 tons of solid gold worth over $370b. The Bank of England Nominees Ltd was established to hide the Queen’s investments. Secrecy about her wealth protects her government and banking authorities and informs the Queen where to invest her wealth; that is called insider trading and it is illegal but the Queen gets away with it scot-free. Why? Because she is the Queen and she is immune to prosecution. One school of thought put her worth at £17trillioin.
The Queen owns more than three hundred residences including castles and palaces, Crown Jewels, over twenty-seven thousand masterpieces, priced race horses and a fleet of Bentleys and Rolls Royces. Her colossal wealth also includes Crown Land and investments that she inherited from her Black Nobility ancestors. The Queen’s Estate includes over fifty percent of the UK coastline as well as Regent Street and Windsor Great Park. Her official title was Queen of England and Wales but her numerous gestural names are one mile long. The sun never used to set on her kingdom but even when it started to set she still reigned over vast land far and wide across planet earth. However, when she was about to be buried on Thursday, September 19, 2022, the Archbishop of Canterbury,  Justin Welby,  said thus: “Now let us remove all symbols of power from the coffin, so that our sister, Elizabeth, can be committed to the grave as a simple Christian”.  Goodness gracious!!! Our sister, Elizabeth?! A simple Christian?!” What on earth??!! How disrespectful!!! But that was the reality at that moment. And that’s the reality at such moment of truth for every mortal irrespective of station. Immediately thereafter, the staff of office was removed, then the scepter, the crown followed and all valuables were removed.
Suddenly, Her Royal Majesty, the Queen of England and Wales had been stripped of all her possessions and even her title and had become Elizabeth. The Time Traveler of Ecclesiastes was (and still is) right. Life is indeed vanity upon vanity. It is transient, and that teaches humility to those who have ears to hear and eyes to see. Humility in power, humility in relating with others, humility in acquisition of wealth, and humility in all endeavors of life, because in the end, we all return to Mother Earth with nothing; absolutely NOTHING!!! Who in the whole wide world sat on a throne more majestic and reigned for so long over such vast a land spread across planet earth? Who?
In conclusion, it is asked thus: “What is it that a poor man has, a rich man needs; meanwhile, if you eat it you’ll die yet you take it with you in death?” The answer is the seven letter word, NOTHING. This age old aphorism speaks thunderously to this piece. Her Royal Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, was buried with nothing, absolutely NOTHING whatsoever. Note that the Archbishop of Canterbury did not include the prefix “Queen” to her name at that material point in time either. He referred to her as “sister Elizabeth”; just another human being, citizen Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Mountbatten-Windsor. All that highly illuminated life of pomp and pageantry in the ostentatious splendor of sprawling grounds across planet earth ended in nothingness in the pitch darkness of a claustrophobic compartment six feet beneath earth.  Life is a school.

By: Jason Osai
Osai lectures in Rivers State University.