When the going gets tough, the tough get going... and the Queen has certainly toughed it out for her people lately.
After a year which came close to her “annus horribilis” of 1992, Her Majesty has put personal woes to one side, leading from the front as we languish in lockdown.
Where there has been fear, Elizabeth has brought courage.
With reassuring calmness, she has lifted our spirits. Yes, we may be in times of darkness, but brighter days lie ahead.
The Queen, who will be 94 on Tuesday, has united the country once more – as she has done so many times in her 68-year reign.
But there will be no great birthday fanfare.
Traditional gun salutes in royal parks were cancelled and while public buildings can fly the flag they are not forced to if social distancing rules prevent it.
The Palace said: “Her Majesty was keen that no special measures were put in place to allow gun salutes as she did not feel it appropriate in the current circumstances.”
A social media post will mark the day on Tuesday, but any phone or video calls with family will be private.
Her Majesty’s response is in keeping with the stoicism and sheer common sense she has shown after a punishing period which tested her resolve.
Last year was especially difficult for her husband Prince Philip after a car crash.
Then her son Prince Andrew became further embroiled in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
This year started on a grim note too when grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle withdrew from royal life.
When heir to the throne Prince Charles went down with Covid-19, the Queen could have been forgiven for wondering when her family’s wretched fortunes would turn around.
But it was the precise moment she turned her thoughts to the people of Britain. In an extraordinary address to an apprehensive nation, the Queen spoke with calm authority and soothing sincerity.
She said the UK “will succeed” in its fight against the virus.
Invoking the Vera Lynn song, she said: “We will be with our friends again, we will be with our families again, we will meet again.”
The TV address was seen by 24 million people.
A royal source tells the Sunday Mirror: “You only have to look at her speech to realise, if it was ever in doubt, how much she means to the nation.”
Royal biographer Penny Junor adds: “When in times of crisis, the Queen speaks for us and expresses and calms our anxieties.
“She will have been very worried about Charles when he got the virus. It can strike perfectly healthy people. One minute they have got it mildly and the next minute, they are rushed into intensive care.”
Ms Junor spells out how well the Queen has handled her family’s recent troubles.
Prince Philip crashed his car on the edge of the Sandringham estate, injuring three people, at the start of 2019. Just 48 hours later the Duke of Edinburgh was criticised for not wearing his seatbelt or offering a swift apology.
Eventually the 97-year-old surrendered his licence.
Ms Junor says: “It would have taken away his independence and been awful for him. There was worry about his wellbeing and about the other people in the car. Yet the Queen seems to have sailed through that.”
Last autumn, Prince Andrew, often referred to as the Queen’s favourite son, gave a “catastrophic” TV interview about his association with Jeffrey Epstein. The US tycoon killed himself while held in jail on sex trafficking charges.
And this year, Prince Harry decided to leave the UK for a life in America with wife Meghan and their son Archie.
A well-placed royal source reveals: “Privately the family were very, very worried about the tumultuous series of events, which really did threaten the very institution.
“However, using a very select series of advisers, as well as Charles and grandson William, it was handled in-house without need for the tantrums others had been throwing.”
Another source close to Buckingham Palace says: “The Duke of York is largely out of the picture and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are being handled by an American PR company who appear to be drip-feeding publicity stunts.
"The Queen is behind the real business. Using very few words to rightly heap praise on our NHS and the key workers keeping the country moving forward.”
Her Majesty is no stranger to scandal and turmoil in The Firm, as Ms Junor recalls.
She says: “The year 1992 was famously her annus horribilis.
“Andrew Morton’s book about Diana came out, three of her four children’s marriages were falling apart. Princess Anne divorced, Fergie and Andrew separated, Fergie was photographed topless having her toes sucked, then Windsor Castle caught fire. That was a pretty grim year.”
A rare “public fallout” came when the Queen appeared to misjudge the nation’s mood after Princess Diana died in August 1997.
The monarch was criticised for initially choosing to stay at Balmoral with William and Harry.
Ms Junor goes on: “I think the reason the nation was so lost when Diana died was because the Queen was up at Balmoral looking after her grandchildren, rather than looking after the nation.
We take leadership from her. With the coronavirus, this is exactly what she has been doing, she has shown fortitude and given us all a feeling that we’re not alone.”
As monarch, the Queen enjoys two birthdays – her real one and her official birthday on the second Saturday in June. The Trooping the Colour at Horse Guards Parade for that occasion is already cancelled.
On Tuesday the Queen will likely spend the day at Windsor with Philip, her horses and her “dorgis” Vulcan and Candy – a dachsund-corgi mix.
Ms Junor adds: “I would think she would spend her birthday surrounded by dogs and probably have a ride. She finds her solace in her animals.
“Dogs are a great leveller and they have kept her sane and happy all these years.”
Happy birthday, Ma’am
