Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1952-02-10

beth, who had left this field q
happy Princess only q week before,
was returning q sad Queen. The
burdens Of queenship must have
weighed heavily on her as landing
time drew near. She could hardly
have failed to reflect that the
Queens Of England have been noted
for a tendency to make, and keep,
dates with destiny.
Four times before, in thousand
years Of British history, England's
sole monarch has been q weman.
This count does not include Mary
II, who reigned jointly with
william Ill in the late 18th CEN
fury, nor Lady Jane Grey, who
ruled Illegally for nine days q CEN
fury earlier.
The first female ruler Of modern
England was Mary Iso-called
Bloody Mary"-the sister Of the
great Elizabeth who succeeded her.
Then there was Anne In the early
18th century, and Victoria through
out most of the 18th.
The British have saying that
when a woman occupies the throne.
Britain prospers. Certainly this
has been true from the time of
Elizabeth ! until now.
AS q group, England's Queens
have given a better account OF
themselves than England's Kings.
The average man, asked to name
the three greatest rulers among the
50-odd since Alfred the Great, prob
ably would choose Henry VIII, Eliz-
abeth and Victoria. Under these
three, respectively, England under
went the Protestant reformation,
birth as a world power and emer-
gence as proprietor Of worldwide
empire.
Bierce's Cynical Sow
cynical Ambrose Bierce once de-
fined a queen as "a woman by
whom the realm is ruled when there
is a king, and through whom it is
ruled when there is not" Undoubt-
edly there is a grain Of truth there,
but hardly much more than grain.
Bierce must have been thinking Of
Victoria, and the influence exer-
cised over her by Albert the Prince
consort and her great prime min
listers. He might have been think
ing, too, of the advisers to Eliza
beth, who gave the appearance OF
ruling the realm through her.
But, actually, Britain's two great
est Queens used statesmen, rather
than allowing statesmen to use
them. The first Elizabeth-who
was about the same age as the pres
ent one when she assembled the
throne-Flad virtually autocratic
power. She told her first Parlia-
ment, II have desired to have the
obedience Of my subjects by love,
and not by compulsion." Taking
into consideration the rough Gus
toms Of the period, she reigned on
this basis, and England became
great.
Anne, otherwise an obscure queen,
brought about the union Of Eng
land and Scotland In 1701. At that
time, she told Parliament, IT desire
and expect from my subjects Of both
nations that from henceforth they
act with all possible respect and
kindness to one another, that SO
it may appear to all the world they
have hearts disposed to become one
people" Her wish became a reality,
and England grew greater.
The Widow at Windsor
In Victoria's day, the time was
ripe for colonialism and expansion,
and she led her nation down this
prosperous road. Her power was
far more circumscribed than Eliza
beth's, but she played definite role
in affairs Of state. AT the close Of
her reign, Rudyard Kipling was to
write, walk wide o. the Widow at
Windsor, for 'alf Of creation she
owns. We ave bought 'er the same
with the sword and the flame, and
we've salted it down with our
bones" Under Victoria, the king
dom became an empire which by
its own solidarity tended to keep
the world on an even keel.
Since Victoria, the empire has
fallen apart to some extent. In
deed, 1t is no longer an empire, but
q commonwealth. To $50 million