“Retaining the ability to stay calm and collected can at times be hard,” she conceded, at the opening of Scotland’s Parliament, on Saturday. “One hallmark of leadership in such a fast-moving world is allowing sufficient room for quiet thinking and contemplation, which can enable deeper, cooler consideration of how challenges and opportunities can best be addressed.”
For Elizabeth, the Brexit vote marks an almost Shakespearean turn. In the nineteen-twenties, when she was born, the British Empire was the largest in history. It covered almost a quarter of the earth’s land mass; it held sway over more than four hundred and fifty million people, about a fifth of the world’s population. It was “the empire on which the sun never set.” In the past year, her reign, now the longest in British history, has twice been fêted with imperial pomp and horsey parades—last fall, for setting the longevity record, and, this spring, as she reached the age of ninety. Even Washington celebrated. At the British Embassy, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer last month led the toasts at a lawn party honoring the Queen’s birthday. Big names from the White House and Congress also attended. [...]
The monarchy itself is not in jeopardy. The Queen will hang on to her palaces, diamond-encrusted tiaras, royal carriages, and footmen, not to mention billions in assets, vast tracts of prime land, and royal privilege. Barring a political reversal on Brexit, however, her dynastic heirs could inherit little more than the realms of England and Wales. By today’s numbers, Little Britain would represent less than one per cent of the world’s population—and cover a mere fifty-six thousand square miles, smaller than the state of Florida. Forget where the sun sets; it would cover less than a time zone. [...]
“Change,” she added, “has become a constant. Managing it has become an expanding discipline. The way we embrace it defines our future.” For now, she’s the only other constant in Britain.
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