Written in 2015…I’m not trying to be cliché, but in my opinion she’s among the best of queens. Rest in peace, Queen Elizabeth II.
Queen Elizabeth has always been there. Growing up, it was as simple as the sky is blue. My mom explained how she was a figurehead when I asked the power of the Queen. I’d see the Queen on TV from time to time. It was the 90s—not the happiest decade for royals. Every morning in sixth grade, my class would watch some of the daily news. “Have you noticed Queen Elizabeth never smiles?” asked my teacher.
Huh. I thought she did but since I didn’t see her too often I repeated that comment at home. My mom said, “What? I’ve seen her smile!”
Shame on me. I should have known that! Yes, I too have seen her smile—quite a bit actually. In the last five years of my life, I’ve studied intensely the lives of royals. Elizabeth wears a variety of expressions. Whatever expression on her face, she seems to be pondering something. While researching her past or current events, it’s quite difficult to paint an exact portrait of the Queen. When I see her, I think of how she’s proven so many people wrong.
The American Girl Collection books make me proud to be an American girl and draw close to history. Without American Girl, I wouldn’t be as patriotic as I am today or passed the A.P. U.S. history exam. Anyway, I also wouldn’t have loved the Queen so much. We can thank Happy Birthday, Molly, by Valerie Tripp, for that.
Molly, who grows up during World War II, makes friends with an English girl, Emily, who’s come to America for safety. Emily, shows her pictures of Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret as little girls and then as young women contributing to the war effort. Like Molly, this reader is in awe. A little girl grows up to be something spectacular thanks to hard work. She’s awesome! I mean who would have predicted Elizabeth to reign for at least 63 years?
However long the Queen reigns, we won’t know fully her impact until years later. Perhaps many generations down the road.
Featured Image: Stamp of Elizabeth’s Coronation by Edmund Dulac. June 3, 1953
Source:
Happy Birthday, Molly by Valerie Tripp