The Queen’s kindness

Sir: Last week’s Spectator (17 September) was thoughtful, insightful and at times hilarious; just the tonic I needed. Many reading this will have their own memories of the Queen, but I would like to tell a personal story recounted by Christopher Chessun, the Lord Bishop of Southwark, in his address to the House of Lords of my sister’s meeting with her.

He said: ‘My late sister-in-law, who was profoundly deaf, accompanied me during my time as Bishop of Woolwich when the Royal Artillery moved from Woolwich down to Salisbury Plain. Her Majesty the Queen was there for the occasion and spotted that my sister-in-law was wearing a Duke of Edinburgh gold badge. She went up and, as soon as she realised that my sister-in-law was deaf, her face lit up and non-verbal communication took place that was at the deepest and most wonderful level. My sister-in-law felt that she had had a wonderful conversation with the Queen, the Queen not least talking with her about deafness in her own family. Her capacity to reach out, particularly to those who live in this life with great challenges – disabilities, learning difficulties and other challenges – was a real hallmark of her own integrity.’

I cannot add to that story, other than to say with the Queen’s passing we have lost a truly special person. It is up to all of us to be kind in the way that she was.

Dr Brian Mathew

Yatton Keynell, Wiltshire

Steadfast

Sir: There has been talk of ascribing a regnal epithet to HM the Queen Elizabeth II. Mindful of A.N. Wilson’s assessment of her reign (17 September) with his reference to Larkin’s Silver Jubilee poem, ‘She Did Not Change’, and Prudence Penn’s reminiscences (‘The Elizabeth I knew’), might I suggest ‘Elizabeth the Steadfast’?

Suzanne Galloway

Kenilworth, Warwickshire

No apologies

Sir: I thought Toby Young (‘What Charles shouldn’t do’, 17 September) hit the right note when he said ‘Employees of our public institutions… mistakenly believe the way to make their organisations relevant again’ is to apologise for our colonial past. As was pointed out by Robert Hardman (‘Common Ground’,17 September), the late Queen established the present Commonwealth so successfully that it grew in her reign from seven members to 56. I hope King Charles will follow Toby Young’s advice and not try to placate the monarchy’s critics but reign confidently in the knowledge of the vast majority’s wholehearted support, as evidenced by the crowds queuing to pay their respect to his mother.

Barbara Ray

London SE12

Tree of life

Sir: If we are looking for links between the two Queens Elizabeth (Barometer, 17 September) we should not forget an arboreal coincidence: Queen Elizabeth I is said to have learned of her accession to the throne while resting under a tree at Hatfield, while her late Majesty succeeded while staying at the famous Treetops in Kenya.

Simon May

Kingston upon Thames, Surrey

Her dignified silence

Sir: Your editorial correctly affirms the affection of many Scots for Queen Elizabeth, and her absence from deliberations on Scotland’s independence in 2014 (‘Her act of Union’, 17 September). A great deal of her charm lay in her dignified silence on matters of constitutional and domestic import. This is not so with King Charles, whose views on everything from organic farming to climate change are publicly known. Indeed, his strident support for a net-zero strategy is a source of disquiet for the 110,000 Scottish livelihoods either directly or indirectly sustained by its vibrant oil and gas industry. The Union may, therefore, not be as secure under his oversight as it was previously, and the dignified silence that preceded him will be missed by Unionists and independence-minded alike.

Ewan Gurr

Dundee

Controlling badgers

Sir: My admiration for Rod Liddle took a bashing when he wrote ‘badgers and hedgehogs have lived side by side for centuries without hedgehogs rolling in a ball towards extinction’ (‘In defence of badgers’, 17 September). I fear he may after all be just another townie with a romantic view of the countryside. Hedgehogs may indeed have lived happily alongside badgers thousands of years ago; then badger numbers were kept in check by natural predators. But for hundreds of years those remaining predators at the top of the food chain, such as badgers and foxes, have been controlled to stop their numbers increasing to the detriment of other wildlife. Rod may see lots of hedgehogs in his garden – a badger-free refuge. But he won’t see many on the Shropshire hills, nor curlews, lapwing nor other ground nesting birds that used to be common. Whether we like it or not, we live in a managed environment where the balance of nature can no longer apply. If we don’t provide that balance, only the fittest will survive. I can assure Rod that this won’t include hedgehogs.

John Wood

Inwood, Salop

For the animals

Sir: May I add a comment to Tom Holland’s thoughtful piece about the Animals in War memorial on Park Lane (Historian’s Notebook, 10 September)? The memorial is of course dedicated to all the animals that were employed in wars across the world. It was conceived by a small committee and the design was selected from a national competition. The money was raised from generous individual donations and animal welfare charities including the Racing Pigeon Association. It took seven years from concept to completion, and poignantly reminds us ‘They Had No Choice’.

Col (retd) R. McCrum

Executive director, AIW Memorial Fund

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