Ayesha Hazarika
(Picture: Daniel Hambury)I’ve been pondering why I’ve become so fond of the Queen. I was never one to fawn over the monarchy growing up — apart from when Fergie married Andrew because I loved her red hair and felt Anne of Green Gables had joined the royal family. That went well.
There’s no doubt that The Crown — particularly Claire Foy’s brilliant performance — made me see the Queen in a new light and made me think about her as a young woman, all the pressure she was under, how she didn’t flap about, pulled up her big monarch pants and got on with it. In fact, she suddenly rather reminded me of my own mum.
And then it hit me. The Queen has big Asian Mum vibes. Stay with me… she’s the absolute lynchpin of the family. She cares deeply about their reputation. All she wants is to see her children happily married. She’s got difficult sons but dotes on them nonetheless — never thinking their wives were quite good enough. She wasn’t best pleased about the divorces. She loves entertaining and hosting. But doesn’t like a big fuss made of her personally. And most importantly, she’s a big fan of Tupperware.
And like many Asian Mums she had an arranged marriage of sorts. Except in the Queen’s case, it was to her citizens and the Commonwealth. When she turned 21 in 1947, she broadcast a speech while with her parents and sister on a tour of South Africa, where she took a public vow — almost like a wedding vow — to dedicate her life to the service of the Commonwealth.
It reminded me of my own mother having an arranged marriage at the age of 19 to my dad in India, who she hardly knew. She was promised a green and pleasant land and she got the outskirts of Glasgow. But I think of them both as young women with huge pressure on them to succeed in uncharted territory and to make the best of things for their families and for their community without a fuss or any complaining.
And that is the story of many an immigrant who just had to get on with it. Perhaps that’s why there is such strong affection particularly among older immigrants of my parents’ generation, who answered the call of the Queen and country, left their own families and came to Britain as doctors, nurses, shop keepers, engineers and all the other professions which helped build this country into the powerhouse it became.
That’s why the Windrush scandal cut so deep. While the days of a British queen or king as head of state in many Commonwealth countries may be numbered, there is no doubt that those countries have a special relationship with the Queen. She loved and understood the Commonwealth with warmth and authenticity. There was a clear connection, which went both ways. I remember all the slightly naff souvenir crockery with pictures of the Queen and royal family in my own household when I was growing up.
And when I received my MBE my mum was over the moon, but did moan about how cold it was. She also brought in some snacks in a small Tupperware container. It was a long ceremony! I think Her Majesty would have approved.
In other news...
If you like gangs, cruelty, revenge, backstabbing, immorality, greed, corruption, lying and you’re sick of the Parliament channel, I highly recommend brilliant American crime drama Ozark.
I’ve just finished watching the final instalment and I am not okay. I won’t give away any spoilers (learned that lesson after revealing the ending of the last James Bond film — I considered going into witness protection), but I feel utterly bereft. I loved all the strong, complicated, terrifying female characters who dominate, especially as epic crime and gangster dramas are normally all about men. Laura Linney is stunning as Wendy Byrde, but star of the show is Julia Garner as the incredible Ruth Langmore, who goes from trailer trash to money laundering hustler. In fact, Ozark is so good, I may spend my jubilee weekend rewatching the whole thing again.
