Queen Elizabeth’s legacy

queen UK
Members of the public walk past a tribute image of the late Queen Elizabeth II, inside King's Cross train station in London on September 17, 2022, following her death on September 8. Queen Elizabeth II will lie in state until 0530 GMT on September 19. (Photo: AFP)
queen UK

Khalid Dalal

Khalid Dalal is a former advisor at the Royal Hashemite Court, former director of media and communication at the Office of His Majesty King Abdullah, and works currently as a senior advisor for media, strategic communication, PR, speechwriting, international cooperation, marketing, business development, and fundraising locally, regionally, and globally. Email: [email protected] Tel: +962 777 682 766

As expected in the world of the media today, with its open platforms for opinion and counter-opinion, reactions to the passing away of Queen Elizabeth II, especially in our part of the world, vary.اضافة اعلان

It is true that the late queen, the longest-serving British monarch ever, inherited the throne of Great Britain, a colonialist power and the empire on which the sun never sets, but in 1952, when she ascended to the throne, the UK was a different kind of empire and the sun had started to disappear from its skies, seven years after the end of World War II  when 384,000 of its soldiers were killed in combat, 70,000 civilians died under German’s aerial raids and entire towns were destroyed.

In the aftermath of the global war and the bitter-sweet victory, new superpowers arose, the US and USSR, and Britain was pushed by history to the second row at a time when demands for independence were heard from almost every colony of the empire, around the world. The country’s name was tainted by the brutalities committed against the colonized nations.

The queen, reigning over one of the oldest democracies in the world, had a new country to build, a new type of relation to forge with nations and a challenge to keep Britain great.

Did she do that? The fair answer is yes.

There are 72 cities as diverse culturally as we can imagine in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, which form the UK. This diversity has turned into an example of coexistence for the entire world to follow, a lesson we should learn, too, especially in the Arab world, where, regrettably, the diverse ethnicities, religions, sects, and sub-cultures are a burden on efforts toward move to prosperity for every citizen.

Britain now is one of the most multicultural nations, with its strength lying in its diversity. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s educational institutions, like Oxford and Cambridge, sustained their exceptional role in serving human knowledge, producing great scientists, thinkers and innovators.
Britain is a different country as it bids farewell to its beloved queen, but facts say it has become a better country in many aspects than it used to be when it ruled half of the world.
The lesson to learn is that the wars, the divisions, the violence, and the frustrations the Arab countries have seen in the past decades, or even centuries, should be no obstacle to reassuming their role in building themselves strong and contributing to human civilization.

On the economic front, the UK is the sixth-largest economy in the world, with a GDP of around $3 trillion. Foreign aid takes up 0.5 percent to 0.7 percent of the gross national income to help international partners grow sustainably. In 2025, the UK is expected to “mobilize up to £8 billion” for international development, according to its 2022 aid strategy, despite the ongoing economic crisis and the looming threats expected in the coming years.

Britain is a different country as it bids farewell to its beloved queen, but facts say it has become a better country in many aspects than it used to be when it ruled half of the world.

The best description of Queen Elizabeth was given by Her Majesty Queen Rania who told ITV in an interview recently that the late queen was “public service personified”. She will always be remembered for that.


Khalid Dalal is a former advisor at the Royal Hashemite Court, former director of media and communication at the Office of His Majesty King Abdullah, and works currently as a senior advisor for media, strategic communication, PR, international cooperation, and business development locally, regionally, and globally. [email protected]


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