That Pretty Lady

My first memory of the late Queen Elizabeth II goes back to 1955 when an uncle who had just returned from Canada gave me a Canadian two-dollar bill bearing her likeness.  “Who is that pretty lady?” I asked.  I was told that she was the new Queen of England.  Of course, that did not make any sense to a four year old American boy.  Yet over the years I have become more familiar with her and what would become her historic 70 year reign, the longest of any British monarch in history.  

The Queen had only been on the British throne for three years at that point and the world was still getting to know the young woman who was suddenly thrust into the limelight when her father, King George VI, who reluctantly came to the throne in late 1936 with the abdication of his brother Edward VIII, died in early 1952.  This past summer she celebrated her Platinum Jubilee, and on September 8, she passed away quietly at Balmoral Castle, in Scotland, at the age of 96.  Her eldest son, Prince Charles of Wales, ascended the throne as Charles III.

Scattered throughout our home are a number of items brought

back from our travels in the United Kingdom, several of which are connected to the Queen’s long reign and evidence of the high esteem in which she was held throughout the realm, but also here in the United States, the history of which dates back to the late 18th century when the former British colonies along the Eastern Seaboard of North America declared their independence in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776.  This was followed by a protracted war lasting until September 1783.  The newly established United States fought another war with it former colonial master and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida, between 1812 and 1815.  Both major adversaries eventually grew tired of war and sought an armistice.   The subsequent Treaty of Ghent led to a general status quo ante bellum.  Since then, the US and Great Britain have enjoyed and maintained a peaceful coexistence which eventually led to a close and affectionate alliance during the two world wars in the 20th century, and as NATO partners after the war.  The same can be said for the former British North America, which became the independent Canadian state in 1887.

Over the past several decades I have traveled many times to Canada and have developed a very close affection for that country and its people.  I have traveled personally and professionally across the country from Nova Scotia to British Columbia, and I have always been greeted with Her Majesty’s portrait on Canadian coins and currency although there is no Canadian law that requires that the current British sovereign appear on the country’s monetary instruments, or that the design of the money be changed when one dies.  Nevertheless, the Royal Canadian Mint has included the likeness of the current reigning monarch on its coins and bank notes when it started production in 1908.  Since then, four monarchs have been featured: Edward VII, George V, George VI, and Elizabeth II.  The Royal Canadian Mint has kept open the possibility that future currency may look different.  “We are working on a plan to issue a variety of coins commemorating Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s lifetime of service as Queen of Canada,” the Royal Canadian Mint has announced.  “The Mint will also support the Government of Canada as it works to determine a new design for future Canadian coins.”

Canada did update its bank notes in 1937 after George VI became king, but the update was prompted by a new law to make all of Canada’s paper currency bilingual. The Bank of Canada took the opportunity to also add George VI’s likeness on all but two denominations of bills.  Canada is unusual among Commonwealth nations in featuring the child Princess Elizabeth on a bank note. She was eight when photographed, and in retrospect, it looks as though someone at the Bank of Canada had a crystal ball. Nobody could have known that she would become first in line to the throne a year later.  In 1935, she was just one among a half-dozen of King George V’s family members to appear on the Bank’s first series of notes.  Canadian bank notes are unique in having featured both the child princess and the 90-year-old monarch – plus four other portraits of the Queen in between.  We have watched her grow up and age gracefully.  

Canada introduced the “Landscape Series” currency in 1954, a couple of years after Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne. She replaced her father on the country’s bank notes, and since then she has appeared on various denominations.  The two dollar bill my uncle gave to me was part of this series.  This is the first official portrait of the reigning Queen Elizabeth to appear on a Canadian bank note.  This portrait became known as the famous “Devil’s Head” portrait when some claimed to see a devil’s face in the hair above the Queen’s ear.   This created quite an outrage among diehard monarchists and the portrait was quietly altered.  The Queen appeared on every denomination of this series—the last time this would happen. 

It would be two decades before the “Scene of Canada Series” was introduced in 1974.    As in the previous series, the Queen was intended to appear on all denominations of this series.  It was decided, however, that Canadian notes should also recognize certain former Canadian prime ministers, and in the end the Queen appeared only on the $1, $2 and $20 notes.  The new portrait was based on a photograph taken by a “court photographer.”  Like the 1954 series, the Queen is not wearing a royal tiara as the Bank of Canada preferred it this way.

The “Birds of Canada Series” was first circulated in 1986.  Also based on a court photograph.  The portrait is larger than on previous series.  The Queen wore a string of pearls given to her by her grandfather, King George V.  This series was the first to delete the $1 note, replacing it with a coin popularly known as the “Loonie” as it bears the engraving of a Common Loon.  The $2 note was subsequently withdrawn in 1996 and replaced by the $2 coin now referred to as the “Toonie.”  The Queen only appears on the $20 note.   

The “Canadian Journey Series” began circulation in early 2001 and was the first series to be conceived and designed on a computer although the portrait of the Queen on the $20 note was still created by hand as a steel engraving and has been described as “probably the finest portrait of the mature monarch to appear on any bank note.”  Even the Queen seemed particularly pleased with it.

The most recent series, the “Frontier Series,” was released in November 2012.  Once again, the $20 note features a portrait of Elizabeth II based on a photograph commissioned by the Bank of Canada in the 2000s and receiving the Queen’s approval for use on the banknote.  In September 2015, the Bank of Canada released a modified version of the banknote to commemorate Elizabeth II surpassing her great-great-

grandmother Victoria as the longest-reigning sovereign in British and Canadian history. becoming the longest-reigning monarch of the United Kingdom and Canada.  It features the royal cipher of Elizabeth II and her portrait dating from 1951, the first Canadian banknote to depict Elizabeth II wearing a tiara. 

The Queen’s image is represented on the currency of dozens of countries of the Commonwealth which she ushered in during her long reign.  The most populous of these being Canada, Australia and New Zealand.  Tradition suggests that King Charles III will eventually replace the Queen on these countries’ currencies, although such changes have yet to be announced.  “The passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II marks the end of an era for our country,” the Royal Canadian Mint announced.  It is currently working with the Government of Canada on any future changes.  Regardless, Canadian currency bearing the late Queen’s likeness will remain in circulation indefinitely.

So, this is my own small, and perhaps unique, tribute to the passing of Queen Elizabeth II who ascended the British throne a month prior to my first birthday.   Far from being a monarchist, I have long looked upon her as a symbol of continuity in a fast-changing world.  And now she is gone.