From ‘God save Her Majesty the Queen’ to God save his Majesty the King
THE United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, now has a new Monarch, His Majesty King Charles III. He becomes the third British Monarch in my lifetime. I was born during the reign of the new King’s grandfather, King George VI; who, at that time, reigned over a huge, vast Empire, stretching right round the globe; and regarding which, Britons took pride in asserting that “the sun never sets on the British Empire”. This simply meant that when night fell in one part of that vast Empire, it was already morning in another part.
Our country, the then Tanganyika Territory (now part of the United Republic of Tanzania), was initially part of that British Empire, being administered by the British government on behalf of the United Nations, under the latter’s mandate. Thus, being part of that Empire; we owed due allegiance to the British Monarch. Hence, on all formal occasions during that period, we were made to sing the British National Anthem, which includes a special prayer, in the last line of its first stanza.
That line prays for the Queen “long to reign over us”; as follows :- “God save our gracious Queen, God save our noble Queen; God save the Queen. Send her Victorious, Happy and Glorious, Long to reign over us, God save the Queen”.
The Almighty God must surely have granted the British their fervent wish, when he allowed the late Queen Elizabeth II to “reign over them” for seventy long years. But, as a consequence of this ‘change of guard’, the British National Anthem will similarly change to “God save the King”.
The shift from ‘Empire’ to ‘Commonwealth’.
The ‘disintegration’ of the British Empire started even before she ascended to the throne; and by the time she died, that Empire had completely vanished; as a result of the granting of independence to all the countries that had previously been under British sovereignty.
To her credit, Queen Elizabeth adjusted to these fundamental changes “with aplomb and good grace”. It is widely acknowledged that Queen Elizabeth II played an important role in maintaining this highly disparate organization together.
And, with regard to African Commonwealth member countries, her personal relationships with their leaders; including Tanzania’s Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, were an important indicator of the social and attitudinal changes which accompanied the great shift from ‘Empire’ to ‘Commonwealth’.
In an manifest show of personal affection and respect to Mwalimu Nyerere’s leadership, Queen Elizabeth II sent her own husband, Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh, to preside over the ceremonies relating to the granting of independence to Tanganyika, in December 1961.
The celebration events included the formal ‘State Opening’ of the Independence Parliament; which also gave me the opportunity to participate in the traditional ‘Speaker’s procession’ in entering Parliament for that Opening ceremony.
The Queen as Head of the Commonwealth.
Queen Elizabeth II played an important role in holding this disparate organization together. And, of course, the new King Charles III will also continue to head the Commonwealth, which has become even more inclusive, having recently been joined by countries which were never ruled by the British, namely Mozambique, Rwanda, Togo and Gabon.
These countries have done so, presumably because they see certain distinct advantages in being members of the Commonwealth. Some of these advantages were identified by Mwalimu Julius Nyerere in his Legislative Council speech delivered on 5th June, 1961; in which, in explaining the reasons for Tanganyika’s intention to join the Commonwealth upon the attainment of independence later that year; Nyerere described those benefits as follows:- “More than any other group of nations in the world today, the Commonwealth binds together, in friendship and in like-mindedness an astonishing variety of nations, both great and small, without distinction between them, and without discrimination amongst themselves.
Being stronger than ties and treaties; less selfish than alliances; and less restrictive than any other association, the Commonwealth seems to me to offer much hope for lasting peace and friendship among the people of the world”.
Tanganyika duly joined the Commonwealth upon the attainment of independence; and our Parliament also quickly joined the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
My lucky personal contacts with Queen Elizabeth II. I personally had the rare good fortune, of personally shaking hands with Queen Elizabeth II on three separate occasions; all of which were facilitated by my being among the few top leaders of our country at the material time.
The ‘books of authority’ on the subject of ‘leadership’ state as follows, regarding the basic sources of leadership:-“Some people become leaders because they possess certain talents, charisma, or passions; or because of their wealth, job title, or family name.
Others become leaders because they possess great minds or ideas; or they can tell compelling stories. And then, there are those who just stumble into leadership, because of the times they live in, or the circumstances in which they find themselves”. With due humility, I count myself as belonging to this last category, namely, that of people who “just stumble into leadership, simply because of the time in which they lived, or the circumstances in they found themselves”.
This is because I have none of the other special attributes that are mentioned therein. I was merely ‘thrust’ into these leadership positions by Presidential appointments. As Shakespeare said in Twelfth Night: “some people are born great, others have greatness thrust upon them”.
That line prays for the Queen “long to reign over us”; as follows :- “God save our gracious Queen, God save our noble Queen; God save the Queen. Send her Victorious, Happy and Glorious, Long to reign over us, God save the Queen”.
The Almighty God must surely have granted the British their fervent wish, when he allowed the late Queen Elizabeth II to “reign over them” for seventy long years. But, as a consequence of this ‘change of guard’, the British National Anthem will similarly change to “God save the King”.
The shift from ‘Empire’ to ‘Commonwealth’.
The ‘disintegration’ of the British Empire started even before she ascended to the throne; and by the time she died, that Empire had completely vanished; as a result of the granting of independence to all the countries that had previously been under British sovereignty.
To her credit, Queen Elizabeth adjusted to these fundamental changes “with aplomb and good grace”. It is widely acknowledged that Queen Elizabeth II played an important role in maintaining this highly disparate organization together.
And, with regard to African Commonwealth member countries, her personal relationships with their leaders; including Tanzania’s Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, were an important indicator of the social and attitudinal changes which accompanied the great shift from ‘Empire’ to ‘Commonwealth’.
In an manifest show of personal affection and respect to Mwalimu Nyerere’s leadership, Queen Elizabeth II sent her own husband, Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh, to preside over the ceremonies relating to the granting of independence to Tanganyika, in December 1961.
The celebration events included the formal ‘State Opening’ of the Independence Parliament; which also gave me the opportunity to participate in the traditional ‘Speaker’s procession’ in entering Parliament for that Opening ceremony.
The Queen as Head of the Commonwealth.
Queen Elizabeth II played an important role in holding this disparate organization together. And, of course, the new King Charles III will also continue to head the Commonwealth, which has become even more inclusive, having recently been joined by countries which were never ruled by the British, namely Mozambique, Rwanda, Togo and Gabon.
These countries have done so, presumably because they see certain distinct advantages in being members of the Commonwealth. Some of these advantages were identified by Mwalimu Julius Nyerere in his Legislative Council speech delivered on 5th June, 1961; in which, in explaining the reasons for Tanganyika’s intention to join the Commonwealth upon the attainment of independence later that year; Nyerere described those benefits as follows:- “More than any other group of nations in the world today, the Commonwealth binds together, in friendship and in like-mindedness an astonishing variety of nations, both great and small, without distinction between them, and without discrimination amongst themselves.
Being stronger than ties and treaties; less selfish than alliances; and less restrictive than any other association, the Commonwealth seems to me to offer much hope for lasting peace and friendship among the people of the world”.
Tanganyika duly joined the Commonwealth upon the attainment of independence; and our Parliament also quickly joined the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
My lucky personal contacts with Queen Elizabeth II. I personally had the rare good fortune, of personally shaking hands with Queen Elizabeth II on three separate occasions; all of which were facilitated by my being among the few top leaders of our country at the material time.
The ‘books of authority’ on the subject of ‘leadership’ state as follows, regarding the basic sources of leadership:-“Some people become leaders because they possess certain talents, charisma, or passions; or because of their wealth, job title, or family name.
Others become leaders because they possess great minds or ideas; or they can tell compelling stories. And then, there are those who just stumble into leadership, because of the times they live in, or the circumstances in which they find themselves”. With due humility, I count myself as belonging to this last category, namely, that of people who “just stumble into leadership, simply because of the time in which they lived, or the circumstances in they found themselves”.
This is because I have none of the other special attributes that are mentioned therein. I was merely ‘thrust’ into these leadership positions by Presidential appointments. As Shakespeare said in Twelfth Night: “some people are born great, others have greatness thrust upon them”.
That includes me. Hence, I was just lucky to have been holding some of these high-level leadership positions (which facilitated my personal contacts with Queen Elizabeth II); simply because of “ the circumstances in which I found myself” at the time of the relevant occasions.
The first such occasion was when I was the Vice Chancellor of the University of Dar es Salaam, (1970 – 1977); a position to which I was appointed by President Julius Nyerere upon its establishment on 1st July. 1970; with President Nyerere himself being the Chancellor of that University, so designated by the 1970 statute which had established it.
And I honestly believe that my appointment to that position was based primarily on “ the political circumstances of the time”; when President Nyerere wanted to disabuse the then widely held notion that Universities were “ivory towers”.
The words “ivory tower” are normally used disapprovingly, to describe “a place where you are separated from the problems and practical aspects of normal life, and therefore you do not have to worry about them, or even understand them”. Obviously, President Nyerere did not want that label to be applied to Tanzania’s first and only University. He, thus wanted to give it a “Tanzanian look”, in terms of its top leadership; while retaining the University’s core functions of high-level quality research and teaching activities, which I was given strict instructions not to interfere with.
I served in that capacity for a good seven years, until February 1977, when I was transferred to the post of Chief Executive Secretary of the newly established Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM); an apex CEO position in the then ‘one-party State’ constitutional dispensation. It is during that period, in 1979, that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II chose to pay a State Visit to Tanzania.
Thus, due to my high status, I was among the few national leaders who were invited to Her Majesty’s welcoming dinner at State House, Dar es Salaam. And that is when I got my first opportunity to shake hands with Queen Elizabeth II, and to sit at the same ‘High Table’ with her. In the course of casual conversation before dinner, President Nyerere narrated to Her Majesty how his political party, TANU, had given full support to the process of establishing the University of Dar es Salaam; a short story which he briefly narrated as follows:- “This University was actually started in a hurry, initially as a University College of the University of East Africa, in early 1961. And that was even before the necessary infrastructures had been built.
Hence, in those difficult circumstances, our Party, the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU), willingly donated its newly completed Party headquarters building, to the new University College, to enable it to make a start . And again when that institution eventually graduated to full University status in 1970, the party this time, donated its Executive Secretary General to go and provide the initial Administrative leadership of the new University; in the person of this young man here (pointing at me).
This provoked a gentle smile from Her Majesty, and I was highly elated by that ‘humorous’ introduction. The second occasion when I got a similar opportunity, was when I was the Speaker of the Tanzania Parliament, and had also been elected Chairman of the International Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), in 1999.
Two years later, in 2001, this Association was celebrating the 50th anniversary of existence. At the time of its founding in 1911, its name was the “Empire Parliamentary Association”; but had subsequently also changed to Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. For the commemoration of its 50th anniversary, we had decided to hold our Annual General Meeting in London, the home of the British Parliament.
Thus, in my leadership capacity of that of that organization, I got the privilege of being very close to Her Majesty at all the official functions, which were arranged for that occasion; specifically the official opening of the Annual General Meeting; and the glittering evening reception.
In both events, I got the privilege of shaking hands with Her Majesty, and engaging in appropriate ‘tete-a-tete’ conversations. I remember the Queen saying to me: “So, Mr. Chairman, you are doing all the work? “No, your Majesty”, I replied “We have the Secretary General, who does all the work”.
Enter His Majesty King Charles III. The title of “King Charles” reminds me of the ‘infamous’ reign of His Majesty King Charles I. (1600 – 1649); which was eventually terminated by his execution in 1649.
In Commonwealth Parliamentary circles, King Charles I is especially remembered for his failed attempt to arrest five members of the British Parliament; an event, which subsequently became the foundation of the most cherished doctrine of “Parliamentary immunity, Powers and Privileges”.
On 4th January, 1642; King Charles I arrived, uninvited, at the British House of Commons, purportedly to personally arrest five members who were opposing him loudly in the House, The Speaker, Hon. William Lenthall, had apparently been informed of the King’s evil intentions; and had forewarned the five members to absent themselves from the House on that day.
The King entered Parliament, found the Members sitting there in conspiratorial absolute silence. He reportedly “borrowed” the Speaker’s Chair, and started scanning the House for the wanted MPs; but could not see any of them. Whereupon, he turned to the Speaker and said:- “I see all the birds have flown.
But I do expect from you, that you shall send them unto me as soon as they return hither”. To which the Speaker meekly replied: “Your Majesty, I have neither eyes to see, nor tongue to speak here, except as the House may be pleased to direct me”. This famous statement has been granted a historic ‘space of honour’ in the annals of the British Parliament.
piomsekwa@gmail.co 0754767576.
The first such occasion was when I was the Vice Chancellor of the University of Dar es Salaam, (1970 – 1977); a position to which I was appointed by President Julius Nyerere upon its establishment on 1st July. 1970; with President Nyerere himself being the Chancellor of that University, so designated by the 1970 statute which had established it.
And I honestly believe that my appointment to that position was based primarily on “ the political circumstances of the time”; when President Nyerere wanted to disabuse the then widely held notion that Universities were “ivory towers”.
The words “ivory tower” are normally used disapprovingly, to describe “a place where you are separated from the problems and practical aspects of normal life, and therefore you do not have to worry about them, or even understand them”. Obviously, President Nyerere did not want that label to be applied to Tanzania’s first and only University. He, thus wanted to give it a “Tanzanian look”, in terms of its top leadership; while retaining the University’s core functions of high-level quality research and teaching activities, which I was given strict instructions not to interfere with.
I served in that capacity for a good seven years, until February 1977, when I was transferred to the post of Chief Executive Secretary of the newly established Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM); an apex CEO position in the then ‘one-party State’ constitutional dispensation. It is during that period, in 1979, that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II chose to pay a State Visit to Tanzania.
Thus, due to my high status, I was among the few national leaders who were invited to Her Majesty’s welcoming dinner at State House, Dar es Salaam. And that is when I got my first opportunity to shake hands with Queen Elizabeth II, and to sit at the same ‘High Table’ with her. In the course of casual conversation before dinner, President Nyerere narrated to Her Majesty how his political party, TANU, had given full support to the process of establishing the University of Dar es Salaam; a short story which he briefly narrated as follows:- “This University was actually started in a hurry, initially as a University College of the University of East Africa, in early 1961. And that was even before the necessary infrastructures had been built.
Hence, in those difficult circumstances, our Party, the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU), willingly donated its newly completed Party headquarters building, to the new University College, to enable it to make a start . And again when that institution eventually graduated to full University status in 1970, the party this time, donated its Executive Secretary General to go and provide the initial Administrative leadership of the new University; in the person of this young man here (pointing at me).
This provoked a gentle smile from Her Majesty, and I was highly elated by that ‘humorous’ introduction. The second occasion when I got a similar opportunity, was when I was the Speaker of the Tanzania Parliament, and had also been elected Chairman of the International Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), in 1999.
Two years later, in 2001, this Association was celebrating the 50th anniversary of existence. At the time of its founding in 1911, its name was the “Empire Parliamentary Association”; but had subsequently also changed to Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. For the commemoration of its 50th anniversary, we had decided to hold our Annual General Meeting in London, the home of the British Parliament.
Thus, in my leadership capacity of that of that organization, I got the privilege of being very close to Her Majesty at all the official functions, which were arranged for that occasion; specifically the official opening of the Annual General Meeting; and the glittering evening reception.
In both events, I got the privilege of shaking hands with Her Majesty, and engaging in appropriate ‘tete-a-tete’ conversations. I remember the Queen saying to me: “So, Mr. Chairman, you are doing all the work? “No, your Majesty”, I replied “We have the Secretary General, who does all the work”.
Enter His Majesty King Charles III. The title of “King Charles” reminds me of the ‘infamous’ reign of His Majesty King Charles I. (1600 – 1649); which was eventually terminated by his execution in 1649.
In Commonwealth Parliamentary circles, King Charles I is especially remembered for his failed attempt to arrest five members of the British Parliament; an event, which subsequently became the foundation of the most cherished doctrine of “Parliamentary immunity, Powers and Privileges”.
On 4th January, 1642; King Charles I arrived, uninvited, at the British House of Commons, purportedly to personally arrest five members who were opposing him loudly in the House, The Speaker, Hon. William Lenthall, had apparently been informed of the King’s evil intentions; and had forewarned the five members to absent themselves from the House on that day.
The King entered Parliament, found the Members sitting there in conspiratorial absolute silence. He reportedly “borrowed” the Speaker’s Chair, and started scanning the House for the wanted MPs; but could not see any of them. Whereupon, he turned to the Speaker and said:- “I see all the birds have flown.
But I do expect from you, that you shall send them unto me as soon as they return hither”. To which the Speaker meekly replied: “Your Majesty, I have neither eyes to see, nor tongue to speak here, except as the House may be pleased to direct me”. This famous statement has been granted a historic ‘space of honour’ in the annals of the British Parliament.
piomsekwa@gmail.co 0754767576.
Source: Daily News today.
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