My tribute to Queen Elizabeth II - How she conquered the challenges of a great destiny

Hereditary monarchies can seem like a strange system of leadership to those of us (like me!) who live under republican systems of government. But Queen Elizabeth II was one of the rare monarchs who embraced the challenge of being born to a great destiny and accepted both the privileges and the burdens with gratitude and humility. It would have been easy for her to whine about her difficulties or shirk her duty to represent her people, as many wealthy monarchs do, but instead she consistently and resolutely put on her game face to be the Queen every day for 70 years. By rising to the challenge of her destiny, the Queen's legacy is a heroic one, and this is why she has been a unifying figure for people around the world.

00:00 Intro
01:05 Queen Elizabeth II exemplifies what makes a monarchy work
01:22 Elected leadership is grounded in ambition, monarchy is grounded in fate
02:29 Great destinies carry great challenges and tests
03:34 The privilege of birthright is weighed down by burden of responsibility
05:03 We have little sympathy for the suffering of the privileged
06:00 The Queen has borne her own suffering in private for 70 years
07:14 Diverse people around the world appreciate her attitude of gratitude
09:30 Embracing the responsibility of leadership despite the temptations of privilege is heroic
11:49 Her example is unifying because we can all relate to the challenges of fate
13:01 As a monarch, she fused the challenge of fate with the possibilities of ambition
14:22 Great leadership like hers is exceedingly rare - now it's Charles's turn to step up