Sunday 18 September 2022 11:41 PM DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Last sad farewell for a truly global Queen trends now
It is fashionable among the liberal elite to depict Britain as a country of waning power and influence, sliding inexorably into the wings of the world stage.
This miserabilist movement, with Labour and the BBC inevitably at its vanguard, claims the UK is a spent force – a sickly international actor living off memories of its imperial past. The extraordinary global reaction to Queen Elizabeth II's death has exposed that notion as pure bunkum.
If Britain truly is slipping into irrelevance, why is the late monarch being near-universally mourned? If we are merely some dwindling second-rate state, how come the world's leaders have flocked to London to attend her state funeral today?
The greatest gathering of kings, queens, presidents and prime ministers ever seen will join the 2,000-strong congregation for the solemn service in Westminster Abbey.
If Britain truly is slipping into irrelevance, why is the late monarch being near-universally mourned?
Royalist or republican, democrat or despot, every head of state has been clamouring for invitations. Inclusion is a mark of international status.
The impact of Her Majesty's passing is seismic. The global grieving has easily eclipsed that which accompanied the deaths of such towering international figures as Winston Churchill, John F Kennedy and Nelson Mandela.
The reality, invariably overlooked by those who delight in running the country down, is that the Queen is revered across the planet – from the tiny Pitcairn Islands to the sands of Arabia. Her long reign reads like a travelogue. She visited more than 100 countries and hosted upwards of 150 state visits
