I wish I had thought of this myself, but I came across it on the Swiss news platform WATSON. A reader put forward this tongue-in-cheek suggestion with regard to Queen Elizabeth’s death and Charles III, Prince of Wales, succeeding her.

“Man könnte Aufgrund der Gewohnheit beschliessen, Queen als Titel beizubehalten und einfach davon ausgehen, dass die männliche Form damit mit gemeint ist.“

((translation:))

“In order not to part with a habit that we have all come to love, perhaps we could continue to keep Queen as the title for the monarch and assume that the masculine form is implied.”

Indeed, this could be seen as the ultimate tribute to her Majesty and her belief in gender-equality and women’s empowerment (shown not least by the fact that her grandson William’s first-born child, regardless of gender, will eventually wear the crown).

Let me take this as a reminder of the fact that the beloved Queen Elizabeth II made history on March 12, 2013, by signing a new Commonwealth Charter at Marlborough House in Central London. This covered fundamental values, from democracy and rule of law, to freedom of expression and gender equality, all of which were explicitly endorsed by her. “We recognize that gender quality and women’s empowerment are essential components of human development and basic human rights.” And she went further: “We are implacably opposed to all forms of discrimination, whether rooted in gender, race, colour, creed, political belief, or other grounds.”

Queen Elizabeth II, who died aged 96 after 70 years as the sovereign on the throne was a key figure in the lives of most of us around the world, whether or not we believe in monarchy. We are deeply affected by this loss and most of us experience it as an end of an era.