Not merely a queen, but the Queen

People simply referred to “the Queen.” They usually didn’t say “Queen Elizabeth.” They didn’t need to. Neither her name nor those of the countries she ruled were necessary to identify her. There are other queens, of course, but none has remotely the same stature or instant recognition. Mention of them is likely to prompt the fugitive thought, “I’d forgotten that country had a queen.”

Why was there only one Queen?

Partly it was her brilliance in balancing warm accessibility and the awe-inspiring dignified distance that makes majesty. She was “Her...