PUNCTUALITY is the courtesy of kings. Cory was always on time, among the first to arrive and first to leave. She never wore out her welcome. This was cleverness as much as courtesy. She was entitled to run again for a first six-year term under the 1987 Constitution; she declined. The other attribute of royalty is remembering a face. This is harder than you think. Few are gifted with the ability, but it does not mean you are royal if you have it. The only thing royal in our country is a brand of spaghetti. Crooks must remember faces to spot the ones following them.
What truly stands out as royal is remembering a kindness, even one without a face. The grandpa of Andrew Simes sent a Christmas card to Queen Elizabeth every holiday season from 1952 until his death in 2011. Queen and commoner met once in 1972, at a reception in Turkey, from where grandpa mailed his Christmas cards. When it was his turn to be introduced to the Queen, instead of a formal handshake she queen paused, smiled, and said: “So it is you who keeps sending me those lovely Christmas cards.”
After grandpa died, Andrew continued the courtesy. He was surprised to get an answer from the queen herself. She wrote, “When I received a letter from a different Simes this Christmas, I instructed my office to research your grandfather’s whereabouts.” Consider a pause here. “Therefore, it is with much sadness that I have learned of his passing and extend my condolences to you and your family.” The cynical might say that MI5 kept tabs on all her correspondents, telling her aide, “If you see Simes, tell her he is the Christmas card guy.” I doubt it. But she probably took the initiative to have him looked up after a couple of Christmas cards. What is sure is that, every Christmas his card was on her desk and she read it, until it was something she came to expect to complete her Christmas.