He Ting Ru Was Just 6 Years Old When She Met Queen Elizabeth, Describes Making Awkward Curtsey
The world was shocked and saddened by the passing of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday (8 Sep).
The sad news prompted those lucky enough to have met the legendary monarch to reminisce about their encounters with her.
One of them is Sengkang MP He Ting Ru, who remembers meeting the Queen as a child of just 6 years old.
Source: He Ting Ru on Facebook
During that fleeting moment, Ms He managed to hand her a bouquet of flowers.
He Ting Ru met Queen Elizabeth in 1989
In a Facebook post on Friday (9 Sep), Ms He described the “awkward” meeting with the British ruler.
Though the opposition MP didn’t mention the year that this happened, she did say she was 6 years old at the time.
Given that Ms He is now 39 years old, that puts the year as 1989.
He Ting Ru made awkward curtesy to Queen Elizabeth
That day, Ms He said her mother picked her up after school and told her and her sister that they were going to see the Queen.
They heading to Ang Mo Kio Town Centre, where they found a large crowd and the Queen surrounded by security in the distance.
Despite this, Ms He and her sister managed to get through — perhaps because they were little girls holding flowers.
According to the MP, she quickly gave the Queen her flowers and made an awkward curtesy to “welcome her to Singapore”.
Source: He Ting Ru on Facebook by way of National Archives of Singapore
That’s because even at that age, she knew her manners — a Queen must be greeted properly.
Queen was gracious & warm
While Ms He’s meeting with the Queen was short, she remembers her being “gracious and warm”.
Though their encounter with an important female head of state, she and her sister also came away with something important.
They realised that girls, too, could lead countries and sit at the same table as men who made important decisions.
Perhaps that contributed to Ms He’s future efforts to run for election in Singapore, as an opposition candidate no less.
He Ting Ru saddened over Queen’s passing
That’s probably part of the reason why Ms He said she’s saddened over the Queen’s passing.
Describing her long life as one “spent in tireless service with dignity and grace to fulfil her duty to her people”, the Sengkang MP pointed out that she never put herself first.
Instead, she was dedicated to the institutions and values that mattered deeply to her.
Ms He also noted that the Queen remarkably reigned across 70 decades of a changing world, witnessing the crumbling of an empire to the rise of nation states, adding,
Her presence as a constant figure through changing and trying times will be missed.
To illustrate just how long her reign was, Ms He revealed that her mother, born a few years before Singapore’s independence in 1965, was also a subject of the Queen.
Today, her mother is already a grandmother of three.
There are undoubtedly many others who have lived their whole lives having known only one British ruler.
The Queen was an iconic figure for many
The tributes from world leaders and ordinary people alike only go to show how much an iconic figure the Queen was.
They also explain why her loss is so devastating even to non-Britons.
Though she’s rightly mourned worldwide, at least she lived life to the fullest, inspiring individuals in all corners of the world.
Our condolences are with the Royal Family and the people of the UK during these trying times.
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Featured image adapted from He Ting Ru on Facebook and Facebook by way of National Archives of Singapore.
