Queen Elizabeth II: Eastbourne author says ‘her journey is now complete’

Catherine Butcher was the author for Our Faithful Queen and co-author of The Servant Queen and the King She Serves. Catherine, who trained as a journalist on the Eastbourne Herald, aims to write about faith with jargon-free language that readers can clearly understand.

During the Golden Jubilee in 2002 Catherine was visiting schools to explain the coronation. In 2012 for the Diamond Jubilee she was working with the charity HOPE Together to produce a commemorative New Testament, looking at the coronation and Christmas speeches from the Queen. It was during her work with HOPE Together that Catherine suggested publishing a book which specifically looked at the Queen’s speeches.

Mark Greene from the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity, the Bible Society, and HOPE Together joined forces to create The Servant Queen and the King She Serves - it was published in 2016 to celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday. As the Queen was patron of Bible Society, Catherine said she was approached to write a foreword. Catherine said: “Perhaps it is because we described her as ‘The Servant Queen’ that she was willing to do this. During this last year, in the statement she made at the start of her Platinum Jubilee year, she signed herself ‘Your servant, Elizabeth.’ That’s how she saw herself.”

Looking at the two books overall, Catherine said: “The two books are quite different, but both helped me to appreciate what the Queen thought of Jesus Christ - the founder of Christianity.”

On the Queen’s death, Catherine said: “Back in 1953, in the month before her coronation, the Queen was invited to consider these words: ‘The whole of life is a journey to God…’ Her journey is now complete. As I read those speeches she wrote herself, watched her navigate difficult times, and wrote about the gracious way she lived, I am grateful for the Queen’s life of service, her joyful faith and clear testimony to the impact of Jesus Christ on her life. She has shown us how to live well; how to die well, and how to prepare for eternity.”

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