Crochet Iconic Women (Amour Fou) — Queen Elizabeth II

"I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.

But I shall not have strength to carry out this resolution alone unless you join in it with me, as I now invite you to do: I know that your support will be unfailingly given. God help me to make good my vow, and God bless all of you who are willing to share in it."

(The 21st birthday speech of Queen Elizabeth II (then Princess), 21 April 1947 radio broadcast from Cape Town during the 1947 royal tour of South Africa, addressing the peoples of the British Commonwealth and Empire)

This weekend is the last of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II, celebrating the 70th anniversary of her accession to the British throne. For many of my generation and after here in Singapore, Queen Elizabeth II is a rather remote figure to whom we feel little attachment, since British rule in Singapore ended in 1963, and our last colonial link to the British monarchy ended in 1994 when all appeals to the Privy Council were abolished. Although the British monarch is no longer our head of state, nonetheless we are still part of the Commonwealth of Nations, a political association of which she is head of, and she is very much a part of our history. (That said, I enjoy watching The Crown; and yes, I know it has inaccuracies and is mostly speculative or fictional. Well, it's TV drama, not a documentary! The royal family including the Queen herself have weighed in on it. And it's even been pointed out that the Queen is not at all like The Crown's Queen. But I digress...)

Well, aside from all that, on a personal level, Queen Elizabeth II is a person, a leader whom I deeply admire and respect. In a way, she is also a living representation of a bygone era, a time that many of my generation and after have remote memories or no personal experience of, as highlighted below. And so, for this occasion is my version of the Queen Elizabeth II amigurumi from the amazing crochet pattern book Crochet Iconic Women: Amigurumi Patterns for 15 Women Who Changed the World by Carla Mitrani of Amour Fou (IG: @amourfou_crochet). I've changed Her Majesty's outfit a little from the one in the book. But more on this later....

Queen Elizabeth II, Crochet Iconic Women, Carla Mitrani Amour Fou (@amourfou_crochet). My version takes inspiration from the Queen's outfit during her 2014 visit to the "Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red" installation at the Tower of London.

Not expected to become Queen at birth, she became one by circumstances not of her making, and has served her duty with dignity, dedication and resilience. Queen Elizabeth II was named Time's 100 Women of the Year for 1953, in which she was described as the personification of "British endurance untainted by politics...best understood, still, as a symbol: no longer the potent florescence of youth, but a hard-worn tree in whose limbs and roots can be traced the archaeology of an era".

And indeed, what a life! She is the longest-reigning British monarch, the world's longest-reigning living monarch, and the world's longest-serving head of state — which makes her the world's longest serving female monarch and head of state in recorded history. During her 70-year reign (thus far), she has advised 14 British prime ministers, and over 100 prime ministers of former and current Commonwealth realms. Besides key moments in her personal life, her life also spans many major historical events of the 20th century and the present century (so far). These include, but are not limited to, such key events as:

• continued decolonisation and dissolution of the British Empire (which accelerated in the postwar years)
• the establishment of the Commonwealth of Nations (1926);
• the invention of colour TV (1926);
• the global commercialisation and evolution of sound films (late 1920s-1930s);
• the Chinese Civil War (1927-1937 and 1945-1949);
• the Great Depression (1929-1939);
• women gaining the full right to vote in England, Scotland and Wales (1929);
• World War II (1939-1945);
• the Northern Campaign between the IRA and Northern Ireland (1942-1944);
• the Greek Civil War (1943-1949);
• India's independence movement, the eventual independence of India and Pakistan in 1947, and the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in 1948;
• the Khost disturbances (1944-1947);
• the Indonesia War of Independence against the Dutch Empire (1945-1949);
• the rise and fall of communism in Europe — the Cold War (1947-1991), the fall of the Iron Curtain and fall of the Berlin Wall (1989), the dissolution of the Soviet Union (1988-1991), the Revolutions of 1989;
• the end of the British Mandate for Palestine (1948), the 1947-1949 Palestine War, the Israeli declaration of independence and creation of the State of Israel (1948), the First Arab-Israeli War (1948), the 1949 Armistice;
• the Malayan Emergency (1948-1960);
• the creation and adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948);
• the formation of NATO (1949) based on the 1949 North Atlantic Treaty, which superseded the 1948-1954 Brussels Pact, itself preceded by the 1947 Treaty of Dunkirk between France and the UK;
• the Korean War (1950-1953);
• the formation and expansion of the EU, beginning with the 1951 Treaty of Paris and then the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, the UK joining the EU (1973) and Brexit (2020);
• the 1952 Egyptian Revolution;
• the deaths of Soviet Union leaders Stalin (1953), Khrushchev (1971);
• the discovery of the DNA structure (1953) and development of DNA sequencing (1977-present);
• the development of cloning (1953) and Dolly (1996);
• the American Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968), the assassination of American civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr. (1968);
• the Cyprus Emergency (1955-1959);
• the Vietnam War (1955-1975);
• the Suez Crisis, aka the Second Arab-Israeli War (1956);
• the beginning of the Space Age from the 1957 launch of Sputnik 1, the 1958 launch of Explorer 1, and mankind's first landing on the moon (1969);
• The Beatles and Beatlemania (1960s);
• the development of computers culminating in today's widespread use of PCs and computer systems in our daily lives (1960s-present);
• the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962);
• the assassination of J.F. Kennedy (1963);
• the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), the deaths of key Chinese communist party leaders Liu Shaoqi (1969), Mao Zedong (1976), of Zhou Enlai (1976), of Deng Xiaoping (1997);
• the opening of China (c.1978, 1992), Nixon's landmark 1972 visit to China — the Queen's 1986 visit to China was also landmark as she was the first British monarch to visit China;
• the Six-Day War (1967);
• the 1979 Iranian Revolution, and the founding of the Islamic Republic of Iran by Ayatollah Khomeini;
• the Soviet-Afghan War (1979-1989);
• the Falklands War (1982);
• the development and spread of mobile phones (1980s-1990s) and subsequently smartphones (2000s), the creation of revolutionary iPhone by Steve Job (2007);
• the birth of the World Wide Web, the Internet (1983) and the beginning of the Information Age (1989-present);
• the assassination of Indira Gandhi (1984), India's first female prime minister;
• 2 major nuclear accidents — Chernobyl (1986) and Fukushima (2011);
• Black Monday (1987);
• the mad cow disease outbreak (1987-present);
• the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests;
• the Gulf War (1990-1991);
• the end of apartheid in Africa (1990-1993);
• the break-up of former Yugoslavia (1990s) and the ensuing Yugoslav Wars (1991-2001), Bosnian War (1992-1995), Croatian War of Independence (1991-1995) and Kosovo War (1998-1999);
• the return of Hong Kong (1997) and Macau (1999) to China;
• the 1997 Asian financial crisis;
• September 11 (2001), the ensuing War in Afghanistan (2001-2021) and Iraq War (2003-2011);
• the global spread of H5N1 avian flu (2004-present);
• the assassination of Benazir Bhutto (2007), Pakistan's first female prime minister;
• the Great Recession (2007-2009), including the 2008 Financial Crisis;
• the Arab Spring (2010-2011) and ensuing Syrian civil war (2011-present);
• the 2014 Umbrella Movement and Hong Kong democracy protests;
• the Russian annexation of Crimea (2014) and escalation to the Russo-Ukrainian War (2014-present);
• several pandemics, such as the 1957-1958 flu pandemic and 1968 flu pandemic; the 1977 H1N1 flu pandemic (1977-1979); the HIV/AIDS pandemic (1981-present); the 2002-2004 SARS outbreak, swine flu pandemic (2009-2010) and of course, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic (2019-present)...

and the list keeps growing... Actually I find it a little bleak to note that humanity is constantly at war with each other and with disease....

The world, people's values, society (or societies), politics, science and technology, etc. have changed so much since Queen Elizabeth II was born and since she acceded to the British throne. And changing along with the times, so has the British monarchy itself slowly evolved and modernised, and yet seemed to remain the same. In view of all this, Queen Elizabeth II is like a symbol of continuity and change. Or according to Robert Hardman (royal biographer who wrote Queen of Our Times), she is "a steady constant in an ever-changing world".

Queen Elizabeth II, Crochet Iconic Women, Carla Mitrani Amour Fou (@amourfou_crochet)

Queen Elizabeth II is also one of the world's most iconic and influential women, even in the 21st century. This is pretty amazing considering the Queen has had some iconic, influential women as her contemporaries, e.g. her third cousin Queen Margrethe II of Denmark (1972-), several First Ladies of the US including Jackeline Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson, Rosalynn Carter, Hilary Clinton, Michelle Obama. During her reign, she has also seen several women become the first female head of state or government of their respective countries. For instance, Sirimavo Bandaranaike (Sri Lanka, 1916-2000), Soong Ching-ling (China, 1893-1981), Golda Meir (Israel, 1898-1978), Margaret Thatcher (UK, 1925-2013), Indira Gandhi (India, 1917-1984), Corazon Aquino (the Philippines, 1933-2009), Benazir Bhutto (Pakistan, 1953-2007), Mary Robinson (Ireland, 1944-), Sylvie Kinigi (Burundi, 1953-), Angela Merkel (Germany, 1954-), Aung San Suu Kyi (Myanmar, 1945-), to name a few. These women were/are also influential and iconic women of their time.

The list of iconic and influential women who are the Queen's contemporaries doesn't stop at heads of states or governments. It also includes many others in other areas such as civil rights, human rights, law, medicine, science, technology, etc. Some of them are also featured in Crochet Iconic Women — for e.g. Amelia Earhart (1897-1939), Jane Goodall (1934-), Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993), Billy Holiday (1915-1959), Greta Thunberg (2003-), Malala Yousafzai (1997-), Rosa Parks (1913-2005), Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933-2020), Serena Williams (1981).

The Queen has steadfastly remained politically neutral, and doesn't voice her personal views on politics in public. As such, there isn't much one can find of her discussing women's rights, female empowerment, women in public roles, right to choose, or LGBTQ rights. That said, the role of women in society has changed a lot during her lifetime, an aspect that she herself recognised early in her life, with WWII and the postwar period. In her 1966 Christmas broadcast, the Queen spoke of the increasingly prominent role of women, and said:

"This year I should like to speak especially to women. In many countries custom has decreed that women should play a minor part in public affairs.

It is difficult to realise that it was less than 50 years ago that women in Britain were first given the vote, but Parliament was first asked to grant this 100 years ago.

Yet, in spite of these disabilities, it has been women who have breathed gentleness and care into the harsh progress of mankind.

The struggles against inhuman prejudice, against squalor, ignorance, and disease, have always owed a great deal to the determination and tenacity of women.

The devotion of nuns and nurses, the care of mothers and wives, the service of teachers, and the conviction of reformers are the real and enduring presents which women have always given.

In the modern world the opportunities for women to give something of value to the human family are greater than ever, because, through their own efforts, they are now beginning to play their full part in public life.

We know so much more about what can be achieved; we know that the tyranny of ignorance can be broken; we know the rules of health and how to protect children from disease.

We know all these things are important in our own homes, but it needs a very active concern by women everywhere if this knowledge is to be used where it is most needed. I am glad that in all countries of the Commonwealth women are more and more able to use it."

And in 2013, she also signed the Commonwealth Charter which includes (among other things) a declaration against "all forms of discrimination, whether rooted in gender, race, colour, creed, political belief or other grounds", and a specific declaration that "gender equality and women's empowerment are essential components of human development and basic human rights. The advancement of women's rights and the education of girls are critical preconditions for effective and sustainable development". In doing so, one might assume that while the Queen does not publicly express personal views on politics, she recognises and champions various causes, including gender equality.

Queen Elizabeth II, Crochet Iconic Women, Carla Mitrani Amour Fou (@amourfou_crochet)

Besides being a worldwide role model and a living symbol of Britain, the Queen is also a modern fashion style icon, as can be seen in this British Vogue retrospective on the Queen. For the past decade or so, the Queen is often in her signature monochrome block colour look, which consists of a bright coloured coat and matching hat, a statement brooch (which is often selected to be diplomatically or culturally sensitive to the occasion), topped off with her ever-present three-stranded pearl necklace (a gift from her father and also a family tradition), pearl earrings, black Launer handbag and sensible block heel shoes.

As mentioned above, I changed my amigurumi's outfit a little from the one in the book. The black buttons on her coat were French knots embroidered with the same black yarn. I went with black gloves, and black flowers for her hat. For the hat, I made the brim 1 round less and finished it with a round of slip stitches, just to give the edge a neater, cleaner finish. And as the Queen is never without a statement brooch and her signature pearls, I sewed on plastic faux pearls for earrings and a glass rhinestone for a brooch. Skipped her signature triple-stranded pearl necklace because it would be too much with the collar and all.

Queen Elizabeth II, Crochet Iconic Women, Carla Mitrani Amour Fou (@amourfou_crochet)

My version is largely modelled after the Queen's outfit during her 2014 visit to the "Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red" installation at the Tower of London. For that occasion, the Queen wore a turquoise Stewart Parvin coat with black lapels, Angela Kelly hourglass hat in the same turquoise wool trimmed with a black velvet rose, along with her usual three-strand pearl necklace and diamond pearl earrings, her black Launer handbag and black block heel shoes. Her statement brooch was an heirloom piece: the Cambridge emerald cluster brooch from the Cambridge emerald suite, which the Queen inherited from her grandmother Queen Mary.

Besides the small changes to her outfit, I also added 2 more curls at the front. Also changed the amigurumi's eyes to pearl blue safety eyes, instead of plain black ones because well, Queen Elizabeth II has blue eyes, and I wanted to include that. And embroidered on black lining and white below to give the eyes some shape and expression. There are so many options for amigurumi eyes though... Ugh, I just realised I forgot to give her blush on the cheeks!!! (＃￣0￣)

Queen Elizabeth II, Crochet Iconic Women, Carla Mitrani Amour Fou (@amourfou_crochet)

Materials & Tools:

• Pattern from Crochet Iconic Women: Amigurumi Patterns for 15 Women Who Changed the World by Carla Mitrani of Amour Fou (IG: @amourfou_crochet)
• Scheepjes Catona No.106 Snow White, No.255 Nude and No.110 Jet Black; Anette Eriksson Jeans Yarn (blue)
• 2.5mm Clover Amour crochet hook
• 8mm colour safety eyes (pearl blue)
• Plastic pearls (white)
• 3mm sew-on glass rhinestone

Queen Elizabeth II, Crochet Iconic Women, Carla Mitrani Amour Fou (@amourfou_crochet)

"...when I was 21, I pledged my life to the service of our people and I asked for God's help to make good that vow. Although that vow was made in my salad days, when I was green in judgement, I do not regret nor retract one word of it."

(Speech by Queen Elizabeth II at lunch at the Guildhall on her Silver Jubilee, 7 June 1977)