英王室を４５年撮り続けたカメラマン、女王を語る

【ロンドンＡＦＰ＝時事】英大衆紙サンのカメラマンとして、エリザベス女王（９６）を４５年にわたり撮り続けてきたアーサー・エドワーズ氏（８１）。女王在位７０周年「プラチナジュビリー」を控え、絶えず刺激を与えてくれる存在だとたたえる女王の人柄や王室の今後についてＡＦＰに語った。（写真はエリザベス女王。資料写真）
Ｑ：女王はどのような人？
Ａ：こちらがいつ訪ねても、常に同じで変わりません。ゆっくりと、自分のペースで振る舞います。動揺を見せることは絶対にありません。
　女王はインタビューに応じたことがないので、物事に対する自身の考えは誰にも分かりませんが、女王の着付け係や、言葉を交わす人々から少しずつうかがい知ることができます。
　例えば、女王は毎年、スコットランドのバルモラル城で休暇を過ごします。一度、他の所には行かないのですかと尋ねたところ、「では、どこに行けばいいのでしょう」という答えでした。
　女官が笑って私のところに言いに来ました。女王はバルモラルが大のお気に入りなんですよと。理由を尋ねると、３か月間、誰にも注目されないからですと。
　女王が犬や馬を好きなのは、自分が女王であることを知らない相手だからなのです。

Ｑ：王室の今後は？
Ａ：王位継承は困難なものになるでしょう。女王を知らない人はいません。あらゆる紙幣や硬貨、切手になっています。
　女王は私たちの文化の一部、生活の一部なのです。
　プリンス・オブ・ウェールズ（チャールズ皇太子の称号）はとてつもない仕事をこなしてきました。近くで接してきたので知っています。
　素晴らしい人物です。でも、難しいでしょうね。
　皇太子は、この国の歴史の中で最も驚嘆すべき君主の一人の後を継ごうとしているのですから。
　国が困難な状況にある時にはいつも、女王はテレビで国民に語り掛けてきました。故ダイアナ元皇太子妃が亡くなった時、新型コロナウイルスが流行した時も、国民にメッセージを送りました。女王は掛け替えのない人なのです。

Ｑ：最近の女王の様子は？
Ａ：昨年１０月に撮影した時は、弱々しくはありましたが我慢強く、堂々としていました。ボリス・ジョンソン首相と同席し、ジョン・ケリー米大統領特使や（米マイクロソフト創業者の）ビル・ゲイツ氏を紹介された時も（中略）お元気で、１時間ほど立っていました。ですが、翌日には病院に行っていました。
　ここ半年はとても弱々しくなり、体重もかなり減っています。
　ジュビリーで女王の姿が見えなければ、何百万人もの人々が、がっかりするでしょう。みんなコンサートや式典を目当てにロンドンに集まりますが、本当に見たいのは女王なのです。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/06/01-18:29）

The Sun newspaper's Arthur Edwards, 81, has been photographing Queen Elizabeth II for 45 years, and describes her as an enduring source of inspiration.
But ahead of the 96-year-old monarch's Platinum Jubilee celebrations, the veteran royal snapper told AFP the royal family faces a difficult transition.
- What kind of person is the queen? -
She was always the same every visit you went on, nothing changed, she went slow, at her own pace. She never, ever was fazed.
She's never given an interview so no one really knows her thoughts on things. But you glean these little things from people you talk to, like her dresser.
For instance, she goes to her Balmoral Scottish estate every year for a holiday. I once said to her, 'why don't you go somewhere else?' and she said 'well, where can I go?'
The lady-in-waiting laughed and came back to me and said she absolutely loves it at Balmoral and I said 'why?'. She said because for three months, people ignore her.
And the reason she likes dogs and horses is because they don't know she's the queen.
- What's going to happen over the next few months? -
It is going to be difficult, the transition. Everybody just knows the queen: she's on every bank note, she's on every coin, she's on every stamp.
The queen is just part of our culture, it's part of our life.
The Prince of Wales (heir to the throne Prince Charles) has done tremendous work himself and I know that because I've been working with him closely.
He's an incredible man, but it's going to be difficult.
He's done several things where he stood in for the queen recently. He does that without any fuss and people will see that he's genuine and I think they will accept him but it won't be easy.
He's following one of the most amazing monarchs we ever had in this country.
She served in the war. We now have got these problems with (grandson Prince) Harry and all these things she just copes with magnificently.
Whenever things get tough here she goes on television and she speaks to the nation. When Diana died, she spoke to the nation. With Covid, she spoke to the nation. She is a woman that matters.
- How is she? -
Last October I photographed her, she was frail but she was stoic, she was magnificent.
She was with Boris Johnson and she was introduced to John Kerry from America, Bill Gates... and she was fine.
She was on her feet for an hour, but the next day she went to hospital.
In the last six months she's become very frail, she's lost a lot of weight. The clothes have been adjusted, the dresses are hanging on her sometimes.
She takes doctor's advice. The problem is... she wants to walk and she can't.
And she doesn't want to embarrass herself. I wrote a piece saying she should get a wheelchair. It's no shame, but she, for some reason, won't do it.
If we don't see the queen over the jubilee, there'll be millions of people disappointed.
They come into London to see the concert and they are going to see the pageant, but what they really want to see is the queen.