We used to talk about Queen Elizabeth receive the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize – but she was not interested in winning it, according to a top courtier.

The late Queen, who died on September 8, 2022 aged 96, was in talks to receive the honor because of her work in “transforming and expanding the Commonwealth”. The daily mail» reported Ephraim Hardcastle.

Why the late queen failed to rise to the occasion remains “an eternal mystery”, Hardcastle wrote, but the reason may be quite simple: the late Her Majesty apparently had no interest in it.

Although it is not necessary to consult applicants about whether or not they want to receive the award, in the Queen’s case, Buckingham Palace was contacted “repeatedly” by Commonwealth leaders. for advice” on the appointment of the Queen.

“They were politely told, ‘Thanks, but no thanks,'” Hardcastle reported, citing a high-ranking courtier.

In 2018, the campaign for Queen Elizabeth to win the Nobel Peace Prize reached its peak, with The telegraph reporting that senior politicians believed the Queen should be recognized for her 66 years of service to the Commonwealth since ascending the throne on February 6, 1952. (She would ultimately serve a record 70 years before her death in 2022.)

The matter was taken so seriously that The telegraph reported at the time that the proposal to appoint the Queen would likely be on the table at the next Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, with smaller Commonwealth countries leading the charge.

“This is being discussed by different high commissioners,” a source told the outlet. “They want to nominate her for what she’s done for the Commonwealth.”

THE Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 56 independent and equal countries representing 2.7 billion people around the world. The roots of the Commonwealth go back to the British Empire, but today any country can join, with the last two countries to do so being Gabon and Togo in 2022. King Charleswho as monarch is now the head of the Commonwealth, recently attended the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa alongside his wife Queen Camille.

In 2018, Labor MP Frank Field “was one of several ministers” to support the idea of ​​Queen Elizabeth receiving the honour.

“Over 60 years, if the Queen’s determined diplomacy to keep the Commonwealth alive and functioning – which is a model of how a multitude of nations around the world can police themselves – does not qualify her for a Nobel Prize, it’s hard to think what more can be done,” he said.

THE Nobel Peace Prizeawarded annually, is awarded to a person for having “done the best work in favor of brotherhood among nations, but the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses”, according to the United Nations, and previous ones. winners included Barack Obama, Jimmy Carter, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr. And Nelson Mandela.

The guardian praised Queen Elizabeth’s “determined diplomacy” to “keep the Commonwealth alive” during the 2018 nomination campaign, calling the monarch the “guiding spirit” of the Commonwealth.

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“No one will ever know a fraction of what she does behind closed doors, using her soft power to influence relations between members of the Commonwealth and between Britain and the Commonwealth,” historian Ashley Jackson told the outlet. , emphasizing that the Queen helped the Commonwealth become “a multiracial society of independent nation-states.

Nobel Peace Prizes are not awarded after a person’s death, so Queen Elizabeth is no longer eligible for the honor, according to The guardian.

Known for her humility and modesty, “I don’t think people will really realize until she’s gone how much she’s just part of the national landscape,” said royal biographer Robert Hardman, author of the book. Queen of our time: the life of Queen Elizabeth IItold PEOPLE about six months before his death.

“He’s such a reassuring figure. “When you have moments of uncertainty, you have the feeling that the wheels are not going to fall off, that the country will still be here tomorrow, as long as there is still a flag flying above Buckingham Palace,” he said. he declared.