A campaign has been launched for the late Queen to be known as "Elizabeth the Faithful" to avoid comparisons to Genghis Khan.
Politicians such as former Prime Minister Boris Johnson had referred to the former monarch as the “Great” following her death last Thursday.
While others, such as Security Minister Tom Tugendhat, have referred to her as the “Faithful”.
And now former Conservative Party Treasurer Lord Michael Farmer has said he believes “Faithful” is the best term to use.
Queen Elizabeth II
POOL
A portrait of Genghis Khan
WikiCommons
Lord Farmer said the word reflected “the fulfilment of the pledge that she made on the cusp of adulthood to serve us her whole life.”
He added: “Superficially, she was indeed great, but more than 110 monarchs have been so designated – including the Herod who ordered the slaughter of the innocents, Louis XIV (whose rule made the French Revolution all but inevitable) and Genghis Khan.
“As the whole world agrees she was unique, ‘The Great’ misses the mark. When her subjects thoughtfully describe her – whether they are members of the public, commentators, politicians or others – they almost always reach for words that reflect her constancy, service and sense of duty: her faithfulness,” he said in a letter to The Telegraph.
Queen Elizabeth II will be interred with the Duke of Edinburgh in King George VI’s Memorial Chapel in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, in a private service at 7.30pm on Monday.
But the burial service conducted by the Dean of Windsor and attended by the King and royals will remain entirely private, as a “deeply personal family occasion”.
King Charles III, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward will mount a 15-minute vigil around the Queen’s coffin as it lies in state at 7.30pm on Friday.
After the funeral on Monday, the King and members of the Royal Family will walk behind the coffin to Wellington Arch when it leaves Westminster Abbey, before it is driven to Windsor on the state hearse.
Queen Elizabeth II’s committal service will take place at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle at 4pm on Monday.
And she will be buried with her late husband later that day.