The visit of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh ends today, and it has been an undoubted success.

Larger than expected crowds have turned out from St. George's to Dockyard, and the enthusiasm and warmth with which the Royal couple has been received has been noteworthy.

That says a great deal about the respect which is held towards the Queen, not just in Bermuda, but around the world. Throughout her long reign, she has carried herself with dignity and performed her duties with aplomb.

To be sure, the Queen is a constitutional monarch and head of state more in name than in reality, but it is worth remembering that when she came to the throne of the United Kingdom in 1953, she was titular ruler of almost a quarter of the world and India had become independent of Britain a mere six years earlier.

Since then, she has presided over the largely peaceful transition of the British Empire to the Commonwealth, whose Heads of Government meeting the Queen departs for today. Bermuda, of course, is one of the few places to choose to remain a British Overseas Territory.

But regardless of sovereignty, the members of the extraordinarily diverse Commonwealth share the same respect for democratic principles, individual rights, tolerance of other beliefs and the principles of justice and law and order. In certain cases, these principles are more loosely held than in others, but the fact remains that along with language, these beliefs do much to bond a large part of the world.

That this is the case does the Queen a great deal of credit, because she has very gently supported the Commonwealth throughout her reign. It could have been very different had someone else been on the throne.

There are worthwhile and important debates to be had on Bermuda's sovereignty and on the role of the monarchy, but this is not the day or the place for that.

The fact is that at an age when most people have been happily retired for many years, the Queen made the effort to come to Bermuda to help us celebrate our 400th anniversary.

And as she officially unveiled Graham Foster's mural of Bermuda's history at Dockyard, she may have mused that the history of this small island is a reflection of the United Kingdom's history, with its shared themes of maritime adventures, economic change and the march to freedom and equality.

Today, Bermuda, Britain and the Crown all face challenges and complexities which are quite different from those of 1609. In some instances, there will be differences of opinion. But mutual respect, honest dialogue, tolerance for differences and respect for the law can amicably resolve a great many problems that arise.

In many ways, the Queen has epitomised that approach.

And, as the Queen has demonstrated during her short visit here, her graciousness, energy and the visible warmth she feels for this small island show why she has been such a successful monarch, and why she is held in such esteem in Bermuda and around the world.