The Death of Queen Elizabeth II

Updated September 9th, 2022

As I looked out of the window this morning, and saw the sun had still rose as usual I know people around the world will be thinking the same…how?  How does the sun still rise, the world continue to turn, the day begin?  How without her, our constant, the woman who for most of us has always been there, do we carry on as normal?  It is a question anyone bereaved will ask the day after a loved one moves to the other side.

The death of our Queen, Queen Elizabeth II has shook the world. One single person who has impacted so many and the official period of mourning has begun.

Some will say ‘But she was 96’ and assume that this grand age will ensure there is no shock at her death.  But after working with the bereaved for more than a decade I can tell you it is still a shock.  Yes you can try and prepare yourself, tell yourself you know it is coming but when it happens? It is still a sharp blow to your world.  You never quite believe it will happen, believing they will live forever.

For so many of us Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has always just been there.  Whether you are a fan of the Royals or not she has been a constant throughout our lives.  Whether you watch her engagements, her speeches and follow her family or if you merely glance at her as you pay with cash in a shop or send a letter, our Queen is there.

Or was.  And today is the first day we adjust to our new world.

It feels almost fraudulent to me to mourn this incredible woman.  I never knew her.  I never even met her.  But like so many others around the country, the Commonwealth and the world I felt a connection to her.  As much as she was our monarch she was a Mother, Grandmother and Great Grandmother.  How can I, a subject feel entitled to mourn this woman?  I think it is because for all of the grandeur, pomp and ceremony the Royal Family were in so many ways just like us.  They had their family dynamics, they had births, deaths, tragedies and are human just like us.

As the matriarch of the family I felt a kinship with her.  To survey over your family, to ensure they are all happy and healthy, to watch over them with love and to guide them in times of trouble resonates with me.  To do that with a nation must have been quite the burden to bear.

As a young child the life she eventually led was not her destiny.  Thrust into a new world with the abdication of her Uncle, Edward VIII, she began a new path. A path she walked with such poise, dignity and steadfast loyalty to her subjects.

My admiration was always renewed with her little gestures.  It began with her speech stating “I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service”  More recently her signature signed off ‘Your servant, Elizabeth R’.  She did not claim to be better than us because she lived in a palace with untold jewels, she truly believed she was there to serve us, the public.

For me, as a woman she has always stood as a figurehead, that women can do anything.  Not because of the line of succession but because she ruled with a strength and steadfast resolve.  She came to the throne when women were still second class citizens.  In her lifetime she has watched the world change and has always held her own among the male world leaders she has conversed with.  My admiration for that side of her is profound.

As we lived through the Coronavirus pandemic it was the Queen’s rallying speech that lifted everyone’s spirits.  She enveloped us all with her comforting tone and reassuring appearance.  Once she addressed us my belief it would all be good once again was restored.  It seemed that if the Queen believed we would be ok then obviously we would.  The power in her words can never be underestimated.  The thought of this year’s Christmas speech without her is unnerving.  

As humans change is hard.  Change is important, it is necessary but I do believe it will take us some time to adjust to the new reality.  The new normal.

And now to the future…

It feels too soon to say goodbye, to let her go however it is the end of the Elizabethan age.  As we welcome in the Carolean era it is important to recognise that there can be no comparison.  Because the Queen is all most of us have ever known, who has occupied our lives as the most prominent figure in the world, and so King Charles has quite the void to fill.  It is important he is permitted to lead in his own way.  To allow him to find his own path and not make comparisons.  The British press will undoubtedly make those comparisons in the crude way they seem to do but for us as a public we must be gentler.  As well as our new King he is a son mourning the loss of his beloved Mummy.

As we enter an official period of mourning there are only two things left for me to say…

Thank you Ma’am.  For everything.

And long live the King.