On Tuesday, she accepted the resignation of her fourteenth Prime Minister, and asked her fifteenth to form a government. Then, on Thursday afternoon, she passed away. “Right. Work to do. All done? I’m off.” Duty always came first.
The British media has been rehearsing this day for years. I daresay that the Royal Family themselves have had to endure briefings over many years for this exact circumstance. The Queen was 96, so her passing is not entirely unexpected.
However, I suspect, for her subjects, it has still come as a shock. It has for me. There are very, very few people alive who remember a time when anyone else was on the throne. For most of us, the Queen was always there. Every Christmas Day at 3pm, we sat to watch her annual address.
Today, the 9th of September, as I type, many sporting and cultural events have been cancelled. The golf at Wentworth was suspended yesterday and for today. The football authorities are considering how to manage their schedule.
The news came too late for a West Ham European match - but when a minute’s silence was requested, the Hammers fans responded with a rousing rendition of God Save the Queen, before watching their team win 3-1. Seldom have I held football fans in such esteem.
The world’s speech writers are in overdrive. Frankly, the bastards are making me cry all over the place. What? I’m a Celt. We get a bit emotional, alright?
Boris Johnson has delivered a couple of good ones, old Joe Biden is doing OK - but the early leader? Emmanuel Macron. Seriously. A bleedin’ Frenchie!
“The Queen of sixteen Kingdoms loved France, which loved her back. This evening, the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth are mourning their Queen. The people of France join them in their grief.”
Silver-tongued devil. Then, he went to the British Embassy in Paris, and left a single rose beside a portrait of the Queen. Smooth.
I paused my businesses social posts. I daresay the wheels of commerce will begin to turn again soon, but just for now, I think a little time to reflect is no bad thing.
There are those who feel that this will be the end for the monarchy. Others feel that little will change.
I, am of the Elizabethan age, a seventy year reign from the 1950’s to the 2020s. All of a sudden, it feels as though everything has changed.
The world is a poorer place without Queen Elizabeth II. I offer condolences to her family, friends and to all who grieve her passing.
