The Queen is Dead...

[Tronhard]

While the late queen was catapulted into that role after I was born, I have known only her as the head of the United Kingdom (where I was born) and what was then the Empire, now the Commonwealth.

I was far more effected by her passing than I expected. A constant in my existence has gone, and again I am reminded of our mortality, with my 70th birthday coming up soon. It is a very poignant moment.

In a world of turmoil, the role that Elizabeth took was one of service and diplomacy that sat above the turmoil of party politics - she was the ultimate career diplomat.  While her reign had its ups and downs, overall it was the longest since Victoria, and arguably the most successful since her predecessor Elizabeth I. While many may debated the role of the monarchy itself, it cannot be denied that on a personal level, she accepted the role of Queen as a life of service, along with the constraints and scrutiny that this role demanded.

When in conversation with NZ's Prime Minister during the lockdowns, PM Jacinta Ardern asked her what it was like to raise children as a monarch, she apparently paused for a moment and said 'You must deal with it as best you can, as a mother and monarch, your life is not your own, it is to serve and nurture your family: be that your intimate one, or that greater family of the UK and the Commonwealth.'  I think one can say say that she did that with dedication.

THE PHOTO:
Some time ago, before what was previously the Central Post Office became the Britomart Train Centre in the centre of Auckland City, I took a photo of one of the several plaques dedicated to the head of state, and that have been changed for each passing monarch.

The building is now under renovation and covered by plastic for its new role as a transit hub, It will be interesting to see if there is a set of new plaques when the plastic comes off - that is what would be expected. If so, then this will become a historical image.

Long Live the King...

[Tintype_18]

Being an American, I can only look at the monarchy and royals from the distance of the Atlantic Ocean. I do admire the Queen and ponder all that she had witnessed and even endured during her reign. What appalls me is the negative that has reared its ugly head in recent days. She has lived under a microscope all her life. During WWII, she didn't take advantage of her status but, of all things, worked as a truck mechanic. Charles III has his work cut out for him by the Queen's legacy.

[Tronhard]

Thanks for your contribution!  I have not seen much reaction from your side of the pond, but generally the UK press (and here in the antipodes) seems to focus on the good Elizabeth as a person did to hold things together and improve relations with her soft power of non-political diplomacy and personality.   Yes, Charles III has some big shoes to fill, and he is not young (the oldest to ascend to the throne in history). 

I think for me, more than anything else, it was the more significant because it was the loss of one element in my life (however remote) that was always there: for others, it might be the death of a singer or actor they have always known to be there.