The Queen Has Died

A sad day, Queen Elizabeth II has died. As the tributes flow, I notice the words service and duty often being used. They're accurate, and she was also known for her good humour and caring nature. But above all, I would describe her as brave. 

Around the world, the Queen moved amongst people with ease. These days, world leaders cower away, afraid of their own shadows. They hide behind a wall of steel. Not the Queen, she was out in the crowd meeting people. Just think, during her reign she talked directly to hundreds of thousands of people and indirectly through her speeches to hundreds of millions. No-one else can even come close to her reach across the globe

And she kept her word. This was her promise; "I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong." - Speech on her 21st birthday, April 21, 1947, broadcast on the radio from Cape Town.

The Queen first visited New Zealand in 1953. Her coronation tour visited towns and cities, and she travelled from one end of the country to the other. When in Nelson she stayed at the Hotel Nelson. At the end of her stay, the furniture in her suite was auctioned off and my mother bought a wing-back chair at that event. It sat in our lounge and was dubbed the Queen's chair. My mother wouldn't let anyone sit in it. Then, when on a visit home from university, there was my mother using it. I said, what about this being the Queen's chair? She replied, oh, I've dropped that rule now. This chair hadn't been used for 25 years!

We live in uncertain times, with a world war looming and overreaching governments imposing ridiculous lockdowns and travel restrictions. Will King Charles III be able to do his duty? I think so, he's also brave like his mother.

I found the following comment on YouTube, it hits the nail on the head:

Quelle femme, quelle mère, quelle grand mère, quelle arrière grand mère, quelle vie, QUELLE REINE ! Vous manquez déjà au monde entier votre majesté

Translation: What a woman, what a mother, what a grandmother, what a great grandmother, what a life, WHAT A QUEEN! The whole world already misses you your majesty