On the afternoon of 8th Sept 2022, we lost our beloved, longest-serving monarch. You may have already watched hours of footage, read tributes and heard heartfelt responses to the news.
Many friends have shared their favourite pictures on their own social media accounts. I love this image of the Queen at Balmoral, taken just two days before she died. Growing up thinking Elizabeth II looked like my own Grandma, she certainly looks like a Grandmother here, not a Head of State. Her simple cardigan and kilt in muted colours, her stick, and her glasses, all make her look so approachable. I love the fire blazing in the background and her welcoming smile as she invites our new Prime Minister (but it feels like she is inviting us) into the room.
What a blessing that we were allowed to celebrate her 70 years of service in June. We could introduce our youngest children to her story: duty, selflessness, stoicism and faith.
I look at this picture and think of Elizabeth II’s 12 great-grandchildren. In all sorts of households tonight, we were shedding tears along with them. Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis officially started school today. The Duchess of Cambridge stayed at Windsor to be there for them when they came home from school. This piece of news illustrates the reality of family grief. Life continues, and we can all identify with the tension of maintaining stability for our own family unit versus wanting to drop everything to support our husbands or parents and be part of valuable last moments together.
We’re bound to be reflecting on the death of members of our own families as we pray for the Royal Family facing such a huge loss.
One survey suggests that 1 in 3 people in the UK has met or seen the Queen in real life. She has been such a constant in our lives. Now that she is gone, we feel shaken and uncertain. Let’s take comfort and inspiration from the Queen’s own words from 2018:
‘Through the many changes I have seen over the years, faith, family and friendship have been not only a constant for me but a source of personal comfort and reassurance.’
A period of national mourning begins. Let’s take the opportunity to extend understanding and grace to those around us who may be affected differently.
Here is the last prayer in the Little Book of Private Devotions, given to the Queen in order to help her prepare for her coronation in 1953:
God be in my head, and in my understanding.
God be in mine eyes and in my looking.
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking.
God be in my heart, and in my thinking.
God be at my end, and my departing.
As Paddington Bear said, ‘Thank you, Ma’am, for everything.’
Quotations from Our Faithful Queen, Catherine Butcher (Hope Together, Biblica, The International Bible Society).