FAREWELL to our QUEEN

THE ONLY MONARCH MOST OF US HAVE EVER KNOWN, HER LOSS IS UNLIKE ANY OTHER

Queen Elizabeth II 1926-2022

Almost five years before her father King George VI’s death on February 6, 1952, which would see the then-Princess Elizabeth accede the throne, the young royal marked her 21st birthday by delivering a speech that foreshadowed her destiny. “I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service,” she said in a radio broadcast from Cape Town, South Africa. It was a statement that she would honour to the utmost throughout her life.

THE LONG GOODBYE

The journey to Queen Elizabeth’s final resting place began when her oak coffin was taken in a black hearse from Balmoral to Edinburgh, where it remained for 24 hours to allow Scots to pay their respects.

Over seven decades, Her Majesty devoted herself to serving her country and the Commonwealth in a reign that, prior to her peaceful passing on the afternoon of September 8 at her beloved Balmoral Castle in Scotland, placed her as the longest-serving living monarch in the world. “We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother,” her son, King Charles III, said in a statement shortly after the news broke. “I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world. During this period of mourning and change, my family and I will be comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which The Queen was so widely held.”