Last Thursday, I was travelling to a meeting in the Edinburg campus of UTRGV to greet the department head, faculty and other students on the PhD program. A moment of welcome to a new life.
It was thus with a sense of shock that driving to that welcome, I heard of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who had throughout my life as I’m sure with the majority of the UK, and no doubt the majority of the people in the world, been the reigning monarch in the United Kingdom.
I was surprised at how affected I became in that moment, despite the realisation that this had been becoming more likely over time and ultimately inevitable, it was still not an easy fact to digest.
Elizabeth the second, born in 1926, acceded to the throne in 1952, upon the untimely death of her father, George VI. From that time she had committed herself to the service not only of her Nation, but also the countries of the Commonwealth. She has seen 15 UK Prime Ministers throughout her 70 years of reign, including Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher.
Throughout my life she has been a constant in changing times, and while I never met her, she has represented Britain throughout the world with a sense of grace, service and humility. I remember with fondness when she visited Bracknell in the UK, where I grew up, on the occasion of her Silver Jubilee in 1977. It is amazing to think that was 45 years and many different jubilee celebrations ago. Throughout her many years of visiting different places and communities around the world, she has often been noted to place people at ease when she met them, perhaps not surprisingly, given the thousands she must have spoken to during her decades of service.
While she will be sorely missed, initial indications are that King Charles III is adopting the same sense of servitude to his peoples as his late mother, whom he clearly looked up to with great fondness and respect. My corgi, who is accompanying me on my travels in Texas, has spent the last few days pining 😥
Farewell your Majesty – thank you for everything you have done for your nation.
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