I was so saddened by the news that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II passed away today at Balmoral Castle. As she was 96 years old, she has been the Queen of England for all of my life. I can still remember waking up early on my family's summer beach vacation to watch Prince Charles marry Diana as the Queen stood by, an ever present fixture on the world stage.
In the mind of a little girl, these fancy people from across the pond who still lived in a palace and rode in horse drawn carriages were a larger than life tribute to a romanticized bygone Era. The United Kingdom was a faraway place from the movies where fair maidens danced in pretty gowns donning sparkling crowns and handed out floral favors to brave handsome knights.
It's funny that as you grow older and realize that all people are fallible humans, even parents, teachers, and yes, the Queen, I came to appreciate the little quirks I saw in Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth. She loved her corgis so well, I thought, because they had no "royal" expectations of her. Her pups just wanted to love her and be loved back, as all wonderful dogs do. I loved the Queen's Greatest Generation attitude of duty and dignity, and her dry, thoroughly English sense of humor when I watched clips of her.
I still hope to make it to visit jolly old England one day, and I am sorry I never got the chance to catch a glimpse of England's longest ruling monarch with my own eyes. But her lifetime of service to her people will be the stuff of history now, and she will be remembered always.
May Queen Elizabeth's family find solace and peace during this time of profound worldwide grief and keep their memories of her as mother, grandmother and great granny forever close to their hearts.
For my part, Queen Elizabeth II will always remain a proud and beautiful figure of 20th and 21st Century mythology, and a stalwart reminder that in life, the most sage advice is, to paraphrase Winston Churchill, keep calm and carry on.
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