Like many Americans, I was surprised, and saddened, by the death of Queen Elizabeth II. She became Queen the year I was born. She was the only British monarch I knew in my lifetime.
We knew, at age 96, that her days were limited but she met the new Prime Minister only two days before. What a shock it was to hear, Thursday afternoon, that she was gone.
But life goes on. The Queen is dead. Long live the King, his subjects say.
Unlike me, the Queen grew up in wartime England. For the first few years of her life, until she was 10, she wasn't even in the direct line of succession to the throne. She was thrust onto the world stage in her teens.
At 14, she gave a radio address to British children who were sent to other countries in the midst of war to keep their spirits up, on a show called "The Children's Hour".
At 18, then Princess Elizabeth served her country as a wartime mechanic.
At 25, she became Queen.
Queen Elizabeth II made mistakes, true, but also served her country with honor and composure. Her life was never truly her own. She may have been rich, but she was not free.
If she didn't like a particular duty, too bad. She had to carry on. And carry on she did, even as her health failed.
Until Thursday.
Now, her son Charles is King. King Charles III. I'll have to get used to the sound of that. So will he...the new King is 73 years old and is thought to be the oldest man to take the throne.
I took various pictures recently (except for the rose) which had to do with Kings or royalty.
LeRoy, New York. (Named after a New York City merchant Herman LeRoy, the name derives from the Norman people and means "The King".)
LeROI (equipment such as compressors).
Monarch butterfly (one of only a handful I've been able to identify this summer).
On Leroy Street, Binghamton, New York (taken in 2019).
I wish you well, King Charles III. You've waited so long for this moment. I hope you use the powers you do have as a constitutional monarch well.
I would like to express my condolences to my several Facebook friends who live in the United Kingdom and Canada for their loss. May King Charles III fit well into the footsteps of his mother.
...I've been to LeRoy many times, but didn't know the origin of the name.
ReplyDeleteI remember watching her Coronation on TV. Yeah, I'm old. She had her faults, but she was a dedicated servant to her people.
ReplyDeleteIt was a shock to hear. We got the news lunchtime, so it was a topic of conversation for the last class of the day.
ReplyDeleteThe Lady was a sensible, caring, hard worker. She'll be missed.
ReplyDeleteIf we can go by anecdotes, she sounded like a genuinely nice person. I couldn't help but feeling a bit sorry for her, as she was thrust into the Queenhood at a much younger age than expected. Neither she nor her husband, by reports, wanted it. It's interesting how even now the royal family serves their military duty.
ReplyDeleteAn amazing woman, an amazing reign. It’s going to be hard to get used to King Charles.
ReplyDeleteThe world's not likely to have time to get used to King Charles but I'm glad the family decided to leave him in his rightful place in line. I remember reports that he'd been cut out and would never ever get to be king.
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