As a UK citizen, the death of our Queen came as quite a shock yesterday afternoon. Naïve, perhaps, given her age. I should have expected it, but somehow, because it was only three days ago, when she was pictured smiling whilst greeting and welcoming our new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, I was, for a while, lulled into a false sense of security. I’m not a fan of Liz Truss at all, but I didn’t envy her having to come up with a speech within two hours of the Queen’s death.
I’m not a staunch royalist, but I have a lot of respect for the royal family despite all the difficulties various family members have encountered over recent years. After all, they may be royals, but underneath the surface, they are just human beings and as fallible as the rest of us.
I have never known another King or Queen to be on the throne; it’s going to take some getting used to saying King Charles; I keep going to say Prince Charles. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels the same.
Some of you may know (and perhaps, disapprove; not that I need approval), but I’m a member of Extinction Rebellion (XR), as I’m passionate about taking action against climate change and getting our government to act like it’s the emergency that it is. However, I’m not going into a political debate here. There was due to be an XR festival in London this weekend. I was going to go, which would have been a real challenge as it meant a journey to Hyde Park via one overground train, one underground train and two buses – all in my wheelchair, Alfie. I was determined to take part, though. Obviously, under the sad circumstances, it would not have been respectful for this to continue to take place; apart from which, Hyde Park is one of the royal parks, so that deemed it even more inappropriate. Of course, rebels were disappointed as an awful lot of work had gone into the planning and organising the event. I’m sure it will be rescheduled for a later date.
Anyhow, that’s all I wanted to say. I very much feel for the royal family in their grief as the UK enters a period of mourning. Naturally, not everyone feels the same; some people on a local neighbourhood website have been downright disrespectful. Is that really necessary, I ask myself? No, I think not. If they don’t have anything kind to say, then I believe, under the circumstances, they should keep quiet. Why is it necessary to be so rude, albeit everyone is entitled to their opinions? So, now the UK has entered a new era. I wonder what changes will be made now that Charles is King.
My deepest condolences and respect to the royal family.
RIP Queen Elizabeth II.
Essentially Ellie 
I wonder how someone can disapprove of taking action against climate change, but I know these people are all around us. I’ve long held the belief that if someone doesn’t like my politics, I don’t want them on my blog. That was put to test recently and I find I miss the person who disappeared. I hope my post didn’t come off too disrespectful for you. As an american, it can be tricky to fully grasp the meaning of the monarchy. If we have any parallel, it has to come from our obsessively tracked celebrity culture, where I think poking fun is really the only reasonable response. I’m sorry the UK lost a leader who was so clearly a warm and decent human being. Not so many of those around anymore.
There are still many people who disapprove of climate change activists. Some just don’t like activists, full stop, thinking all we do is make trouble; others still are, unbelievably, in this day and age, climate change deniers (sadly, and much to my disgust, my son is amongst those people). I don’t know how he can be on that opinion as I was always careful to bring my children up to care about others, the planet and the environment and to respect other people’s views and opinions. My daughter is totally different, though. That doesn’t mean I love my son any less – it’s just very frustrating trying to get through to him sometimes. I don’t very often share about my activism, but I hope no one will take offence or be rude about it. I don’t think that’s likely anyway, to be honest.
I’m sorry you lost a reader – it’s hard when you’ve got to ‘know’ someone and looked forward to interacting with them only for them to disappear from your blog and virtual world.
No, I didn’t see your post as disrespectful. Each of us has a different feelings and a different opinion and we are all perfectly entitled to them. I appreciate that being an american, you’re not likely to have the same feelings as many of us in the UK. I respect your feelings as you respect mine. I agree, though, that there will never be another monarch like the Queen. She carried out her duties almost until the end of her days. That, by itself, deserves a great deal of respect in my eyes. 🦢
Deep condolences for all the UK citizens and for you Ellie! Despite political point of views, I believe death should be treated with respect. I am not that found of the concept of monarchy in general. I am not from the UK but the queen was a symbol on a global scale. Personally, I admire a woman that kept working and pursuing her duties till the last moment, literally!
Thank you very much, Doer Mindset. Your condolences are appreciated. I, too, greatly admired her for being such a hardworking monarch right up till the very end. She was also a good and loving example to her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I don’t think they’ll ever be another royal like her. It’s the end of an era. Nevertheless, it’s important to look forward with hope. I think King Charles III will be good and responsible king.
Very nicely put my friend.
Thanks, Granny. I’m going to email you very soon. I’ve missed chatting with you the last couple of days. Things have been rather upside-down here. In addition to our sad news, my son and the children have been with me for the last day or so. I wasn’t expecting them to come this soon. Love you xxx 🦢🌷💜
That was a very respectful post, I too am not really royalist but too feel touched by the loss. It’s interesting to see the respects being paid and some surpricing disrespects as you say.
Thank you for your comment and views, Simon. It still seems a bit unreal and difficult to accept the Queen is no longer with us. I expect King Charles III will be a good and responsible king. I believe his heart is in the right place. However, I don’t envy him the sudden responsibility given that he will be grieving deeply right now.
I agree – it’s not something anyone would want.
It was a shock TBH!
At first I thought it’s all a lie. I had to check news immediately.
May her soul rest in peace.
If I’m not wrong, she’s the last queen??
The Queen wasn’t necessarily the last Queen. To the best of my knowledge; given that King Charles III is the head of the monarchy, he will be followed by his eldest son, Prince William, then Prince William’s eldest son, Prince George, and then Prince William’s youngest child, Princess Charlotte who could potentially be a queen at some point in the future. Hope this helps answer your question 🦢
Thanks for guiding
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor-Mountbatten was an amazing woman in her own right. There can be no taking that away from her. That she was the Queen of England and so many other countries was as incidental and accidental as her birth.
My problem is with the monarchy, not most of the people in it. Lizzie deserved all the accolades she is getting, but I would like to think she would still be getting them even if she had never been queen.
The monarchy as an institution is something I have never understood in modern terms, or modern times. It is a throwback to a time best left in history. I as a Canadian will be happy to see it go.
I would say rest in peace, dear woman, but that is not how I believe the cosmos works. She is already on her way to bigger and better things. So, rather I would say, “Go in 0eace. A whole new world awaits you.”
Thanks for commenting, J. Naturally, I agree that our Queen was indeed an amazing woman. She carried out her duties until a couple of days before her death, as well as fulfilling her role as a loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Yes, it is only incidental and accidental that she was born into her role in no different a way to any of us being born as we are and to our families. I, too, believe it is destiny, and none of us has any control over this. I have to say; that I like the thought that she is on her way to better things, and I very much like ‘Go in Peace’ instead of ‘Rest in Peace’. I just hadn’t given that sufficient thought in my and others’ grief. It’s rather beautiful if that can be said at this time … Ellie 🦢😘
I guess this is why I call my blog “Ideas From Outside the Boxes.” I see the world so much differently than most. Thank you for your appreciation. Thank you for being you. 🤓
I’m sure she wasn’t perfect – she was human after all. However, I respect her for being the matriarch that she was, leading her family onward.
As far as the rebellious meeting is concerned – I have to say that I’m quite impressed that it was called off. These days we see little regard for personal tragedies, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if the event took place anyway. Good to see some heart and compassion.
I agree, Sam; naturally, the Queen wasn’t perfect, but who is? However, as you say, she was a loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother and deserved respect.
There was no way the festival would take place in these circumstances. Contrary to popular belief and often lousy press, XR members have good and responsible hearts. Of course, there will always be people who want to cause trouble; often, they come along but are from other organisations who want to jump on the climate bandwagon. No one is perfect. People are fallible as I said in my post. Nevertheless, I still feel passionate about working together with other like-minded people to raise awareness of climate change which is already upon us. I expect the event will be rescheduled for a more appropriate time. X 🦢
Coronavirus did one good thing for Michigan and the great lakes. Closed down the factories. The greats lakes of Michigan were clean for the first time in many years. I am a tree hugger myself. If we are not kind to Mother Nature. We need her, more than she needs us. I liked the Queen. She fought with the men and she stood her ground.
Thanks for commenting, John. The Queen was a wonderful woman. She worked up until the end, having been an excellent leader and a loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She will be much missed.
As far as Coronavirus is concerned, we found the same in the UK. The skies were clearer with far less aeroplane and traffic pollution. There were more birds around, also. Even in China, one of the world’s worst polluters, the level of carbon and smog was greatly reduced. We definitely need Mother Nature more than she needs us. If the human race was wiped out, nature would have no problems surviving and would continue to flourish perfectly well without us. I love the fact that you’re a tree hugger as I am, too – Ellie 🦢
I taught my grandchildren to be tree huggers too dear Ellie. I was station in California. The fires destroyed most of the trees in the Big Sur. The next Spring. The trees came back.
I was similarly shocked by the Queens death Ellie, she seemed immortal somehow, or perhaps a better word is enduring. She endured and persisted and led through so much upheaval. She was an example not only to England but to leadership and how a person can grow and evolve through all the situations that life throughs at us. Her commitment to her role and responsibilities is admirable. She will be missed.
Thank you so much, Kate, for sharing your kind thoughts about our Queen. I agree with all the points you’ve made. She saw some unprecedented changes, times and events happening in the world, often not for the better, and has stood firm throughout all of them. This morning, as I write this, King Charles III is about to be seated on the throne. A truly special moment. The Queen will certainly be greatly missed x
She certainly performed her duties with grace and class, and I’m sure she’ll be missed by so many. I’m so sorry! (And I’ll never understand those who need to make snide remarks when someone dies….)
Thank you so much, Ann. She will, indeed, be missed by so many people. I agree with you about the nasty comments; I was in the park only yesterday, and some people were very disrespectful and dismissive of our Queen’s passing.
There’s no excuse for that, I think. If they truly don’t care, that’s their choice. But they shouldn’t say that to those who do, it’s disrespectful and very inappropriate!
I agree with you, Ellie, it was a shock despite her age and the events she’s had to miss more recently. She looked fabulous when she met with Liz Truss, and that photo of her that day looking at the camera (apparently not posed, just natural as she looked up and smiled) was just perfect.
“…they are just human beings and as fallible as the rest of us.” – Very true. I don’t think you need to be a fan of the Royal Family to be saddened by her death. And she was still a mother, grandmother, friend.
I hadn’t realised you’re a member of Extinction Rebellion. What kinds of events have you been to/supported? I thought there were two camps of eco campaigners (a very basic version of course) in terms of those who are more invasive (blocking traffic, vandalism, etc) and those who are not. I’m glad the event in Hyde Park was cancelled, that was definitely the best move. It wouldn’t have helped the movement to have done it either I don’t think, and at least it can be rescheduled for a more suitable time (and when it’s a little less mega busy during this mourning period otherwise nobody would be able to get a train there to attend!).
I’ve also seen some downright evil comments online from some people. I’ve seen in the paper some disgusting remarks that have made headlines, too. I don’t get it either. If you didn’t like her, fine. Keep it to yourself for now, there’s no need to spread vitriol just for the sake of it. She still has a family that is hurting from her loss, not to mention how so many around the world are feeling the pain of her death. She seems, by all accounts I’ve read, a smart, intelligent, oddly down to earth and personable woman who could make others feel heard and welcome in her presence. That alone gets my respect.
Lovely tribute, Ellie.
Rest in peace, Queen Elizabeth. 🌹
Thanks for your comment, Caz. I, too, was shocked by the news of our Queen’s death and thought, like you, how well she was looking when she met Liz Truss. I knew the Queen’s health was deteriorating, and she had mobility issues, which is hardly surprising given her age, but somehow, it still came as a shock. I’ve seen some beautiful photos of her since she passed.
I think it’s so wrong to spurt hate and disrespect about this lovely, warm and caring lady. I agree these people should keep their opinions to themselves; it’s really unnecessary to express those views publicly at this time.
I wrote a whole paragraph about Extinction Rebellion here and why I feel so passionately about it. I explained there is always an element of people who are destructive although they’re not genuine XR people; an example was the Canning Town underground incident. That wasn’t approved of by us. As this post was initially written out of respect to our Queen, I felt it was inappropriate to write more about XR in this post and therefore deleted my longer answer. If you’d really like to know more, please let me know via my Contact page and I will happily explain more about our organisation. Any comments left on my contact page come straight through to my personal inbox where I will be able to personally reply to you. Please, please don’t worry if you’d rather not and please don’t feel obliged. I know you have more than enough stuff to deal with in your own life. Thank you for asking about us, though.
Sending you love, warmth and peace … Ellie xxxx 🦢🌷💗
As an American, I don’t know if I have anything to add to the conversation about royals, but I too was saddened by her death. I actually was surprised by my reaction, but then I thought back to my fascination as a teenager with the Renaissance time period and how I equated that with the royal family. I’d attend Renn fairs and bow to the queen. I had this sense of the connection of it to the bigger picture and when I was in London a few years ago I toured Buckingham Palace and fell in love all over again with the opulence and romance of it all. May she rest in peace.
Thanks for your comment, Bridgette. I was quite surprised by my reaction to our Queen’s death, too. Despite her age, I somehow expected her to go on forever. But, it came as a shock, just the same. I had my son and grandchildren here that evening. Charlie, 7, seemed pretty unaware of what was happening, but Imogen, 9, was heartbroken and sobbed her little heart out in my arms. I was trying to be ‘strong’ for her, but ten minutes later, she asked where wasn’t I crying. It made me see that had I shown my upset as well, she might have been in some way reassured that her reaction was very normal.
How wonderful to have seen inside Buckingham Palace. I grew up in London until I left home to marry at 19, but I never managed to do that. I’m not even sure whether the inside of the palace was open to the public back then.
It’s a Bank Holiday here on Monday for her Majesty’s funeral – everywhere is quite rightly shut for the day. I will be watching it on the television as I expect, will be most of the country and perhaps, in other countries, too. It will be a sad day – the end of an era, but a new one beginning, and I think King Charles will be a good king. Rest in Peace Queen Elizabeth. Xx 🕊