A Post for the Queen

It will shock no one that I'm a royalist. My general interest turned to obsession with William & Kate's wedding in 2011 and I've been more than enthusiastic ever since. I closely follow their activities on Instagram, I've devoured every episode of The Crown, I've read all the articles, listened to all of the interviews. Last year, I signed the virtual condolence book for Prince Philip. It has been one of the most consistent and long standing of my interests.

So a few weeks ago, when it was announced that Queen Elizabeth II had passed, I ought to have been prepared. I should have known that it would matter to me very much. It shouldn't have been a surprise. And yet, I was taken aback at how strongly I felt.

I found myself truly heartbroken.

And so, I want to pay my own tribute to Her Majesty, who had a profound effect on me, as insignificant and far removed as I am. Her dignity and decency. Her devotion to her faith. Her love for her family and for her homeland. Her enthusiasm for her many hobbies and interests. Above all else, it is her selfless sacrifice that has stayed with me. Her constant service for 70 years in the name of something more important than her own desires: her God and her country. It seems to me that there is something refining in the ceaseless humility required by such sacrifice. Selflessness in this form demands all of us - that we sacrifice all comfort, will, and possibilities that do not serve its purpose, and I feel certain she has sacrificed more than we will ever know.

In the two weeks after her passing as I followed closely the public mourning period, I found myself repeatedly moved. The tributes of her children and grandchildren touched me, and the outpouring of demonstrations from all over the world. 

Collective mourning is always especially stirring to me. The ways that we find comfort together as each of us individually moves through the myriad of feelings around death - even the death of a total stranger. The variety of responses and the many ways we choose to honor the dead spoke to me of the complicated nature of loss. And, perhaps most of all, I've been moved by the profound love that is starkly apparent in grief. It felt such a special thing to witness and a poignant reminder of just how much love we have to share.

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