Frustratingly I wasn't able to watch much of the services today because of family commitments, but I listened to most of the services when stuck in the car, and found that listening rather than watching was just as moving, and in some ways gave me more space to reflect.
I am a fairly staunch royalist and believe firmly that the monarchy is part of the 'glue' that sticks the country together - which is all the more important when divisions appear deeper and more common than ever. Elizabeth II was a huge constant when everything else changed so rapidly, and her reserved commitment to duty - combined with a sense of humour - while balancing a sense of tradition and modernity, has set her out as a truly great monarch. I think she has also, importantly, build extremely strong foundations for Charles and William thereafter. I've always admired her quiet faith, as well as her humble response when she's got things wrong - such as her commitment to the people of Aberfan after feeling she got the initial response to their disaster wrong. (As an aside, I thought the episode of The Crown covering Aberfan was truly moving.)
I feel I've not been able to say my own goodbye yet, as I was abroad this week so couldn't visit Buckingham Palace, or queue to pay respects as Elizabeth lay in state. I'll find a way this week in London after work to pay my personal respects and say goodbye.
The words of Lord Hennessy caught my ear. Reflecting on the day he explained that "the post-war era is over" as Elizabeth carried with her the "collaborative spirit" of that era. With the death of Gorbachev recently and the end of peace in Europe, this felt like a poignant reflection, perhaps for further discussion on the politics thread. He also described her as "the greatest carrier of soft-power that the world has ever seen", and as someone who embodied the rise of the welfare state in her many many visits to hospitals and care homes. He concluded that "she remained the fixture, while all the fittings around her were changing."
May she rest in eternal peace.
