The Queen is dead... Long live the King!
I once wrote a story called 'A Powerful Absence' - I think that phrase sums up the effect of the death of Elizabeth II.
It is very strange to realise that I will never again hear, or sing, 'God save the Queen.' Whereas, up until now, I had never heard or sung 'God save the King'.
Here her title was Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Lord of Mann. She attended Tynwald as Lord of Mann, and all the local tributes here include that title. A former Chief minister said, in his tribute, that whenever, or wherever, he met her she always asked, "And how is my island?"
She had looked so frail in recent photos, but even so her death is a shock. I am glad though, that what reports we do have, of what is such an intimate family moment and yet such a major public event, make it sound as if her death was very like my own Mum's in the end, peacefully, in her bed, with her children at her side.
I think I like this image best of those I have seen this morning;
She is walking behind a lady called Bernadette Williams, the Sword Bearer for Tynwald. This sword was her sign of office here. They are walking the ceremonial way to Tynwald Hill where The Queen was to preside over the annual, open-air, Tynwald court. The sun was shining, she looked happy to be there, Prince Phillip looks as if he is trying not to laugh - and I do like to see the police officers in their summer helmets!
On a more irreverent note, I did find myself wondering whether having to officially ask Liz Truss to form a government might have been the last straw for someone whose first Prime Minister was Winston Churchill, and who would, I think, have seen no need whatsoever to shorten the name Elizabeth to Liz for anyone but her husband.
Oh - and you know that this will be one of those 'Where were you, what were you doing, when you heard...'moments? Well we were not watching live TV at the time; the phone rang, I answered it, and it was Revd. Dawn, who began "I think we will need to put something onto the website straight away."
The conversation then went like this; "About what?" "The Queen's death!" "Oh! Has she died?"
Revd. Dawn then slightly flustered and apologising to me in case it has been an unpleasant shock for me that she broke the news so abruptly, and me trying to tell her that's fine but can she tell me what she wants putting onto the website quickly, as I am about to go out to a meeting. And no, it is unlikely to have been cancelled at such short notice as some people would already have been on the way when the news broke!
It is very strange to realise that I will never again hear, or sing, 'God save the Queen.' Whereas, up until now, I had never heard or sung 'God save the King'.
Here her title was Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Lord of Mann. She attended Tynwald as Lord of Mann, and all the local tributes here include that title. A former Chief minister said, in his tribute, that whenever, or wherever, he met her she always asked, "And how is my island?"
She had looked so frail in recent photos, but even so her death is a shock. I am glad though, that what reports we do have, of what is such an intimate family moment and yet such a major public event, make it sound as if her death was very like my own Mum's in the end, peacefully, in her bed, with her children at her side.
I think I like this image best of those I have seen this morning;
She is walking behind a lady called Bernadette Williams, the Sword Bearer for Tynwald. This sword was her sign of office here. They are walking the ceremonial way to Tynwald Hill where The Queen was to preside over the annual, open-air, Tynwald court. The sun was shining, she looked happy to be there, Prince Phillip looks as if he is trying not to laugh - and I do like to see the police officers in their summer helmets!
On a more irreverent note, I did find myself wondering whether having to officially ask Liz Truss to form a government might have been the last straw for someone whose first Prime Minister was Winston Churchill, and who would, I think, have seen no need whatsoever to shorten the name Elizabeth to Liz for anyone but her husband.
Oh - and you know that this will be one of those 'Where were you, what were you doing, when you heard...'moments? Well we were not watching live TV at the time; the phone rang, I answered it, and it was Revd. Dawn, who began "I think we will need to put something onto the website straight away."
The conversation then went like this; "About what?" "The Queen's death!" "Oh! Has she died?"
Revd. Dawn then slightly flustered and apologising to me in case it has been an unpleasant shock for me that she broke the news so abruptly, and me trying to tell her that's fine but can she tell me what she wants putting onto the website quickly, as I am about to go out to a meeting. And no, it is unlikely to have been cancelled at such short notice as some people would already have been on the way when the news broke!