Queen Elizabeth II

Nothing lasts forever. Nothing. Not empires and kingdoms, not palaces and castles, and not people. And now, not even the Queen, who’s been there for as long as most of us have been alive.

We have our allotted time here and we spend it as well as we can, hoping to do some good along the way; so, that when the bill arrives, we can pay it, having enjoyed our time at the table and earned the cost. And Queen Elizabeth II did a great deal of good along her way.

Ever visible, and always burdened with great responsibility and scrutiny, she managed to do the impossible. For Britain changed more, and faster, during her reign than at any other time in history. And the road from then to now was far from smooth. But she was our ever-present driver.

For we who’ve only ever known Queen Elizabeth. Seen only her face on our stamps and banknotes. Watched a princess ascend an African treehouse and descend the next morning a queen. Sung either or both of the two anthems exhorting God to save ‘her’. And huddled around our TVs as she shared Christmas greetings with us.

And we have followed and watched, sometimes with more interest or affection, that’s true, because she was, after all, only human and just like us, suffered the same ups and downs life threw her way. But she stayed with us and we with her because she was such an integral part of our lives and the story of our nation. As we raised our families, so she raised hers. And as she became a beloved grandparent in public, so too did we in our private lives; perhaps not mirror reflections, for she was, after all, the Queen, but with enough resonance for there to be a strong connection between her and us, her subjects. And vice versa; for when she experienced happiness or sadness, we felt it keenly too and sympathised.

We will undoubtedly feel her absence and mourn her loss. For how could we not, given her long presence in our lives? Which is why her passing is so profound and its effects will be long lasting.

But, of course, she isn’t gone, much as she wasn’t, or so some of us may have thought, much of a presence in our lives at the time. But for my generation, of the Silver Jubilee, who were perhaps the most profoundly affected by her presence in our public and personal lives, her loss will be the most keenly felt. We hope her son can do what his mother so ably managed to do, and we will support him in his challenge to keep us united in evermore fractious times. To keep our family of nations and communities as one.

She was there, through it all and throughout all our lives. And now she’s not. It’s impossible to imagine how we will cope without her. Without a queen, just as it’s impossible to fill the void in a family when a mother passes away. But cope we will.

Goodbye, Elizabeth, and rest in peace. We’ll miss you. More than we ever thought possible.

By Mark Kureishy