The queen is dead

Now what?

I was surprised to see the reaction from my two daughters, at the news of the Queen’s death. I asked my twenty something year olds why they’d posted, what seemed to me to be tick box condolences? Weren’t they just following a need-to-be-seen-doing-the-right-thing trend?

After all, the only twinge of sadness I’d felt, after being bombarded by the Queen’s image on the many advertising hoardings scattered along the A40, was noticing her birth in 1926 and reflecting on the fact that it neatly split my parents, three years either side — a stark reminder of how many years had already passed since their deaths. They died too young and missed much.

What did they say?

The Queen is apparently a lovely role model, who was doing it for the girls. It’s also a monumental point in history. Anyone talking about ending the monarchy at this point is being rude to the royal family and hugely disrespectful.

They have a point. Her reign was extraordinary and explains the unprecedented global media focus, which has been poised for exactly this moment for years.

Track record

As our longest serving monarch, she has been a constant in everyone’s lives, whatever that might mean. By any standard she was remarkable. She held discussions with 15…