Memories of Queen Elizabeth 11

The nation, indeed, the whole world, is in mourning for HM the Queen who died yesterday. It is rather wonderful how deeply loved she was and this may be in part due to the fact that many of us have never known a time without her being at the helm and of course for the steadfastness and dignity with which she carried out her duty. There is genuine affection and grief being expressed by multitudes of people all around the globe, everyone from political leaders to the humblest members of the public has something to say about a woman who has been a fixture in all our lives for 70 years. I saw her several times, once as a small child in Cardiff when the royal yacht Britannia was in port and my father somehow had got tickets for us as a family to go to the docks to see the Queen & Prince Philip come in a very shiny black car to meet the ship and go aboard for the next stage of whatever journey they were on. My main memory is of a smiling policeman ushering us to a good vantage place to see them arrive & the Queen and Prince Philip waving to the crowds as the car drove through. The second time was many years later when the Farmer & I with Elder Son, then aged about a year, were up in a small Welsh market town, Llanidloes, deep in the hills of mid-Wales. We were walking along the main street of the town and suddenly realised there were barriers in the street and people gathering so we joined the small crowd and the next thing there was the Queen walking up the street wearing a bright red coat and white hat. It was very bizarre and the sense of excitement in this very small obscure market town was palpable. People were hanging out of windows above the shops and cheering and waving flags. I remember seeing very old farmers in the crowds wearing their best suits and war medals who had clearly come down from their isolated farms for this very special occasion. The Farmer held Elder Son up on his shoulders so he'd be able to say that he had seen the Queen when he was grown up...I must remind him of that story! Another occasion was when I happened to be in Stratford-upon-Avon and the Queen & the Duke of Edinburgh arrived at the Shakespeare Memorial theatre for what appeared to be very low-key visit. As far as I remember there were no great crowds and a minimal police presence. The Queen & the Duke both paused on the steps of the theatre and waved to the small crowd before going in. The Farmer is proud to say that he was the first Queen's Scout to come from Carmarthenshire and because of that he was invited to read the lesson at a special service in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. Various members of my family have met the Queen and the now King Charles 111 from time to time and the collective memories are treasured. Long Live the King!