In Memoriam

“I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.”

On her 21st birthday the Princess Elizabeth pledged her life to the service of her nation and the empire; no one can doubt but that she fully carried out that pledge.

Last Thursday was the moment that perhaps we had persuaded ourselves might never come. In a year already heavy with sudden and major events, the Queen’s doctors issued a statement that they were concerned for the health of Her Majesty.

Only two days before she had been engaged in the business of state, receiving the resignation of one Prime Minister and in constitutional form inviting the next to form a government.

Now the members of the Royal Family were making haste to Balmoral, and there the monarch passed away, at the age of 96, after 70 years and 7 months on the throne………