Farewell to a Queen

I never met Queen Elizabeth II…but somehow, I feel like I knew her.

At a very young age, I became fascinated by the British Royal Family. I recall one summer in 1981, when I was very young, my mother turned on our one family television to view the wedding of Charles and Diana. The grandeur of the entire event amazed me and I was glued to the event from start to finish (or until my mother turned it off). I remember seeing a woman in a light, bright blue dress with an odd headpiece and wondering how and why she seemed to stand out, even more so than the bride. Little did I know that the woman was the Queen, and someone who would continue to stand out as the longest reigning monarch in British history.

Fast forward, many, many years later…I traveled to England for the first time. I could not wait to see anything and everything that was related to the British Royal Family – Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, Windsor Castle – I saw it all and have visited many times after that. But these symbols of the Royal Family, and more specifically Queen Elizabeth II, were not just evident in the obvious Royal residences, they were all around London, and sometimes very subtle. I recall seeing in many places the letters ”EIIR” in script writing – over doorways, on china plates, on lightposts, and more. What I would find out later was that EIIR stood for Elizabeth Regina, or Queen Elizabeth the II.

For a self-proclaimed Anglophile, Queen Elizabeth II was a symbol of all things British. And over the years, I’ve written about the late Queen many times on this blog, including:

• When she first joined social media on Facebook
• When she turned 85 in 2011
• Her Diamond Jubilee in 2012
• When she celebrated 60 years on the throne
• And when she became the longest reigning monarch

As you can see, Queen Elizabeth II may be gone, but in these stories, symbols, and many memories, she will never be forgotten.

London Bridge has officially fallen. Long live the Queen.