Farewell

My office is London is on Horseguards Avenue, so I was working inside the secure zone today.  I was able to pop out watch the Queen pass on her way to Westminster hall.

When I was little we lived on the route the Queen drove from Aberdeen (having arrived on the Royal Train in those days) to Balmoral.  I have vague recollections of standing by the side of the road waving as she passed.

I never met her, but I have always admired her sense of duty, dignity, and the tireless manner in which she played her role.  

She has been a constant (if very distant) presence through my life, and felt like a strong link to our history, both indirectly through the office and more directly through her direct personal experience of so many significant events.  I will miss that presence.

I was pleased to be able to participate in a very small way, making my minuscule contribution to farewell from the nation.

I feel for her family too.  Grief is such a personal thing and having to be out on show, in public, in uniform throughout the aftermath of a parent's death cannot be easy.