The Queen 1926 - 2022

Today marks the day of the Queen's funeral. We are deeply saddened to hear about our Queen passing, she has always been a huge inspiration to us and to all the people she served. 

The Queen ruled longer than any other Monarch in British history, making her a much loved and well respected figure around the world. Being one of the most iconic women in the world, her legacy will be remembered and she will continue to be an honourable influence for many generations to come.

For the 70 years she served this country, Her Majesty guided us through many momentous but also some very scary moments in history. She provided a voice of calm and reminded us Brits how we do things. The Queen steered us through countless times of national and international emergency and historic events, such as wars, the Aberfan mine disaster and a global pandemic - a first for us all, she too had her life transformed, entering a national lockdown and embracing video call meetings, finding new ways to connect with those across the world. Her duty never paused, whatever it was, she was there ready to serve her country with unmatched dignity, always encouraging a sense of pride. In fact, 2 days before her death, she personally welcomed her 15th Prime Minister. 

The Queen and The Royal Family are the very essence of being British, a symbol of Britain,  representing us and who we are, from afternoon tea and street parties to our famously good manners, politeness and stiff upper lip! The monarchy embodies Great British sport, representing Royal Ascot horse racing, Wimbledon Tennis and cricket at Lords, to name a few. Being the most famous woman in Britain (and possibly the world!), she has been referenced in pop-culture more than anyone in her lifetime, including The Beatles with her “Her Majesty” and Andy Warhol’s Pop Art, of which Queen Elizabeth purchased four portraits for her Royal Collection. She will always be an icon to us. 

During her reign, The Queen was patron of more than 600 charities, some of which included the British Red Cross, Cancer Research UK, Girlguiding and the RSPCA. Her contribution and dedication to these will be missed but the difference she made is celebrated and gratefully cherished due to her acts of selflessness and kindness. 

Queen Elizabeth made herself the best-travelled monarch in history, visiting at least 117 countries in her 70 years as monarch. She travelled for all kinds of reasons but primarily because of her duty as head of state for the Commonwealth, which she took seriously; this made her Queen of over 32 countries. Because of this, she meant a lot to those all around the world and was a leader to many, we will all be mourning her loss over the coming days. 

Following her passing, we will be seeing a lot of changes in the UK in order to reference King Charles being on the throne, rather than the queen. From cash and coins, stamps, passports to the national anthem.

For the vast majority of us, Queen Elizabeth was the only monarch we have known during our lifetime and as we join the nation in mourning today, we pay tribute to her Majesty and the differences she made throughout her time of public service.