After the magnificent State Funeral for Queen
Elizabeth II, a time for reflection and a time for pride. We were moved and our
hearts swelled with pride at the historic rituals, the seamless transition to a
new kingdom, and the rich legacy bestowed upon us by a beloved monarch.
Her journey from Balmoral and the looming
mountain of Lochnagar made me particularly proud.
Oh! for the crags that are wild
and majestic,
The
steep, frowning glories of dark Lochnagar
(Byron)
Born and bred in Aberdeen, the heathery
villages of Royal Deeside are very familiar to me; Ballater, Aboyne, Banchory,
Peterculter, Bieldside and Cults into Aberdeen were the site of many a happy
family excursion over two generations, and are forever part of me. Then Her
Majesty’s hearse turned South to historic Dundee and Perth, before crossing the
Forth Bridge and entering the majestic city of Edinburgh, capital of proud
Scotland. A night at Holyrood Palace and then the procession accompanying the
hearse up the Royal Mile, through Stuart and Hanoverian Edinburgh. Scottish
soldiers and eagle-feathered members of the Company of Archers providing a
body-guard to St Giles, the High Kirk of Edinburgh, a heart-warming sight.
The Edinburgh bearer party
Scotland
did the late monarch proud and the ceremony heartened the many Scots who
attended or watched it. I imagine it has set back the cause of independence for
a generation. The royal family have strong connections with their beloved
Scotland and those links will not wither. Proud Scotland salutes!
The scene
moved to London and the 4-day lying-in-state in Westminster Hall, a place
redolent of major events in the history of these islands. Some 250,000 people
filed past to pay their respects, many ordinary, modest people who were moved.
I was proud of them.
There were
vigils too by the late Queen’s 3 sons and daughter and a later one by her
grandchildren, all moving in their way and evoking our sympathy and common
humanity.
Then on the
19th the late Queen was carried in procession from Westminster Hall
to Westminster Abbey, her Grenadier Guards bearer party, young recent recruits
receiving general admiration for their precision and bearing. They made us all
proud.
The Grenadier Guard bearer party
The Abbey
looked resplendent, as ever, and was packed full of the great and the good. The
funeral service itself was rather bland to my taste and the music somehow
lacked zing. Much more engaging was the Committal Service at St George’s Chapel
Windsor, a poignant farewell with a reverent atmosphere as the crown, orb and
sceptre were removed, the Chamberlain snapped his rod of office, the sonorous
words of the Book of Common Prayer and the coffin sank through the floor to the
crypt below.
On the
journey from London to Windsor we had a glimpse of the Britain left behind –
much teeming suburbia, housing a diverse population, some green fields, a rural
atmosphere on the road into Windsor, The Queens’ Shetland pony, lines of
faithful retainers, some of the spirit of England. Soon a sad but proud day was
over.
Our country
has its peculiarities and is doubtless not perfect. But it fits most of our
people like a glove. There is so much of which we can be joyfully proud, so
much to cherish. As the Elizabethan Age ends, let us welcome the promising Age
of Charles III.
SMD.
22.9.22
Text copyright © Sidney Donald 2022
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