The passing of Queen Elizabeth

[thataway]

We as Americans share a heritage with our Canadian brothers and sisters, and although Queen Elizabeth is not "our monarch" she is still revered by many of us. We all send our condolences to the Royal Family and her "subjects".

My daughter and her family spent a little over 2 years in London, and had great admiration for the Queen. After the trip, they kept a photo of Queen Elizabeth in their home. My Son in law was born in India, so he has a different connection.

We have never seen the queen, although we have been inside Buckingham Palace, and have seen the ex Royal Yacht "Britannia" in Sydney, Australia, Acapulco, Mexico, and in the Long Beach, Ca. Harbor. The Britannia was accompanied by a supply ship and a Royal Navy Frigate on each occasion.

Our admission to Buckingham Palace came about after we had lunch in a pub near the palace. An ex-Palace guard was talking to us, and asked if we wanted to see the inside of Buckingham Palace. Sure! "Go to the guard at this gate, and tell him you are from the "colonies" and want to sign the "Royal Register". He will then let you in with an escort." We fallowed the instructions, and indeed we were escorted into the entry hall, and signed the register.

[Robert H. Wilkinson]

A sad day indeed. She served with grace and dignity from the moment she was called upon at a young age well beyond the normal working years of us commoners. We had the pleasure of seeing her when she visited Paris(Ont.) in 1997. She had lunch with her ladies in waiting and a group of school children at a restaurant just a few miles from our house. When she came out her limo passed a group of us waiting along the road. Our daughter was 9 at the time and for a long time after she would show people how the Queen waved as she drove passed us. We have dinned there albeit not on that day - they have the chair that she sat on displayed with a plaque.
https://www.keepcalmandwander.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Queen-Elizabeth-Chair-Old-School-restaurant-scaled.jpg

Regards,

Rob

[Peter & Judy]

As a Canadian, Queen Elizabeth II was the only head of state that I ever knew in my life. I have seen her three times of the 22 times she visited Canada. When I heard of her death yesterday I felt as if I had lost my third grandmother. She was a stabilizing force in Canada and the Commonwealth and was our monarch for almost half of the time Canada was a country. She has served as head of state for Canada with 12 Prime Ministers. I also feel fortunate that we here in Canada do not have to go through the political bs that other countries have to go through every four years electing their head of state, many of whom are seeking the position for their own personal gain. The Queen was dedicated to serve her subjects for over 70 years and worked until the end. She will be sadly missed by me and millions around the world. I just hope that King Charles III will serve us well. Instead of a grandmother, maybe we will have an eccentric uncle instead.

[smckean (Tosca)]

Indeed, she was an example we can all admire.

[Pacificcoast101]

One of my favorite stories;
https://youtu.be/Uw9g1Q74t4s

[hardee]

I grew up in Canada, Sidney mostly, jut out of Victoria.

In 1957, the Queen came to BC for the British Columbia Centennial celebration. I was just a little squirt, so I probably looked cute, (might be the only time sitting on the parapet at the end of a very long concrete railing in front of the Parliament Buildings. She walked down a long row of red coated RCMP men, of which I was sitting just behind. It was a very hot day. As she walked down the row, she stopped at the last RCMP, and told him to "tell the boys Thank you for coming out today". That was right in front of me, about 3-4 feet (oh sorry 1 meter) from me. WOW, That was close.

Never forgot that. She said Thank you.

Harvey
SleepyC