Being English,
The Royal Family has always been a part of my life,
Especially the Queen.
Every day we are reminded of her,
With her picture on our money and our stamps.
In a lot of ways,
I feel we took her for granted.
She had always been there,
Being on the throne for over 70 years.
Most of us only knew her as our monarch.
And then the day came when she was no longer there.
The day she went to sleep for good.
But why did this affect so many of us in such a huge emotional way?
Hello,
My name is Jacqueline and welcome to my Tranquil Spirits podcast.
I have always been a Royalist.
I love the Royal Family and everything they bring to our country.
The pomp and ceremony,
The soldiers,
The palaces,
Our national anthem,
Everything about them.
I have met the Queen,
Prince Andrew and Diana,
Princess of Wales,
With Prince William many times.
Memories which warm my heart as I remember them.
Each one special in their own way.
And each Royal person so real,
Natural,
Warm and friendly.
No wares and graces.
Totally focused and pleased to meet me.
And others who were also there.
When Diana died,
I was devastated.
I couldn't believe it.
And like thousands of other people,
I cried.
Diana was a few months younger than me,
And our two children,
Roughly the same ages.
So I feel that was some of the reasons I felt so sad.
I could relate to the loss and sadness in a lot of ways.
And then the Queen passed.
But why was I so sad?
Why was so many people across the world so sad?
As much as I admired and loved the Queen for who she was,
That period of mourning brought so many memories to the fore.
The more I saw people crying and sharing their stories on TV,
I was reminded of the people in my life who had passed away.
My Nan,
Who I adored with all my heart.
My other grandparents who had brought so much joy to my life.
My aunts and uncles.
Many friends.
And my mum,
Whose diagnosis happened unexpectedly,
And within two weeks she was gone.
And now,
In my thoughts,
My dad is fighting his own battle.
Life goes on no matter what is happening around us.
Sometimes we don't take the time to grieve.
We put on a brave face,
Continue with our work,
Get on with life.
And then one day something big happens,
And the memories of our own loss comes flooding back.
Following the grief and mourning for our Queen,
I,
As well as many,
Many others,
Have realised we still had grief inside of us which needed to be released.
And if my tears were anything to go by,
Grief was released over and over again.
The day of the Queen's funeral was an amazing send-off for a lady who had given her life to us all.
When it was all over,
And I wiped away my tears,
I felt lighter.
My heart felt warmed and a comfort came over me.
During that time I had shed many tears for not only the Queen and the Royal Family,
But also for my loved ones who are in spirit.
I reflected over my life,
And although I know that death comes to us all,
No matter what we do with the unknown days we have left,
It is always our choice how we enjoy it.
We can be miserable and unhappy,
Or we can choose to see the good and enjoy ourselves.
We never know what the future will bring for us,
The Queen certainly didn't when she was younger,
But how we accept each day and by deciding to make the best with whatever comes our way will determine whether we enjoy our life or not.
Many people don't get to make old bones,
We are never promised tomorrow.
So each morning when we wake,
We should try and start with positive thoughts,
Such as counting our blessings,
And then try to enjoy the day as best we can.
The Queen was and still is an inspiring woman,
Her memory will live on for sure.
But now we have a King,
King Charles III,
And although grieving for his mum,
His life goes on.
The love he has for his mother showed every time he interacted with the people during his time of mourning.
His strength and purpose was and is a comfort for us all.
The Queen will be missed.
But now we say,
God Save the King.
Thank you for listening.
If you would like to share your thoughts with me,
Then go to my website www.
Tranquil-spirits.
Com and drop me a line.
I'd love to hear from you.
