God Bless the Queen

 

This was the moment that paused the world. This was the moment the BBC announced that Queen Elizabeth II died.

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It will take me a bit to adjust to the new titles and pronouns in the National Anthem now that the Queen as passed away. The words used today are those sung in 1745, substituting 'Queen' for 'King' where appropriate. On official occasions, only the first verse is usually sung.

And so the words of the National Anthem were, until the Queen's death, as follows:

God save our gracious Queen!
Long live our noble Queen!
God save the Queen!
Send her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us,
God save the Queen.

Thy choicest gifts in store
On her be pleased to pour,
Long may she reign.
May she defend our laws,
And ever give us cause,
To sing with heart and voice,
God save the Queen.

The tune is familiar. We stole it for our own version: My country 'tis of the... 

 

I have always loved Queen Elizabeth. Say what you want about her but, to me, she symbolized what it meant to serve a nation. She knew she was the Queen. She felt no urge to brag about it. She was the embodiment of prim and proper.

I remained stoic as the Proclamation of King Charles III was ceremoniously read today. I wasn't able to catch the BBC coverage and so I went with CBS live. My thoughts on the matter are jumbled up.