There are days which become “where were you when?” moments, so deeply will they be engraved in the pages of history.
Where were you when JFK was shot? Where were you when the space shuttle exploded? And, now: “Where were you when the Queen died?”
I was actually sitting in the audience at the Wonder Hoose, the pop-up venue in Marischal College quad, just as the Wonderland festival was being launched.
As the speeches were getting under way, my smartwatch buzzed and I glanced down to see the breaking news announcing that Queen Elizabeth had passed away at Balmoral.
And, as the news was announced from the stage, there was a stunned silence, a sense of collective disbelief in the audience.
It was a strange sensation. The news wasn’t entirely unexpected, given the coverage all through the day of the royal family gathering around her bedside.
But it was still a shock, a feeling that something truly momentous had just occurred. An age had ended.
And, it also came with a sense of sadness. I am not a royalist – about as far from that as it’s possible to be, in fact. But, I still respected the Queen as a major figure in the landscape of our national life.
She was a thread running through the tapestry of history
Here was someone who had truly devoted their life to service and, every day for 70 years, had fulfilled a solemn vow.
She touched many lives and was held in deep affection, as was evinced by the thousands lining the route when her funeral cortege passed through the north-east and on to Edinburgh. That depth of feeling commands appreciation.
Also, the Queen was a constant in all our lives, regardless of what you thought of the institution of royalty. Few alive today remember another monarch.
She was a thread running through the tapestry of history, littered with prime ministers and presidents, momentous events – from the Cold War to the first man on the moon – and into today’s uncertain world of pandemics, climate change and the renewed drumbeats of war in Europe.
Common decency demands you let others pay their respects in their own way
The passing of such a key figure at the pivot of history deserves to be acknowledged, mourned and respected.
Even if you don’t hold those views yourself, common decency demands you let others pay their respects in their own way. Those who took to social media to celebrate, cheer or jeer an elderly woman’s death should be ashamed.
Change is coming
There is, though, a sense of actually feeling the wheel of history turning with the death of the Queen. Change is coming.
How that change looks, how our nation will move forward, where the monarchy will sit in that future, is all up for debate. It has to be. There are many diverse voices and views that deserve and need to be heard.
But all of that is for a later date.
For now, it is only right that we take time to reflect and remember Queen Elizabeth, her life and our times.
Scott Begbie is entertainment editor for The Press & Journal and Evening Express
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