When the news came out that the Queen’s health was concerning her doctors, I was at home.
As The Royal Family all made their way to Balmoral there was no doubt that although the words weren’t being actually said by Huw Edwards, who was so wonderfully presenting the unfolding story on BBC1, we all knew that the Queen was dying.
I felt so unsettled and tried to understand my emotions. For me it was the dash to Aberdeen which was a journey I have taken on many occasions when loved ones were ill.
It was the fact the Queen was there in our home, the north-east of Scotland, and it was also because the Queen was someone who was always part of our lives and who we almost felt was immortal.
I also have my elderly aunties in the north-east and I thought of them. Indeed, God willing, my auntie Margaret will be 99 this month.
It is no exaggeration to say that the Queen was “one of us” in the north-east.
An informal moment at Haddo House
So many of you will have wonderful memories of meeting her in the local shops or beauty spots around Balmoral or when she visited so many events in our area.
I remember her coming to Haddo House, and one particular time when she sat with other members of the Royal Family informally in the audience of a show I was taking part in with Prince Edward.
Lady Aberdeen often welcomed many members of the Royal Family to Haddo which, of course, was also somewhere where Queen Victoria had stayed in 1857.
As well as Lady Aberdeen being the person who inspired me to have a singing career with her guidance, I also had a summer job when I was a teenager as a guide for the National Trust showing people around Haddo House.
The bedroom where Queen Victoria slept was the most popular room to see. So there has always been a lot of royal history at Haddo House down the road from the village of Methlick where I grew up.
I feel that Queen Elizabeth spending her final days in Balmoral seemed somehow appropriate and what she would have wanted. The wonderful photographs that we have seen over the years of happy family times in the grounds of Balmoral speak for themselves.
A family who loved having fun together
I was lucky enough to chat to Prince Edward years ago about the family’s love of Balmoral.
He told me about cottages on the estate where they would all congregate for picnics and they would perhaps cook for themselves and just have happy times together.
It sounded to me like a normal family who loved having fun, and so it is no surprise that they held Balmoral in such fond esteem where they were free to enjoy a relaxed, easy-going pace of life.
I have heard many stories of the Queen understanding Doric or, indeed, speaking our dialect herself. I would absolutely love to hear from any of you who have experienced this or know someone who has.
I’m sure it would bring a smile to all of our faces.
The end of an era and new beginnings
My earliest memories of the Queen were of regularly going to Crathie Kirk to stand outside and try to get a glimpse of her. I remember there weren’t that many people there in those days.
Only a handful of us would be standing there on the little path up to the Kirk and so we could always see her clearly in the car, and she would always wave to us individually. I’m so lucky to have that memory so early in my life.
As we all collectively watch the state funeral on Monday, it’s the end of an era and a new beginning
I’m sure nowadays with us all travelling longer distances for holidays, and tourists regularly coming from all over the world, Crathie Kirk on a Sunday when the Queen was in residence would not be the quiet little kirk it once was.
Of course, nothing stays the same forever and as the Queen approached her 90s we knew that the day when we would be welcoming King Charles was drawing ever closer.
I think the King is a good man, who cares passionately about people from all walks of life.
While deeply mourning for his beloved mother I hope he is comforted by the fact that so many millions around the world share in his grief.
As we all collectively watch the state funeral on Monday, it’s the end of an era and a new beginning all at once. We talked about new beginnings last week but who could have foreseen the momentous change that was about to take place for us all.
Have a good week everyone,
Yvie x
