Dayle in Limoux – Day #65

1926-2022

I think this is just about my favorite capture of Queen Elizabeth, before her reign. WWII, 1945.

France 24

Text translated: “Elizabeth II, a life for the crown.”

From the BBC with the announcement of Her Majesty’s passing.

15 prime ministers served Queen Elizabeth beginning with Winston Churchill. She also met 13 of the last 14 U.S. presidents. LBJ was the one president she did not meet in person.

I read this evening Elizabeth reigned as Queen for 30% of U.S. history. 30%. In the UK, an astounding 80% of the residents have only ever known one monarch – Elizabeth II.

Hers was truly a remarkable life, well lived in service and duty, serving until the very end.

These captures are from the day this week she welcomed Liz Truss as Prime Minister, about 48 hours before her death. It would be her final public appearance.

Dame Helen Mirren shared her memories of the Queen. Mirren was awarded the Oscar for her performance portraying Elizabeth II in the 2006 film,‘The Queen.’

As the news was being received the Queen had died, a rainbow appeared over Buckingham Palace and London.

🤍

[Getty Images]

I was finishing (!) the book, ‘The Manuscript,’ on the little French balcony when I received a push notification about the Queen’s passing.

It became eerily quiet very quickly. It almost felt as if we were suddenly in a vacuum. Nothing. Silence. Even the sassy ducks stopped their incessant quacking for a bit. Then I heard someone across the river start playing the British National Anthem. The sound carried across the water.

So much to share about the powerful final pages. This book has become almost a sacred text for me. I’ll post more tomorrow. This evening, with the quiet, a feeling of reverence in the streets of Limoux, contemplation for a woman who lived her life in dignified service for her country and people for 70 years, beginning at the age of 27.

“I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.”

This speech was given on her 21st birthday, 21 April 1947, while on a tour with her parents and sister in South Africa.

‘In a speech broadcast on the radio from Cape Town, the Princess dedicated her life to the service of the Commonwealth.’ [Royal.uk]

In six years, she would honor her promise.

As  the new British Prime Minister remarked speaking to the parliment:

“The whole house will agree never has a promise been so completely fulfilled.”

Tomorrow’s front page.

Bonne nuit.

🖤