I know many of us have seen great suffering with family members. I myself have visited a NH for nearly 2 years and there is so much mindless behavior shown by those who have entered a realm of total confusion. I just think she left this earth in a perfect way and I know I wish that for myself.
God bless Her Majesty and God save King Charles III.
Yes, she went peacefully. She reigned longer than any other King and Queen even Victoria. Just read in the world. 70 yrs from when her Dad died.
Her last meeting with the new PM was such an inspiration, as were all her other meetings with previous PMs. She was genuinely interested in each of them, and didn’t let her own personal politics get in the way of showing kindness.
I remember getting up before dawn, to see Charles and Diana get married. I live on the east coast, so I hope to be able to watch The Queen’s funeral on Sept. 19th, at 5 a.m.
You beat me to it MJ929
Here's some royal trivia I learned when I worked on The Queen Mary back in the 90s --
When a ship (or anything) is named for a royal, permission must be granted by the sovereign first. Cunard was building the biggest, most spectacular cruise ship ever. Cunard vessels traditionally had names that ended in "ia," including Lusitania, Mauretania, etc. (The White Star Line ships ended in "ic," including Titanic and Olympic. Cunard had recently merged with the struggling White Star Line, and it was felt the "ia" tradition should supercede the "ic" one for this first new ship.
The executives of Cunard/White Star approached King George V to ask permission to name their new superliner "Queen Victoria." They said to the king, "We would like to name our ship after England's greatest queen."
His reply was "My wife will be honored."
And that's how the Queen Mary became the most famous ocean liner ever to sail the seas. Her sister ship was the Queen Elizabeth, and all tradition went straight out the window.
I still remember the coronation which happened when I was young. She has been THE Queen for this long time. It is the first that we saw close up, due to media, anything about the family tragedies that occurred. But as I said, that was cushioned by "not having to worry about money."
She did a great job for her people in my humble opinion. Read up on her DAD, as that was a man called upon by history to step up as a REAL hero to his people along with his wife, Mary--the Queen's mum.
I hope she was full of peace and that her end was gentle. She fulfilled her duty to her country admirably in my humble opinion. Some of the stories about her kindnesses to others are both cute and heartwarming. She is well remembered, was well loved. Who could ask for more?
She didn’t have to quit her job, nor did her children or grands to take care of her. Neither she nor her family had to deal with hospice or questions of inheritance if family did not help or did.
That's a good a death that anyone can hope for.
But I too have that morbid curiousity to know what the final event was.. but as you say Fawnby, we may never know, and that's ok.
I think I remember part of a quote, something like "Every woman is entitled to a little mystery!"
RIP HRH Elizabeth R. To me you were like a public older Aunt or Grandmother figure we could share.
RIP Elizabeth
When my 92 year old mother who is completely bedbound asked what she died from I replied she was 96. I never want to end up like my mother.
I, too, said I pray that I can go out as peacefully and gracefully as she did.
A life well lived for others and an example for all.
They were cleaning up from lunch, my husband's grandfather was in the kitchen, and his grandmother was in the dining room. She was laughing at one of his "dad" style jokes when she collapsed. She was dead before she hit the floor, either a stroke or an MI. No suffering, no lingering, no long hospitalizations or rehab centers.
I hope we ALL have a life and death like hers.
It's an old joke, but I thought it fit the moment
That is what makes them ordinary.
The Queen was an extraordinary lady.
A lot of people appear to have a pretty tidy end when you aren't there day in and day out to see the decline. She had a sweet smile and bright eyes in that last photo, but she looked much diminished from how she looked in June at her Jubilee. I saw that picture and knew she wasn't long for the world. When the flesh just starts melting off, and you know things are going downhill fast.