Like so many others around the world, I watched the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, witnessing precision pageantry as only the British can execute. An atmosphere of solemnity, but celebratory at the same time. Thank you BBC for not talking over the procession and allowing the spectacle to speak for itself.
I have long had an affinity to the United Kingdom. Both of my grandmothers were born in London. I lived in London in the early 1980’s and then again mid-1990’s. During the second period we lived in a house built by John Nash around 1822 and our landlord was the Crown Estates. I used to tell our young daughter that my rent cheque each month was being delivered to Queen Elizabeth.
There is also some anecdotal evidence that my family is related to Rufus Isaacs, the 1st Marquess of Reading who was also Lord Chief Justice and Viceroy to India. In 1981, I spoke with his daughter who remarkably lived in the same building as me at the time, but we did not find the ancestral linkage. I am still working on it.
While so much around us is changing, Queen Elizabeth II was a constant in our lives no matter where we are from. She was a shining example of treating others with respect and dignity. She will be missed and remembered.
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