On Thursday, September 8, 2022 I completed a 14.5 mile ramble from Abingdon-on-Thames to Wallingford, the second leg of my Thames River Ramble. I returned to the ACU house fully intending to blog about the journey. The ramble turned out to be closer to 18 miles after accounting for a few side trips I took along the way. I do plan to blog about this in the near future. I have already uploaded a full batch of pictures on my Facebook page for anyone interested in some visuals of the journey.
While I was eating at a pub in Wallingford this afternoon, news broke that Queen Elizabeth was under medical supervision. The reports were concerning. I heard pub workers talking to one another about how all of the family was making their way to Balmoral, a foreboding sign. Then this evening news broke that Queen Elizabeth II had died. It’s a pivotal moment for England. Seventy years. Think of that. She’s the only queen most of us have ever known. In the space of a week the United Kingdom has appointed a new prime minister and lost its longest-reigning queen.
After hearing the sad news of the queen’s passing, I journeyed with a bunch of my students toward city centre. We were eager to see what locals might be doing to remember the queen. Bells were ringing from many churches across the city. Eventually several of us made our way to St. Michael at the North Gate church. We were greeted by an Anglican priest who warmly welcomed us in. There were a few locals already gathered to sit and pray. In the front of the chapel was a single white candle next to a portrait of the queen. We sat in silence, contemplating the moment. We stayed for about ten minutes in silent prayer, then got up to leave as other made their way to the church.
In a world that seems increasingly perilous and conflicted, the death of one of the great rulers of the 20th century offers us a moment to pause and reflect on our common humanity, witnessed in the extraordinary life of an uncommon monarch. May she go with God.
Regina mortua est. Vivat regina.
The queen is dead. Long live the queen.
Return home…
Thanks for the peek into how folks there are remembering her.
What a remarkable time to be there!
We were in England in 1997 right after the death of Diana. We saw flowers at every church as we traveled, were in Dublin the day of the funeral, and in Edinborough the day they were clearing the flowers from the palace. Very moving experience and insightful of the British culture.