The great rites and ceremonies have concluded and Queen Elizabeth II now lies to rest in St George’s Chapel, Windsor. Today we offer heartfelt thanks for her life, witness and example for over 70 years as our late Queen of Great Britain, the Commonwealth of Nations and Australia, where she has been our Head of State.
Four recurring words have been used to define her reign. They are devotion to duty, the servant leadership of her peoples, her deep but simple faith and the love of family in its broadest sense. Today we should add a fifth on the International Day of Peace, as a world peace maker in her own way.
She has reigned in times of rapid, unsettling and unprecedented change, adapting to them and the expectations of her peoples, while maintaining continuity through the best of lasting traditions.
May she rest in peace and rise in glory.
And now to her son and successor King Charles III, who has already embraced these values, knowing that his reign will require new means of adaption to challenges that lie ahead for which he is ready, and well equipped.
God save the King and may he serve his peoples wherever they may be.
Thank you to Peter Hollingworth for providing this reflection on 21 September 2022.
