Your tributes to and memories of the late Queen Elizabeth have been pouring in. Here’s just a selection of the wonderful stories and photographs we’ve received from NBVM readers…

Gone

by John Seymour
The stood in disbelief at what they now could witness there,
They knew but could not yet accept the fact so raw and bare,
Since laid before them was the truth of all so recent seen,
Now for the first time understood – this was their dearest Queen.

For much had been the showing of events which bore the shock,
And years of presence long relied when she had been the rock
Upon which this fair realm and wide had stood in steadfast place,
And she the constant which throughout had known no other face.

And though the thronging multitudes filed by it was still wholly strange
A surreal sight that there within she lay, which none can change,
The thought that never more will she be here amongst us all,
Was only slowly realised there in that silent hall.

Outside along the riverside the people came to voice,
Their gratitude and last farewells for which they felt no choice
But to attend this resting place to show respects and pause
For just a brief and sombre chance to join this solemn cause.

From every corner and beyond they gathered queue on queue,
Long lines of those compelled to mark the love which she was due,
And welling sadness tinged with pride of all for us she stood,
Peerless example of her vow lived as she said she would.

Then so as days slipped by we came to closure of so much,
The pageantry and grandeur hid the truth that follows such
magnificence. A funeral is grief and loss here seen,
As there we knew the passing of our most beloved … Queen.

My small tribute to a Lady of extraordinary measure who went above and beyond the
demands of an almost impossible role. My humble respects and admiration Ma’am.

Port Regis School

The Late Queen Elizabeth II visited Port Regis school, near Shaftesbury on 23 February 1991. At the time, her grandson Peter Phillips and granddaughter Zara Phillips were both at the school.
During her visit the Queen planted a tree in commemoration and signed official photographs while children at the school gathered to greet her.

Vital role for local horsewoman

Captain Amy Cooper of The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery (RHA), on her horse Lord Firebrand, led the gun carriage as it conveyed the Queen’s coffin to the Palace of Westminster. Capt Cooper, 31 and from Motcombe, was selected by the commanding officer of The King’s Troop RHA to lead the gun team carrying the coffin.

Photo by Sgt Jimmy Wise / UK MOD © Crown copyright 2022

Diamond Jubilee

Patrick Green writes: “I arrived early and attained a excellent advantage point at the entrance gate of the Abbey for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee to Sherborne Abbey. The Queen passed me at a distance of 18in– if only she had turned round!”

A Mere subject

Caroline Cardozo was 11 when, in 1953, her mother took her and her sister to camp in Pall Mall, London, the night before the Queen’s coronation. Caroline’s mother had brought a little fold-up stool for her to sit on – this stool has since travelled the world with Caroline. In the family it is known as ‘the coronation stool’.
On 19 September 2022, 70 years later, Caroline travelled to Windsor with her cousins and great granddaughter. Arriving at the crack of dawn, Caroline took up her place beside the railings and sat on the stool that she has so carefully kept.
She returned home touched and exhilarated that she has lived through this majestic time. Long Live King Charles.

Caroline Cardozo with her
great-grand-daughter Darcie
Kerridge and the coronation stool

The Platinum Age

by Paul Hooley, MBE
There are certain events that occur during our lifetimes that are of such monumental significance we will remember, for the rest of our days and in the minutest detail, exactly where, when and in whose company we were when we became aware of their happening.
The events of 6 February 1952 remain etched in my mind with a clarity that astonishes me. The class of 10 year olds, of which I was a member, was typically noisy as we prepared for morning lessons. Within a nanosecond however, you could have heard a pin drop. The appearance of the Headmaster, Mr Piper, was an unusual occurrence but, as was the custom, we all immediately stood to attention.
From his demeanour and uncharacteristic hesitation I instinctively knew the Head was about to impart something of great importance. I was not wrong. “I am sorry to have to tell you” he began falteringly “that earlier today His Majesty King George VI died and I would like you all to remain standing in complete silence for a moment as a mark of respect to his memory”. After what seemed an eternity Mr Piper broke the silence with the words “We now have a new monarch – Queen Elizabeth II – God Save the Queen!”

At the Closing of Her Day
On 8 September this year, 70 years and 214 days later, that reign too came to an end as Queen Elizabeth II slipped quietly and peacefully away. In that now never-to-be-forgotten moment I came to fully appreciate the true depth of Mr Piper’s feelings as, struggling to hold my own emotions in check, I informed my dear wife of the passing of our beloved Sovereign. We stood in silence for a moment before I, following the example set by my Headmaster 70 years earlier, voiced the words so many of us dreaded ever having to say: “We now have a new Monarch – Charles III – God Save the King”.
Over 600 years earlier, on 30 November 1601, in her final days and in failing health, Queen Elizabeth I addressed Parliament with what became known as the ‘Golden Speech’ of a ‘Golden Age’. In this address she stated with typical humility:
“I do assure you there is no prince that loves his subjects better, or whose love can countervail our love… and though God has raised me high, yet this I count the glory of my crown – that I have reigned with you loves… There will never Queen sit in my seat with more zeal to my country, care to my subjects and that will sooner with willingness venture her life for your good and safety than myself. And though you have had, and may have, many princes more mighty and wise, sitting in this state, yet you never had, or shall have, any that will be more careful and loving.”
Both Queens were 25 years old when they ascended to the throne and both their reigns were distinguished by their overwhelming sense of duty and a desire to serve their subjects. However Elizabeth II’s reign lasted 25 years longer than that of her illustrious predecessor, and she became the only Monarch in our island’s history to attain ‘Platinum’ status. Are then her life, times and achievements not worthy of being granted a higher position in the hierarchy of preciousness than the ‘Gold’ standard that has become synonymous with the name of the first Queen Elizabeth. I believe millions will think they are, and my great hope is that in the years to come Elizabeth II will be acknowledged as having been the ‘Platinum Queen’ and her reign, full of so many achievements and so much progress, as being worthy of the title ‘Platinum Age’.

Personal footnote
Fifty years after Mr Piper’s announcement, there was a greatly treasured occasion when Her Majesty graciously and literally touched my life. Having invested me as a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, she thanked me for my service and shook my hand before pinning a medal on a chest swollen with pride. For a precious moment we were, to the exclusion of all others, the focus of each other’s attention. Throughout our brief encounter the smile never once left her face.
Following Her Majesty’s demise, and for the first time in many years, I opened the case to look at the award. It is beginning to tarnish, yet it will never be cleaned – at least not during my lifetime – for I realized that upon that token was the DNA of one of the most important people in our nation’s, if not the world’s, history who, as she had done so often throughout her reign, had honoured a humble and obedient servant with a humility that clearly demonstrated she truly was the Monarch with the common touch.