Queen Elizabeth Has Died
It is kind of a shock. I'm not and never have been British...but Queen Elizabeth seemed like one of the constants of the universe. I, and many older than I, have never known a world where Elizabeth was not the Monarch of England and Queen of the British Empire (with all the good and bad that entails).
It is a bit paradoxical that it is both a surprise and completely not a surprise. Much fuss has been made over the past few years about how old she was, how long she had reigned, what events she had led through, etc etc...so it was almost impossible to not know of her extremely advanced years, and I've had enough loved ones die that I'm all too aware of what follows extreme age. But her image has also been carefully maintained through the half-century and change that I've been alive...even though we saw she was getting older, we never saw any sign that age was taking its toll on her...she always appeared capable, in full possession of her faculties, and ready to handle whatever crisis the world threw her way. The thought that she would someday pass on and be replaced was almost always followed by the thought, "Yeah, maybe...but not anytime soon, that's for sure..."